Category Archives: Juvederm

Vegas Cosmetic Surgery and Aesthetic Dermatology 2013 Day 0

Day 0 of the Vegas Cosmetic Surgery and Aesthetic Dermatology Conference 2013

Date: June 25, 2013

Located at the Bellagio Resort Hotel, Las Vegas.  This is the 9th annual conference.  The 10th annual conference has already been set for June 18th-22nd, 2014.

Vegas Cosmetic Surgery at the Bellagio Hotel

Vegas Cosmetic Surgery at the Bellagio Hotel Picture by Dr. Calvin Lee.

My adventures on the day before the Vegas Cosmetic Surgery conference begins

Dr. Tammy Wu and I saw a very full day of office patients and ended at 5:15pm in our office, we were think that we would catch the 8:10pm flight out of a neighboring city: Stockton, and take the Allegiant Air flight to Las Vegas.  But it was delayed.  But because it was delayed.  I got some administrative paperwork done at the office.  I read some of the mail and paid some bills.  Dr. Tammy Wu got to inventory some of the Obagi that came to the office.  It was a massive order – I think it was about $16,000 worth of Obagi products that came in and we had to unpack these large Obagi Skin Care products and put them on our shelves.  Some of these were ordered specifically for patients.

Allegiant Air

  • Delayed 4 hours
  • Got my $2 water at the airport.
  • It was a packed waiting room at the Stockton, CA Airport.
  • The Allegiant Air plane didn’t take off till around 12:30pm.
  • Seating was quite uncomfortable for me – my neck just didn’t seem to fit the seats.
  • We arrived around 2:00am in Las Vegas
  • But good things:  Dr. Tammy Wu and I got to sit next to each other and Dr. Tammy Wu slept through most of that flight.  I was just too uncomfortable to sleep through the entire flight.  But it was a relatively short flight.

Strange Taxi Guy

  • Took us to an entrance of the Bellagio which was pretty far from the reception desk.  There was an entrance that was right by the reception desk, but I guess it would have taken the taxi driver longer to get out of that round about, etc.  We had to walk pretty far with our luggage.  At 2am, it just seems a little bit more confusing, and the Bellagio in Las Vegas is a pretty big hotel.
  • The trip from the Las Vegas Airport to the Bellagio hotel took about 10 minutes.
  • And the trip with tip was about $26.00 for us.  In retrospect, I wasn’t so sure the Taxi driver deserved any tip for dumping us off at a far entrance.

First thing we did in Las Vegas was check out the Bellagio Gym

We really came here for the conference.  Just a few months ago we were in Vegas already, so we weren’t all that motivated to check out all the sights of Vegas again.  But working out and and taking care of ourselves and preparing for our next half marathon (perhaps Santa Rosa Half Marathon?).  Dr. Tammy Wu hasn’t run in a long time, so she gave it a try today again at the treadmill.  I ran about 1 mile on the treadmill, and she ran about 2 miles.  One great thing about the gym was a cable weight machine where I was able to adjust the rotation and angle of the arm, and thus I was really able to stretch out my right shoulder which has been bothering me from some chronic over use with injecting, operating, inserting acupuncture needles, and worst of all, using a computer mouse to write blogs (ie. this one) / do social media, etc.

We ate at Noodles Restaurant in the Bellagio

We had to tell them about our Vegan and Gluten Free preferences.  They were very happy to accommodate.  I’m not Gluten sensitive, but Dr. Tammy Wu is.  So the dishes we got were:  Agadashi, Endamamme, steamed vegetables, soy flavored rice noodles stir fried with vegetables, and rice.  This was quite a good meal and we escaped with a $71 price tag.

Considered getting tickets to a Cirque du Soleil show.

O is showing at the Bellagio.  However we couldn’t decide quite yet.  The tickets ranged from $120 to $220 – I think.  Instead we looked at the sculpture gallery associated with the Cirque Du Soleil.  The sculptures were so artistic – they looked so anatomical – sort of like cosmetic surgery to us.  The artist was Richard Macdonald, and the sculptures were for sale.  They price tags for little sculptures were about $10,000 and the larger ones were around $150,000.  There were two sales associates which gave us info on the sculptures, but the price tag were a bit too expensive for me anyway.  One of them asked me about any other art pieces which I own.  I said that the closest thing I have to these things are my teddy bear “collection.”  They didn’t seem to understand.  Regarding the possibility of seeing a show, we wanted to see the schedule of the Vegas Cosmetic Surgery and Aesthetic Dermatology conference, but the registration desk for that event hasn’t been open yet.

