Cosmetic Clinics

Below is an article, originally posted at the Telegraph Online that outlines a new trend in Botox injections for your feet. We thought we’d comment a little on the story ourselves. There are several ways of looking at this treatment, and at Botox in general.

Botox is used to great effect for cosmetic and aesthetic purposes, such as the removal of wrinkles on the forehead, around the eyes and neck areas. It has been used (and abused) by celebrities for decades, and when done correctly is a great way of achieving a more youthful appearance.

Botox isn’t just used for visual reasons though, and has medical applications such as the treatment of migraines and the treatment of excess sweating. The treatment mentioned below falls somewhere in between.

The article seems to point out that it is only useful for party goers who don’t want sore or tired feet, and it can be used for this, there is no doubt about it. However the same relief it can give to feet in heels can also work for feet that get sore and tired in general, so the medical applications are there as well.

The best thing to do is always talk with a professional before attempting any kind of treatment, especially Botox, and they can help you decide if it is something you really need or not. However getting Botox injections just for some heels may possibly be a little bit of an overkill, but only the ladies will really understand if it truly is or not.

Below is the full article: Source - Telegraph Online Female City executives are turning to Botox injections in the soles of their feet to help them cope with the exhausting drinks party season over the next few weeks.

According to the Harley Medical Group, one of Britain's largest cosmetic surgery chains, women in London are injecting Botox into their feet to alleviate the pain associated with wearing high heels.

Instead of buying a gel-filled pad to put inside their shoes, they are preferring to use collagen to plump out the balls of their feet. The Harley Medical Group calls the new technique "foot fillers".
The company said that it was common in the run up to Christmas to see a rush of bookings for Botox. However, facial injections used to be the only area clients requested, until last year when one or two asked to have their painful feet sorted out.

Dr Nick Milojevic, the main doctor to supply the injections, said: ‘This year we have received increased enquiries for foot fillers. We do say to patients that the results are not long lasting because of the high impact on this area of the body so that they should think twice before spending the money. Facial dermal fillers last for three months and Botox lasts up to six months, but on the foot area fillers will often only provide cushioning for around two to three months.’

Summer’s over (I’m not sure how many people in Britain can remember what summer is!), autumn is coming – what is there to look forward to? Well at Mulberry House Clinic we have some news to brighten you up, especially if you’ve been wanting to have dermal filler treatment but are afraid it will be painful.

If you think the idea of having dermal filler treatment, even in the lip, without any anaesthetic is unimaginable then we have found the treatment for you!

A dermal filler is now available that contains local anaesthetic, and the effects on comfort are dramatic.

I was asked to used Juvederm Ultra about a year ago before it was launched to give my own and clients’ feedback to the company. Initial impressions were good, but at that stage I wanted to be sure that there were going to be no unexpected side-effects or problems, and that the longevity of treatment would be good. It has now had time to prove itself and I am recommending it more and more to my clients. Juvederm Ultra has recently been given FDA-approval in America for duration of effect of up to 12 months.

Compared to other dermal fillers the experience is much more comfortable and initial swelling and redness is considerably less – the effects are also even smoother, and feel natural almost straightaway.

We now have a good number of clients who have had Juvederm Ultra, and they’ve been delighted with the results and amazed by how comfortable it is.

We know that there are people who have been reluctant to have dermal filler treatment, especially around the mouth, because it can be painful, but we can now reassure you that this really doesn’t need to be a concern any more - if you are sceptical or particularly sensitive there is still no problem with having anaesthetic cream on first for optimum comfort.

Dr John Tanqueray - Mulberry House Clinic

For more information on Juvederm Ultra and other dermal fillers visit www.cosmeticclinics.com and find your nearest cosmetic specialists.

With traditional Follicular Unit Extraction (FUE) grafting, the hairs are pulled out (like a banana being pulled out of its skin from one end) and the grafts may be stripped of their outer root sheath (ORS). If that happens, the hairs may lose the dermal papillae and possibly the bulb as well. The good news is that the growth elements of the mature terminal hair shaft are multifocal (have more than one site controlling the growth) so hair bulbs and dermal papillae cells that may be damaged may still produce full terminal hair, albeit less thick.

The two strongest growth areas of the mature terminal hair include (a) the dermal papillae and (b) the area near the insertion of the tiny muscle attached to the hair in the vicinity of the sebaceous gland. Any damage to the growing hair will produce a weaker and thinner hair. The research to show the damage to a follicular unit stripped of its dermal papillae and its ORS has not been well documented, but the conclusions drawn here are logically based upon the science of hair growth as we know it.

In a landmark study on hair transplant surgery, Dr. Kim, a noted Korean researcher, demonstrated that attempts to cut one hair into two parts to grow more than one hair from parts of a single hair, failed to grow more than one hair. When the (a) transected lower half of the hair was placed in a patient, it often grew a finer, weaker hair and (b) transected upper half of hair was placed in a patient, no hair grew.

Potential issues of using FUE for hair restoration.

• Loss of hairs inside the grafts from amputation/transection of the hairs; i.e. some of the amputated hairs die.

• Stripping of the critical growth centres of the hairs within the graft during the extraction process.

• Loss of the hair bulb or dermal papillae (the dermal papillae, which is located at the very bottom of the hair bulb, is responsible for hair re-growth after hair cycling from the telogen phase into the anagen phase).

• Buried grafts (grafts that are pushed below the skin becoming foreign bodies with potential cyst formation or even abscesses producing possible infections) thus wasting valuable hair resources.

• Necrosis (gangrene) of the donor area in large FUE sessions has been recently reported at the September 2008 ISHRS meeting in Montreal. It is not clear why this has occurred, since so little information on this potential complication has been presented.

