Marker for Botox Injections

Planning Botox injections – drawing on skin

For some patients, a precise Botox mapping is what I’d like to do as a Botox injector for best results.  However there are some challenges:

  • The marker should be easy to wipe off after the Botox injection because we might not want to agitate the location of the Botox liquid which has been injected under the skin (intradermal or intramuscular).
  • The maker should be fresh so that we have a large supply of the markers.
  • The marker should be visible on the skin and perhaps visible on the lips as well.  Although a green marker might show up better than a red marker on the lips for lip augmentation.

One solution comes from Viscot Medical.  www.viscot.com.

They make a pen alled the Dermarker (Derm-Marker) which is an EZ removal ink skin marker.  Alcohol erases it very easily without much rubbing.

I got a chance to buy a container full of these pens and I’ve tried the markings on my own skin at the Las Vegas Cosmetic Surgery Aesthetic Dermatology Conference.  I think this will work well for me and take my injection skills to the next level.

This marker could be used for areas of filler/Juvederm injection as well.  However, these markers would be a bad idea for Tummy Tuck and Breast Augmentation markings because those are larger areas and require a surgical prep which is going to erase these markers.  The same company makes a pen for these cosmetic surgeries, it’s called the XL prep resistant ink surgical marker.

We’re happy to bring these markers with us home to Modesto, CA from the Las Vegas meeting.

Day 3 Vegas Cosmetic Surgery Aesthetic Dermatology Conference

Today’s highlights involved meeting the worlds most prolific injector of Botox.  He works in Singapore.  He gave a great lecture about injecting Botox in a certain way which could work for some Keloid scars.  The protocol is detailed and he shared it with the attendees of the Vegas Cosmetic Surgery and Aesthetic Dermatology Conference.

I attended a few sessions on laser and Cool Sculpting.  Cool Sculpting is a method of non surgical fat reduction.  It uses the idea of cryolipolysis.  CoolSculpting is a trademark owned by Zeltiq.  They hosted a cocktail hour at the conference at around 6:15pm tonight.

I got a chance to greet the reps for Allergan at the Convention.  What was interesting today for me was getting more information about doing virtual patient follow ups.  I didn’t think I was ready for such a thing, but it’s out there.  It’s kind of like recording your post op visit on a secure youtube website and then having the doctor review it later and write you some secure email.

I particularly liked the sessions on TCA peeling.

We also spent some time with another cosmetic plastic surgeon from Modesto, CA.  It was good to see another familiar face at the meeting.

In the evening, there was a dinner program put together by Valeant – the owners of Restylane, Perlane, Sculptra, Dysport, Obagi, and Renova (a form of Tretinoin).  We saw some live amazing cosmetic injection techniques by some legendary doctors.

I am getting so overloaded with all this great information!

 

Day 2 Vegas Cosmetic Surgery Aesthetic Dermatology 2013

Advanced Dermatology Section

This was a one of the best days of this educational program for me.  I spent the entire day in the advanced dermatology portion.  There was three sessions going on at the same time.  Most of the lectures I heard were about fillers (Juvederm, Radiesse, Perlane, Restylane, Belotero) and neurotoxins (Botox, Xeomin, Dysport).  This was one of my main goals of this course was to absorb as much as I could about the topic.  I was thrilled to see the European and Russian experiences with Botox, Fillers, etc.  There were also sections on ethnic skin and hyperpigmetation.  It was an eye opener to see a bunch of discussions on the complications of fillers and Botox.  We’re glad we have hyaluronidase in our office as part of a kit for filler emergencies.  There was also a lot of info about hydroquinone and tretinoin.  Did you know that there’s hydroquinone in coffee?  I also saw a lecture where they used ultrasound to help guide decision making regarding filler placement.  There was also a brief discussion of fake filler products.  I liked the idea of using ultra sound gel as a substance to help massage fillers.  There were also a ton of information regarding using blunt cannulas for fillers which is something I’ve been doing.