Walked around the Vegas Strip and then went to Walgreens

It was a pretty hot day already today.  But I read in the weather forecast that it will be even hotter in the next few days, perhaps as high as 117 degrees F?  We shall see.  Good thing the air conditioners work well in the hotels.  At Walgreens, I got a quart of orange juice and a gallon of water to lug back to the Bellagio.  I considered taking the tram that connects the Aria hotel with the Bellagio, but we just walked around till the heat got too much.

Back to the Gym to stretch my shoulder.

By this time it was around 7:30pm.  The gym at the Bellagio is open from 6am to 8pm.  So it’s about to close.  I went back to the gym to use the Cybex Cable weight machine.  It wasn’t to lift weights, but I discovered that this was one of the best ways to stretch my shoulder joint.  So I was able to spend another 15 minutes with this type of stretching to help rehab my shoulder which is already getting much better with my own stretching.

Went to Jasmine Restaurant in Bellagio

The most fun thing about going on vacation for me is eating out.  So we tried the Jasmine Restaurant which was within the hotel grounds.  We’ve been sticking to restaurants which have an Asian flare because it seems easier for us to find gluten free vegan choices.  And they were happy to provide solutions for us.  We had two dishes the eggplant dish and the monkey mushroom dish – both were made gluten free and vegan.  We had two extra bowls of rice.  The price tag with tip came out to about $75.  Which we charged to our Bellagio room.

Early Registration at the Vegas Cosmetic Surgery and Aesthetic Dermatology conference

We finally got to pick up our materials and name tag.  We met Karen Miller who said she’d help us with our Vegan/Gluten free preferences – how nice!  The conference is 5 days long, and super packed with great cosmetic surgery information.  I am most interested in the cosmetic injectable portion of the course and there’s plenty of that information including demonstrations on the Botox and filler injections.

We spent the next hour picking out how we would spend our time at the Vegas Cosmetic Surgery and Aesthetic Dermatology Conference

It is somewhat complex with about 3 different activities going on at the same time.  There are also evening program going until 9:30pm.  I made sure to pack in as much Botox and Cosmetic Injectable info as I could get.  There is a whole bunch of stuff regarding social media, but I’m not sure I can get all that in.

Time flies when you’re having fun.  It’s about 12:10am now.

We’ll see how it goes!  Can’t wait to bring all this great information and education back to our plastic surgery practice in Modesto, California.

 

Aesthetic Treatment Plan based on Facial Anatomy

Aesthetic injection of botox and fillers

Developing an Aesthetic Treatment Plan: Evaluating Facial Anatomy June 8, 2013.

Evaluating Facial Anatomy for Injectable Fillers and Botox

An fantastic discussion of evaluating facial anatomy, especially intrinsic aging of the facial bony structure, and fat pads. The injector in this discussion, Dr. Rebecca Fitzgerald, expert Dermatologist in Los Angeles is truly an artist and has a great ability to evaluate. I don’t entirely agree with everything, but I think that’s the artistry in our craft. But I finished the educational activity knowing that there’s much for me to learn and improve upon in my Botox and Juvederm aesthetic practice in Modesto, CA.

My main take home message: Fat Compartments of the Face

For me, a lot of what was discussed are things that I already do in my practice.  But I enjoyed listening to the topics of the fat compartments of the face.

Fat Compartments of the Face – Anatomy

The discussion here is supplemented with my own notes from:

Rohrich and Pessa, Plast. Reconstr. Surg. 119: 2219, 2007

  • Subcutaneous fat of the face is partitioned in distinct anatomical compartments
  • Nasolabial fold is a discrete unit with distinct anatomical boundaries
  • Malar fat pad is composed of three separate compartments: medial, middle, and lateral temporal cheek fat.
  • Orbital fat is located in three compartments determined by septal borders.
  • Facial aging is, in part, characterized by how these compartments change with age.

More Notes on Facial Anatomy.  There is much much more to facial anatomy than those very few pictures and descriptions on that webpage which I made a while ago.

Aesthetic Definitions

She talks about Hyaluronic Filler and Neuromodulators.  She uses these terms because they are non-specific, and doesn’t favor one manufacturer over another.

