Transformation by Never Boring Graphic Design

Transformation by Never Boring

Never Boring is a Marketing, Advertising, Media Buying, Graphic and Web Design, Film and Multimedia Company located in Modesto, CA.  Today, they celebrated their 30th anniversary.

I wrote an article a few weeks ago about sunscreens for Contentment Health Magazine. In that article, I included a chart that I thought, if they had space, maybe they can cram it into the article.  They really pleasantly surprised me with what they with the chart.  They more than just crammed in the chart.  They made it into a work of art.

This chart is different than the Sunscreen activity chart that I blogged about earlier.

Here’s what I emailed:

Sunscreen ingredient Chart Text

I thought this was already pretty nifty visual in my own nerdy assessment.

and then after some wonderful “magic” by Never Boring:

Sunscreen Ingredients Chart UVA UVB for Chemical, Physical, and Hybrid components

Sunscreen ingredient chart transformed into a beautiful graphic

This is very much like the “before” and “after” pictures that we are so fond of in Plastic Surgery.

Bravo on the design!  Thank you for turning it into a masterpiece!

Note:  The model in the picture, has a great deal of sun damage on her face and hands.  She definitely needs a good sunscreen, otherwise, she will end up being a very good customer of Surgical Artistry (www.SurgeryToday.com).

Here’s the article online I wrote on Sunscreens for Contentment Health

article on sunscreen

Logo by Becky Li, Graphic by Rita Perez

Metronidazole Topical for Rosacea?

This is a note-taking blog for purposes of education – not for specific directed medical advice.

Metronidazole is a treatment available for Rosacea

  • Topical application of Metronidazole (meanning applied to the skin surface)
  • Metronidazole also comes as a pill form but this isn’t usually needed or indicated for Rosacea
  • Metronidazole is an antibiotic
  • Flagyl is the name a brand of metronidazole in pill form
  • As an antibiotic, Metronidazole is effective against anaerobic bacteria and protozoa.  It is a drug used for treating clostridium difficile infection (c. diff).
  • Topically, it comes as cream or gel
  • Metrogel is a brand (Metrogel 1%) as is Rozex.  And there are generics available for metronidazole gel or cream.
  • Many patients use metronidazole topical twice a day
  • Many patients of ours at Surgical Artistry, Modesto, report some dryness with the product and use it with a moisturizer.

Other uses of Metronidazole

  • Orally it has been used in Crohn’s disease
  • And orally, it has been used as part of the treatment for peptic ulcer disease

Obagi Rosaclear

  • a system designed by Obagi Medical for treatment of Rosacea
  • Metronidazole topical is part of the kit,
  • available as part of the rosaclear kit is a cleanser, toner, and a special tinted sunblock

What is Rosacea?

  • Some forms of it seems to be a skin infection which is related to blood vessel dilation and redness
  • Central facial redness, burning and stinging
  • visible red veins
  • bumps or blemishes
  • tight or itchy facial skin which may swell
  • Cause is unknown

What can our office in Modesto, do for Rosacea?

There are many treatments available for Roscea

  • We have Rosaclear available from Obagi
  • We have many Rosclear Sunscreen – tinted specially to hide and blend in the redness.
  • We have a vascular laser (Dornier 940, Germany) which is good for targeting the red vessels.
  • For some patients we can also prescribe clindamycin topical for rosacea

What is Stage 4 Colon Cancer

These are just educational notes on stage 4 colon cancer – no personalized medical advice is given here.  In my Modesto surgical experience, I have had the privilege of participating in the care of several patients with stage 4 colon cancer.  Some of these surgical patients have also become my acupuncture patients.

colon cancer diagram of stages

Colon Cancer Stages with TNM designation

Stage IV Colon Cancer

  • Cancer spread from the colon to other organs and tissues, ie. liver, lungs, peritoneum (in the abdomen surrounding), or ovaries.
  • Considered the most advanced cancer stage
  • Stage IV A: spread to one organ not near the colon, such as the liver, lung, ovary, or to a distant lymph node.
  • Stage IV B: spread to more than one organ not near the colon or into the lining of the abdominal wall (peritoneum)

Stage IVA

Any T, Any N, M1a: The cancer may or may not have grown through the wall of the colon or rectum, and it may or may not have spread to nearby lymph nodes. It has spread to 1 distant organ (such as the liver or lung) or set of lymph nodes (M1a).

Stage IVB

Any T, Any N, M1b: The cancer may or may not have grown through the wall of the colon or rectum, and it may or may not have spread to nearby lymph nodes. It has spread to more than 1 distant organ (such as the liver or lung) or set of lymph nodes, or it has spread to distant parts of the peritoneum (the lining of the abdominal cavity) (M1b).

TNM designation

T categories of colorectal cancer describe the extent of spread through the layers that form the wall of the colon and rectum.