Factors that affect Different Neurotoxins

  • Dilution
  • Manipulation
  • Physician technique
  • Storage

Key words

  • Retrograde threading
  • Malar flattening
  • Sandwich Volumetry

It’ll be great to bring back all this international information to our cosmetic plastic surgery practice in Modesto, CA.

And after the lectures:

We went to another lecture sponsored by Merz Aesthetics, the makers of Belotero and Xeomin (and Asclera for veins).  The talk was Innovations in Facial Aesthetic Medicine, Mastering the Art and Science of Injectables.  Amazingly it was produced by Paradigm Medical Communications, located in Orangeburg, NY.  Their telephone number is 845-398-5100.  They said they were located on 303.  I have friends who live in Orangeburg, New York and I have a personal connection to that location.  This CME program was 3 credits.

New Silicone Gel Breast Implant Approved by the FDA

Mentor’s Memory Shape Breast Implant

Date: June 13, 2013

  • FDA announced it’s approval on June 14, 2013
  • These are manufactured in the USA by Mentor Worldwide LLC
  • It is called the Memory Shape breast implant
  • More silicone cross linking
  • Firmer
  • FDA approved for women at least 22 years old for breast augmentation
  • For Breast reconstruction it would be for any age.
  • Post approval studies are pending for Mentor.
  • Teardrop shaped breast implants

With this breast implant approved there are now five FDA approved silicone gels implants manufactured by Allergan, Sientra, and Mentor.

From the Mentor website

  • The implant features SILTEX (R) Texture, a gentle imprinting of the surface to keep the breast implants in place.
  • Thinner on top of the implant and thicker on the bottom, creating the tear drop shape in this breast implant.

Other breast implant webpages

 

Consider a breast augmentation consultation with Dr. Tammy Wu.

www.SurgeryToday.com (209) 551-1888

www.SurgeryToday.com
(209) 551-1888, Modesto, CA

Day 1 Vegas Cosmetic Surgery 2013

First official day of the Vegas Cosmetic Surgery and Aesthetic Dermatology Conference 2013

I particularly got a lot great ideas and info regarding Botox and Fillers (Juvederm).  I was very interested in the way they treated complications.

I also attended sessions that talked about social media, habits of very successful cosmetic practices, blogging, reviews, thank you notes, patient surveys, and the usage of YouTube videos.  I hope to act on much of this.  It was almost info overload.  And this was only day 1.

Plastic Surgery Related Booths we visited

  • Operative headlamp company – about $800 for a head lamp.  3 hour-4 hour battery life. LED bulb!
  • Zein Obagi.  Looked at the differences between Zein Obagi and Obagi
  • Touch MD – incredible stuff indeed.  Touch MD is a technological way to visually share the plastic surgical consultation with the patient.  There’s a program component which resides on the computer and then there’s a “cloud” component where the data resides.  The data can be accessed from many other devices and webpages via secure methods.  This is a great addition to EMR.  And perhaps would be a great addition to our plastic surgical practice in Modesto, CA.  They said that currently they don’t have any doctors in Modesto, CA who have Touch MD.  It also has a back end for picture management.

We were originally going to see a show, but instead we talked with the guys at Touch MD.

TiZO3 and Lip Balm

We found an an amazing Sun Screen for the lips.  It is made by the Fallene company in their Solar Protection Formula line.  TIZO is among one of their products.  Dr. Tammy Wu said that she has been looking for a lip balm that is a physical / mineral based for awhile.  We just found the LipTect product at the Vegas Cosmetic Surgery conference.  Along with this, we also found the  TiZO3 sunscreen for the face.  It has Titanium, Iron, and Zinc.  It is Paraben, Oil, PABA and fragrance free.  It is also tinted and is a very water resistant formula.  We will have the LipTect (Lip balm) and TiZO3 sunscreen available for purchase at Surgical Artistry, Modesto, CA.  Dr. Calvin Lee (me) takes credit for introducing Dr. Tammy Wu to the booth, and Dr. Wu made the decision to make an opening order!  One more reason for this – it would be an great product to protect a lip augmentation investment.