For more information on FUE and hair transplant surgery visit www.cosmeticclinics.co.uk to find your nearest hair restoration specialist.

by Dr S R Bassi

The best follicular unit extractions (FUE) come when the entire follicular unit, the bulb with the dermal papillae and the capsule are removed intact and there is no amputation/transection of hairs within the graft.

In theory, the more the follicular unit is stripped of its surrounding tissue, the lower the growth potential. If the outer root sheath (ORS) is not violated and some fat remains below the bulb, one can assume that the follicular unit was removed without damage. If the lower ends of the hairs of the excised follicular unit contain a glistening covering and the bulb is intact, then it can be assumed that the follicular unit came out wholly intact. If the outer root sheath is violated and stripped from its covering, one should expect some negative impact on the growth. This could result in a thinner, less robust hair from one or more of the hair follicles within the extracted follicular unit. In summary, the best preserved follicular unit is one where the ORS is intact, the hairs are covered with a glistening covering, there is fat at the bottom of the bulb where the dermal papilla is located, and there is no amputation/transection of the hairs within the graft.

The follicular unit is surrounded by a capsule that isolates the hairs from the surrounding dermis and fat. This capsule is called the outer root sheath (ORS) and extends to the surface of the skin to produce the pore the hair exists from. When we extract a follicular unit from the scalp using the strip harvesting method, for example, this outer root sheath is included in the graft. All of the vital structures of the follicular unit lie encased in this ORS.

At the bottom of the bulb of the hair, lies a structure called the dermal papillae (DP). The hair bulb looks like a catcher's mitt from the bottom, and the DP is the ball inside the mitt. The DP contains the master switch that controls the hair growth genetically. Cells inside the DP express the genetics that initiates the hair growth process and is integrally involved in the various stages of the hair cycle. In the photo below (at right), we see two hairs, one fully developed (terminal) hair and one small hair that is growing out of its telogen (resting) phase into its anagen (growth) phase, evolving into a mature terminal hair.

Note that the telogen hair produces a finer hair while the hair is growing. This hair will get thicker as the hair matures into its 'terminal' status. The bulb at the bottom of the telogen hair stands out prominently as it does in the mature terminal hair but the DP cannot be seen without special stains or equipment.

More information on FUE will follow in further articles, alternately visit www.cosmeticclinics.co.uk to find your nearest hair restoration specialist.

by Dr S R Bassi

There are several advantages of FUE (Follicular Unit Extraction). With moderately sized procedures, it leaves virtually imperceptible punctuate scars in the donor area once healed. During the post operative period, there are only a few limitations placed upon the patient for the first week or so. Patients rarely report any donor area pain from the excision area. The donor area can be washed as vigorously as necessary to obtain a clean wound. Hair grows out from the donor area fairly quickly so by one week after an FUE procedure most donor wounds will be covered by a short beard-like growth of the hair making the donor excisions nearly undetectable.

The FUE hair transplant surgery technique is difficult and tedious to perform on the part of the physician and staff. FUE is not for everyone and it takes a skilled, trained doctor to differentiate who is a candidate for this hair transplant procedure and who is not. Over the years, more and more doctors began offering the procedure, but few have shown real expertise in this field. At the onset, patient successes were few and many were highly suspect. Widespread failures of FUE were not uncommon. As difficult as it was for the doctor to master the FUE surgery, it was equally difficult for the patient to comprehend what FUE procedures could and could not accomplish.

FUE is a minimally invasive, precise, technically demanding hair transplant surgery procedure that is influenced by the technical skills of the doctors, and is hindered by the absence of uniform surgical tools. Transection rates should be tracked and you should ask to see that documentation at the end of your procedure. Finally, to be sure you procedure will go as planned; the doctor's technique must be replicable from one patient to another.

More information on FUE will follow in further articles, alternately visit www.cosmeticclinics.co.uk to find your nearest hair restoration specialist.

by Dr S R Bassi

In late July, there was something of a Vaser Lipo master class held at Selston Cosmetic Clinic in Nottinghamshire.

Hosted by Selston's resident cosmetic doctor, Dr Sashi Bassi, the master class was attended by several other members of the Cosmetic Clinics Group, all experts in Vaser Lipo techniques and national trainers for Vaser Lipo in the UK.

Along with Dr Bassi the attendees included Dr Kam Singh of Beau Aesthetica Spa & Clinic (Leicester), Dr Joshua Berkowitz of The Wimpole Aesthetics Centre (London) and Dr Bhavesh Bodalia of The Gables Medicentre (Coventry). Each doctor has many years of experience in cosmetic and aesthetic procedures and treatments and were the first to use Vaser as a new method of liposuction.

Having such a gathering of expertise was quite a boon and this combined knowledge was to be utilised on 3 different patients’ inner thigh and knee areas. Obviously each patient was unique and the doctors debated their preferred approaches and techniques to the areas undergoing the Vaser Lipo procedure. It is interesting to see the little differences each doctor has to the same fundamental procedure, and the combination of these led to achieve very satisfying and impressive results for each of the patients involved.

Of course the patients were not the only beneficiaries to the mater class, as each doctor gleaned a few differing styles, techniques and insights into each others years of training and expertise, which in turn added to their own repertoire and skill set.

Vaser Lipo, one of the most advanced and beneficial forms of liposuction, is available from several of the clinics in the Cosmetic Clinics Group. For a full list, visit www.cosmeticclinics.co.uk and use the handed treatment & clinic locator to find your nearest clinic offering Vaser Lipo.