2009 Chicago Tribune Article

I have been working hard for the last 4 years at my Institute developing my own skin care line called CellCeuticals Biomedical Skin Treatments®, which are the culmination of 15 years of scientific research! It is a very simple two-step system including Extreme Defense® day treatments containing powerful antioxidants, vitamins, and innovative ingredients to enhance the skin's protective barrier. At night, we have an amazing product called CellGenesis® which has patent-pending designer lipopeptide growth factors, powerful retinols, and antioxidants. If you are looking for fewer wrinkles and tighter, smoother skin that creates a more youthful and invigorating appearance, there is not a more high-performance line than this! We have done several independent, clinically controlled studies at a respected outside laboratory, and the results are incredible. You can throw away the rest of your products, and this is great for sensitive skin!

Yes, I highly recommend facial fillers for restoring volume. Perlane and Restylane are wonderful to replace lost volume due to aging or weight loss. Juvederm is also a great, natural filler that I prefer to use on the lips as there is less swelling, it looks more natural and is softer and smoother immediately after injection. Juvederm will soon be available with the anesthetic component Lidocaine included which offers diminished discomfort. Otherwise, small anesthetic nerve blocks can be performed to make these injections painless.

Restylane, Perlane, Juvederm Ultra, and Ultra Plus are all very safe products and are FDA-approved for certain areas of the face. They contain Hyaluronic acid, which is totally compatible as a superficial tissue agent and can be used even if patients have other allergies. Patients should be skin tested before using products such as Sculptra and Evolence (pig collagen).

Of course with all injections, there is a risk of bruising and swelling. By far, the most important factor in obtaining a natural and great outcome is the skill, judgment, and artistic eye of the injector.

This is so difficult because you obviously want someone who has had the requisite training and is certified by their specialty board; however, that is definitely not enough! Not all well-trained surgeons or physicians are the same! Regarding cosmetic and restorative surgery, it is imperative that you find someone who is artistically skilled and has excellent judgment. These are incredibly difficult for prospective patients to assess. Look at their before and after pictures and their body of work, look at their experience, and hopefully talk with other patients who have experienced satisfaction with them. You certainly want to get several opinions and find a doctor with whom you feel a rapport and a connection, and trust your medical issues in their hands! I created a series of boldly frank videotapes on each of the major plastic surgery procedures, including risks and how to find a good doctor in your area. They are called “The Naked Truth about Plastic Surgery®” and can be viewed for free on my website.

Yes, I think there has been a slowdown in everything except foreclosures and bailouts (LOL)! However, it seems to be actually picking up again! After ABCs Extreme Makeover, the number of plastic and cosmetic surgery procedures increased 30% with a steady increase since that time. Awareness for our profession has been expanded and thankfully, the plastic surgery IQ of our patients has risen. I am always striving for ways to educate consumers about what we do as plastic surgeons and keep safety the number one priority!

I am not sure how other plastic surgeons charge their patients but for me, there is not a difference!

In my office, patients can get back to a desk job in 2-5 days, depending on the extent of liposuction performed. The more fat removed, the longer the recovery in general. Newer technologies such as SLIM LIPO allow liposuction to be performed with less blood loss, less bruising, and certainly faster recovery!

The best candidate is someone who has isolated deposits of fat that do not respond to diet and exercise. I truly believe that the first option for a patient should be a genuine attempt at dieting and exercising. Performing liposuction on someone who is over 10% heavier than their ideal body weight requires greater control over their weight, exercise, and eating and lifestyle habits to have a sustained outcome.

We perform a high volume of laser procedures at our Biomedical Skin Treatment Institute in Beverly Hills. While facelifts, brow lifts, and eyelid surgeries can remove and redistribute skin and tissue, those procedures cannot change the quality of the remaining skin! This is accomplished with newer laser technologies and the CellCeuticals high-performance skin care treatments. Newer laser technologies have emerged particularly from the Palomar group which provides improved skin rejuvenation with less downtime and risk. The fear of having the red carpet burned face for months is behind us!!

I am personally excited about the unique and patent-pending lipopeptide sequence that we discovered and incorporated into our CellCeuticals skin care line! It was the proverbial needle in the haystack, which is incredibly high-performing and actually programs, on a cellular level, older skin to perform as if it was many years younger! It will be hard to improve! I also am very excited about the SLIM LIPO technology, which is the newest technology for laser liposuction. The technology has a patent on the wavelength which has the highest absorption for fat, which translates for patients into better results and less downtime!

I think costs generally go up with inflation, but this has been a unique year where everyone is trying to find common ground. Deals can definitely be found, but as I mentioned previously, it seems the economy is turning around when viewed from our office experience.