N categories indicate whether or not the cancer has spread to nearby lymph nodes

M0: No distant spread is seen.

M1a: The cancer has spread to 1 distant organ or set of distant lymph nodes.

M1b: The cancer has spread to more than 1 distant organ or set of distant lymph nodes, or it has spread to distant parts of the peritoneum (the lining of the abdominal cavity).

Reviewing my Personal Experience with Stage IV colon cancer

  • I’ve operated on several patients with Stave IV colon cancer
  • I’ve also done wedge resections on the liver for areas of cancer spread (metastases)
  • In some patients I’ve made diverting colostomies.
  • Some patients I’ve had receive chemotherapy before surgery to shrink down the size of the  tumor load.  The is called Neoadjuvant therapy.
  • Most of the patients after surgery with Stage 4 colon cancer have received chemo therapy after surgery – and the chemotherapy is decided up and performed by the oncologist.
  • Some get radiation afterwards to relieve symptoms
  • There are clinical trials
  • Re-operations are done for recurrences.

Web sources of info regarding the stages of Colon Cancer

Inspirational Story in Modesto, CA of Kelly with Stage IV Colon

 

Most Popular Browser

browser

Safari is now the most popular browser by far

The statistics show that Safari is the most popular web browser coming to our Modesto Plastic Surgery websites.  I did the analysis for the last 18 days in April of 2013.  I hadn’t looked at this chart in years.  I still remember MSIE (Internet Explorer – Microsoft) being the dominant player for the longest time.  I think this is probably due to the popularity of iphones and ipads.  The other category is large too, but unfortunately it doesn’t show the breakdown.  The statistics program that figured these things out are old.  Perhaps Google Analytics has some data regarding this which is more up to date – I would imagine that if it were present in Google Analytics, there would be a listing for Google’s Chrome Browser.  On the chart above, I’m not entirely sure what is Netscape compatible.  But this data is generated from DreamHost where I keep some of my webpages.  That includes this blog.

 

Relative Contraindications for 410 Natrelle Breast Implants

Dr. Tammy Wu had a discussion over lunch time with our Modesto plastic surgery staff about the Natrelle Style 410 Breast Implants sometimes known as the Gummy Bear Breast Implant.  The topic of discussion was when is the Natrelle 410 Breast Implant an appropriate medical device for breast augmentation?  The discussion first turned to when it is not an appropriate choice.

The Natrelle 410 Shaped Gel Breast Implant may NOT be appropriate for

  • Patients who desire an overly exaggerated upper pole for their breast augmentation
  • Patients who have very loose skin envelope
  • Wants to be very large breasted
  • has pectus excavatum
  • has pectus carinatum (these are deformities of the sternum)
  • Has significant ptosis (gravity effects), where a mastopexy / Breast Lift is indicated
  • Has severe asymmetries
  • May not be appropriate for a revision patient due to the possibility that the previous pocket size may be too big.

So you want to switch from your previous implants to the new Natrelle 410 shaped implants

As with the above relative contraindication, this may not be the easiest thing to do due to the possibility that the previous breast implant pocket size may be too big and thus the Natrelle 410 shaped breast implants may rotate.  For more information, consider seeing Dr. Tammy Wu for a Breast Augmentation Consultation.

Additional Notes regarding the Natrelle Style 410 Breast Implants

From listening to Dr. Tammy Wu’s discussion today:

The 410 Natrelle implants, which are textured, shaped, highly cohesive silicone gel implants, made by Allergan, were recently approved by the FDA for use in breast augmentation as well as in breast reconstruction.

Many people may wonder, wow, is this finally the right one for me? I want the latest and greatest and the best (and happens also to be the most expensive – costs about twice as much as the regular cohesive gel round silicone gel implants)!  The 410 Natrelle Breast implant isn’t for everyone – in fact it isn’t for many of the cosmetic breast patients.  It is more popular it seems in the reconstructive breast cancer surgery patients.

After reviewing some literature on the 410 Natrelle implants, it appears that the implants were designed and manufactured with some specific indications in mind.

The 410 Natrelle implant is textured to prevent rotation.

The round silicone gel implants, which were approved in November of 2006, have been very popular since its approval for usage in breast augmentation.

Above bullet list helps to decide who is possibly NOT appropriate for the Natrelle 410 shaped Gel Breast Implant.

How does this Educational on Breast Implants (Natrelle 410) Help me?

  • It helps me work better in our Surgical Artistry Modesto Plastic Surgery Office.  The more I know, the more I understand what goes on around me.  I also get questions during some of my Botox, Fillers, Veins, or Acupuncture sessions.
  • To be clear, I (Dr. Calvin Lee) do not do breast augmentation surgeries – they are done by Board Certified Plastic Surgeon, Dr. Tammy Wu.

2013 samm mile marker - 22 full - surgical artistry2 - Cropped2