Aesthetics

Solta Medical will acquire Sound Surgical Technologies for $25.5 million in stock and $5 million in cash, the company announced.

Skin poration is a not a new concept, but rather the application of acupuncture techniques to skincare. In East Asia, rollers coated with sharp needles have been used for a variety of purposes, from pressure point release for muscle pain to the rejuvenation of skin to a method of penetration enhancing topical products.

Like many children, Mona Gohara, M.D., took lifelong cues from her parents. Her father a surgeon and her mother a pathologist, Gohara’s Egyptian parents came to the United States in 1969. Her mother, Amira Gohara, M.D., completed her residency at the Medical College of Ohio, Toledo, and went on to become the first foreign medical graduate, female dean in this country’s history.

Ongoing refinements of the Ultherapy (Ulthera) device and how it’s used are making it a go-to treatment for rejuvenating the face and neck, an expert says.

Revolutionized by the advent of fractional laser technology, laser surgery for scars continues to evolve. However, clinicians continue to be confronted with a wide variety of scar types without a well-established treatment algorithm.

The first hyaluronic acid (HA) dermal filler indicated specifically for the tear troughs provides a safe, long-lasting alternative to previous HA options in this area, says Hassan Galadari, M.D.

Plastic surgeons have identified molecular changes in molecules that regulate gene activity that may serve as critical makers to tissue aging, allowing for less invasive avenues to improve the skin’s appearance, according to a new study.

Allergan has announced plans to acquire SkinMedica’s topical aesthetics skincare business for $350 million.

A supplement for advances in laser and light-based treatments in dermatology: state law, Lumenis SCAAR FX, treating facial vessels, more!

Sound Surgical Technologies has announced its launch of VASERsmooth, a minimally invasive cellulite solution that works with the company’s VASER Lipo System.

RXI Pharmaceuticals has appointed Jeannette Graf, M.D., and Leroy Young, M.D., to its scientific advisory board.

California Gov. Jerry Brown has signed into law a bill designed to curtail the unlicensed practice of medicine, particularly medical spas and similar aesthetic procedure clinics.

In coming years, the trend toward less invasive technologies will continue not only in fat removal and body sculpting treatments, but also in new modalities for delivering a variety of drugs, according to physicians who spoke at MauiDerm 2012: Advances in Cosmetic and Medical Dermatology in February.

An aesthetic device that delivers bipolar radiofrequency (RF) energy via microneedling appears to achieve skin tightening, lifting and volumization that can be measured objectively through the comparison of pre- and post-procedure 3-D images, said Lori Brightman, M.D., at the 2012 annual meeting of the American Society for Laser Medicine and Surgery.

Results of a randomized, sham-controlled clinical trial including objective and subjective efficacy endpoints have established noninvasive high-intensity focused ultrasound (HIFU; LipoSonix/Solta Medical, cleared in September 2011 by the Food and Drug Administration for noninvasive waist circumference reduction) as an effective and well-tolerated option for body contouring.

Preliminary results of a study evaluating biopsy specimens obtained from mature burn scars pre- and postfractional CO2 laser resurfacing show histologic changes that are consistent with the clinical improvement achieved, but further data is needed to understand the mechanisms leading to normal skin regeneration, reported David M. Ozog, M.D., at the 2011 annual meeting of the American Society for Laser Medicine and Surgery.

Injectables do not replace rhinoplasty, but they offer a viable alternative for those interested in nasal reshaping who are unwilling to undergo surgery, say Vince Bertucci, M.D., and Jean-Fran?ois Tremblay, M.D.

A new international professional group has been formed for dermatologic and aesthetic surgeons, Medscape Today reports.

Many noninvasive treatments developed to treat unwanted fat show modest results, but they're unlikely to replace tumescent liposuction.

On Call wondered whether dermatologists who have been performing liposuction for decades have witnessed the phenomenon of fat returning to other parts of the body in their patients. Most of the doctors had more of an issue with the concept of the inevitability of the fat returning than with the location of its redistribution.

The number of men choosing to have cosmetic procedures surpassed 1 million last year, giving a shot in the arm to the field of cosmetic medicine. Alexander S. Gross, M.D., in Cumming, Ga., has treated male cosmetic dermatology patients for 15 years, but he says the number has increased from less than 5 percent to at least 10 percent of his cosmetic practice over the past five years.

Results of a new study suggest that the recovery of sensation after facial transplantation is as good as - and in some cases better than - that achieved by conventional surgery to repair nerve injuries, PRWeb.com reports.

Dr. Surgery recently expanded his surgical horizons and began performing abdominoplasties. His third patient became septic, and she now has permanent lung and kidney damage secondary to the sepsis. The patient has sued Dr. Surgery, contending that he fraudulently misrepresented himself as a plastic surgeon. Does his patient have a claim based on fraud?

Dermatologists can achieve the best cosmetic surgery results - and even exceed patients' expectations - by identifying candidates who will benefit most from procedures Aesthetically and because they have reasonable expectations, says Ranella Hirsch, M.D., a dermatologist in Cambridge, Mass.

Eugene Van Scott, M.D., and Ruey Yu, O.M.D., Ph.D., will be awarded the first Innovators in Cosmetic Dermatology Award during the 2010 meeting of the Cosmetic Surgery Forum here Dec. 2-4.