0.75 hours of CME credit earned from www.Medscape.com

dr-wu-and-dr-lee

 

 

 

180% increase in 1 year in the number of patients enrolled in Brilliant Distinctions in our Modesto Office: Surgical Artistry

botox bottles

New statistics! Compared to last year, we have a 180% increase in the number of patients taking advantage of rebates & coupons from Brilliant Distinctions.   In dollar amounts, we have more than a 235% increase.  As of 5/30/13 $47,085 has been redeemed by Surgical Artistry patients through this program.  I’d like to congratulate our staff, the Botox staff, and most of all thank our patients.  Actual numbers:

5/30/13 data reveals:

  • Total number of patients  573

  • They have redeemed a total of  $47,085  with Allergan’s Brilliant Distinction (BD) program

     

Brilliant Distinctions

5/20/12 data reveals:

  • Total number of patients  317

  • They have acquired a total of  $19,960  via Allergan’s Brilliant Distinction (BD) program

     

 

dr-wu-and-dr-lee

Brilliant Distinctions Changes – Botox, Juvederm, Latisse

Brilliant Distinctions

Recent Changes to the Brilliant Distinctions Program

Update:  See updated section on the bottom – info directly from Allergan and the changes start May 15, 2013.

I heard some things about changes to the Brilliant Distinctions Program by our Botox Representative (from Allergan).  I’m not 100% sure of these changes, as I don’t operate the Brilliant Distinctions program (BD), but of course, our plastic surgery practice accepts the coupons and rebates generated from the BD program.

SkinMedica – get points for purchasing

  • Allergan acquired SkinMedica – a skin care product company – prescription and non-prescription based products.  You can now earn points for purchasing SkinMedica products.   Our office currently does not carry Skin Medica products.  I guess I wished it could have been easier / great if Obagi was somehow absorbed by Allergan, because we are a Obagi retailer and a user of Allergan products.  But that merger  didn’t happen.  Instead Valeant purchased Obagi for $348 million dollars in April 2013..  Valeant is based in Montreal.  Valeant has a dermatology portfolio.  Obagi is based in Long Beach, California, and posted revenues of $120 million in the year 2012.  Valeant Pharmaceuticals in September 2012 purchased Medicis for 2.6 billion.  Medicis makes Dysport, Perlane, and Restylane.
  • Around December 2012 Allergan purchased SkinMedica for $350 million

New Brilliant Distinctions Mall

  • Get points for shopping online
  • Similar to a program offered by Chase.
  • Many many vendors online, and shop as you normally would except click through a link from the Brilliant Distinctions website.

Bonus points are going away

  • As fast as it came, it is going away:  There was a bonus points program for the frequent users, in fact after about 12 visit, the bonus points added up to almost double the original amount which was originally $25 coupon after each Botox visit, and for those coming in on the 13th time and beyond, the $25 coupon got a bonus of another $25.  However this is bonus is going away I heard.

The $25 coupon per Botox visit or $25 per Juvederm syringe is dropping down to $20

  • I also heard that the $25 is dropping down to $20.  But the added ability to earn points from the BD Mall is supposed to more than make up for this difference.  I’d like to know if this works out for folks in the future.  Regardless, it is nice to have a program such as BD, so I guess we shouldn’t complain too much about the $25 dropping down to $20.

There’s the ability to print out a $10 coupon

  • This wasn’t available before.   I think this is to help the Latisse-only users use their coupons, because Latisse purchases used to take longer to build up to a coupon.

I just checked with several patients today regarding Brilliant Distinctions.  Most of these changes have taken place yet, but I know they are coming very soon – perhaps at the end of this month (May, 2013).

These changes the program summarized:

  • SkinMedica
  • BD Mall
  • Bonus Points going away
  • $25 return on each visit or each syringe is going down to $20
  • New!, ability to print out $10 coupon (half of the points required to print a $20 coupon).
  • New 9 month expiration period instead of I think it was 2 years before.

We’ll stay tuned and see how these changes take place and hopefully they will continue to keep our Botox / Juvederm / Latisse patients happy.

Surgical Artistry - Calvin Lee, MD / Tammy Wu, MD

Surgical Artistry | Calvin Lee, MD | Tammy Wu, MD
209-551-1888 | www.SurgeryToday.com
2336 Sylvan Ave. Suite C | Modesto, CA 95355

 

UPDATE:

We got this notice from Brilliant Distinctions.

Starting May 15, 2013:

Points Values: In simplifying the points structure, the values will alter slightly. We’ve added a new coupon value. You can now create a $10 coupon for 100 points. For 200 points, the coupon value will now be $20.

Expiration Period: Points will expire after 9 months of inactivity from earning. We will send you reminders if you are getting close to your points expiring.

Bonus Points: All bonus points accrued to date will remain in your account; however, no more bonus points will be issued. If you have questions, the Brilliant Distinctions® Customer Support line is a phone call away: 1-888-324-2745 (9am-8pm EST. M-F).

 

Summary:  See summary above also.  But there are some great added features ($10 coupon, BD mall, SkinMedical) and some things taken away (bonus points, $5 taken away from 200 points, and the expiration period ahs been shortened)