This blog will introduce you to the new age reversing Juvéderm Voluma™ XC the first FDA approved filler to restore youthfulness to your cheek area.  Watch for it at DAVinci in coming months.  I’m confident You will fall in love with it! 

It is the first filler developed specifically for the cheek area.  Other fillers have been used for years to rejuvenate this mid face area and restore volume and contour, but Juvederm Voluma XC is the first hyaluronic acid filler approved by the FDA to specifically address this area.

Normal age related changes cause loss of volume in the mid face. This volume loss causes the cheeks to flatten out and the skin to droop and sag.  Juverdern Voluma XC is the thickest hyaluronic acid available.  The gel flows smoothly, easily and more consistently.  It is formulated with a small amount of lidocaine to numb the injection site and ensure absolute comfort during injection with immediate results.

Hyaluronic Acid works by attracting water to itself.  This water then binds to the molecules of the filler thus creating volume that plumps up lines, wrinkles and hollows of the face.  When injected into the cheek area it gently lifts the skin, eliminating the hollow cheeks and removing years of aging from the face.

Immediate Results    During clinical trials, patients saw instant correction of age related volume loss in the cheek area.  The results were a more overall youthful appearance.

DAVinci…offers the best, most advanced anti aging treatments available today.  Juvederm Voluma XC is a preview of things to come at DAVinci, in the near future, as we continue to offer our patients the best, safest and most effective treatment options available.

EXPERT INJECTORs!  An expert injector has special training/certification in all dermal fillers, their uses and the  most effective injection methods.  Dentists, Spa personnel, walk in clinic medical doctors and many others who offer the latest, greatest injectable treatments… are not all qualified to perform these anti aging injections to the complex facial anatomy.  An expert injector is a Board certified plastic/reconstructive surgeon specialized in all facial procedures and who also train their medical staff to perform delicate injectable procedures. As Expert Injectors, they have additional specialized training and are certified as “Expert Injectors.” Nora and I are specially trained and certified Expert Injectors.  Know before you go!

THANKSGIVING  and GRATITUDE

Thanksgiving is this month and is recognized as the “time for giving thanks. The benefits of gratitude cannot be overstated.  Harvard researchers announced in 2011 that “giving thanks can make you happier.” I’m confident we all know that but reminders are good. Gratitude was often the forgotten factor in happiness research but is now a topic of serious focus.  Here are a few ways expressing gratitude affects us:

• Expressing gratitude can lift the spirits
• Gratitude is a thankful appreciation for what an individual receives- tangible or intangible
• Showing gratitude means acknowledging the goodness in our lives
• Helps us realize that the source of goodness lies outside ourselves (at least partially)
• Helps us feel more positive emotions, relish good experiences, see improved health, deal better with adversity, build strong relationships

More on Gratitude next blog!   In the meantime, let’s all make a conscious effort to be grateful and to show it.

MINI PROCEDURES to LOOK & FEEL YOUR ABSOLUTE HOLIDAY BEST!  Check out my recent blogs and my website: www.davinciplastic.com.

Best to You and Yours,    Steven Davison M.D.

KELOIDS are a type of scar that results from an overgrowth of collagen type tissue at the site of a healed skin injury.  Keloids can be firm, rubbery lesions or shiny, fibrous nodules that vary in color….some are pink, others flesh colored or they may be red to dark brown in color.  Keloids are benign (not cancerous), are not contagious but often cause severe itching and changes in skin texture.  Severe keloids can affect movement of the skin.

Keloids are often confused with “hypertropic scars.”  They are not the same. Hypertropic scars are raised and they do NOT grow beyond the boundaries of the original wound.

Since I have specialized training and years of experience in surgery and reconstructive surgeries, I have dealt with so many patients in need of Keloid removal and scar revision…I couldn’t begin to number them.  Just know, that dealing with Keloids is serious business and you should see a surgeon with expertise in this area…in order to get desirable results.

KELOIDS…WHERE THEY OCCUR ON THE BODY...Keloids can develop anyplace where an abrasion (injury) has occurred.  They can even result from pimples, insect bites, scratching ones self, from burns or other skin trauma.  They can develop post surgery.  They most commonly occur:

• On the central chest
• The back & shoulders
• On Ear lobes
• On arms & over the collar bone after body piercings
• From shaving…razor bumps may become keloids
• Bottom of feet
• Can occur at any age…but generally don’t until past age 11
• Keloids…may be linked to hereditary tendencies

COMMON TREATMENTS FOR KELOID REMOVAL

1)  Corticosteroid injected directly into the tissue – typically 3-4 treatments spaced about 1 month apart – will reduce a raised Keloid to a flat scar and reduce redness, itching and burning.

2)  Surgical Removal is used for larger, more extensive formations.  Technique involved may employ a scalpel, electric knife or laser removal.

3) Post-Surgical Complimentary Treatments are often used to minimize Keloid recurrence after surgical removal.  These treatments include:   -silicone sheet dressings applied directly to the skin around the incision; -compression therapy the mechanically flatten the scar formation, – topical imiquimod or advanced injectables such as bleomycin,  -interferon or 5-fluorouracil.  These drugs work at the cellular level to disable the Keloid tissue formation process.

4)  Laser Excision followed by monthly intralesional steroid injections alone or in conjunction with imiquimod.

These are my treatment preferences…even though others may exist.  I stay with the tried and true…those options proven to get desirable results.

OK….last two blogs have covered skin problems….lipomas and keloids.

Next blog I’ll move back into FEMGen options….today they are no longer “taboo.”  Women are lining up to have life changing treatments that restore their confidence, youthfulness, that rev up their love lives…and restore health and well being in many cases.  Don’t suffer any longer in silence.   Women everywhere are stepping up and speaking out….the embarrassment is gone, Designer Vaginas are in and complete health and vitality for the “V Zone” is here to stay! 

More on that next blog!

Stay Well.

Steven Davison M.D.

“DAVinci….where I combine the supreme elements of art and surgical science.”

Injectable fillers used to be just…wrinkle fillers.  Today’s Liquid Miracles…the injectable treatments I am able to use for my patients not only immediately erase lines and grooves  but also “lift” and “contour” aging facial features and flaws for men and women.

Temples, brows, upper eyelids, undereye areas, cheeks, mouth corners and jowls are all easily treated and magically lifted.

How Do They Work?  

Injectable fillers like Radiesse work immediately by replacing volume and stimulating your own collagen renewal while attracting water to the treated area. Juvederm is used in areas requiring less structural improvement…such as under the eyes and for marionette lines. Botox is used to inhibit muscle action allowing forehead furrows to relax and smooth out and also prevents future lines and wrinkles.

Old Injectables V New Injectables

When first introduced, injectables were primarily used to fill in wrinkles.  With product advancement and refined techniques, they are used more widely with effective natural outcomes.

Aging Face…it shows

As we age, the different facial compartments “shift” and fat pads migrate downward (e.g. the cheeks) often being reabsorbed into the tissues. Constant volume loss from lifestyle, aging, illness etc, causes facial contours to change and become visible as lines, wrinkles, grooves, sagging mouth and more.

Reconstructing the face with fillers allows for the architecture (framework) of the face to be lifted, restoring the natural…youthful contours of the face.

Using today’s fillers and getting the desired natural looking and long lasting results requires specialized training, experience and skill.  I am a trained/qualified/experienced “expert injector.”

Summer Events…weddings, family reunions, family trips, class reunion, job interviews… etc… often call for Quick Fixes  Don’t despair…you have safe, effective, quick options without downtime and with results that will amaze you and dazzle the special people in your life!  See http://www.DAVinciplastic.com for more info.

Age Defying Facial Rejuvenation…How we do it:

• Shape the cheeks…seamlessly shaping this area with Hyaluronic acid and long lasting fillers restores youthful contour & a refreshed, natural look 
• Lift the Mouth…get rid of that downturned smile and look young again
• Smooth out the jawline…to lift it before it goes too far south to redefine this part of the face
• Open up the eyes…revolumize this area to restore that fresh, full look
• Elevate the brows…restore volume to this sagging, sunken area
• Define the eyes…restructure the undereye area to compensate for bone loss, fat and thinning skin

About today’s “Injectors”…

It’s true that you can walk into many spas and get Botox for example…but are you willing to risk possible bad results by having an unqualified person work on your face?  Know this:  there are over 1 million doctors allowed to perform injectables and filler treatments…in the US alone.  ONLY 3% of these are qualified to do so.  Choose wisely!

Summer fun in the sun can wreak havoc with your skin and face…we have options to correct it.  In the meantime…remember the hats, sunglasses, Obagi sunscreen, lots of cool water and shade.

Enjoy your family times…make lots of wonderful memories.

Steven Davison M.D.

DAVinci…have a patient centric experience in an environment where we combine the supreme elements of art & surgical science.