Botulism Toxin Type A

Dysport and Botox

These injections work by weakening the muscles of facial expression in the forehead, between the eyebrows, the crow’s feet, and the neck. Once the muscle is paralyzed, the skin flattens and the wrinkles smooth out naturally. These two products can take between two and seven days to be effective, and the wrinkles will lessen over a period of six to twelve weeks. Injections are temporary, lasting three to six months. You will notice a return of your wrinkles as the product wears off, although, they should not be as deep. At that time, you can come in for another treatment. Treatments must be a minimum of three months apart. Repeated injections at close intervals, regardless of the amount injected, can lead to a resistance to both products.

Sometimes, due to the severity of some wrinkles, Dysport and Botox injections will not eradicate them entirely. During the consultation, the areas that are amenable to improvement with these products will be pointed out to you. The costs of treatment vary depending on the number of areas treated, and the amount of product injected.

Dr. Joseph has done 4 years of FDA Clinical Trials on Dysport. He is also a Diamond Level member for Botox due to the number of patients he has treated.

Please call the office for more details.

Dermal Fillers

The current benchmark filler for facial lines has been Restylane. This product is a Hyaluronic acid (HA), one of the basic components that comprise the cement of our body. This is what holds our cells together. Recently a new HA called Juvederm has been FDA approved and is a clear competitor to Restylane. Both products are safe and provide correction of lines for 6 months or more. Analogous to the Pepsi-Coke challenge, you may want to try both to determine which works best for you. Like Sculptra, these products can also be used to fill the areas that have lost volume in addition to filling deep lines. HA products are “Bio-passive”. They do not stimulate your skin to fill the volume loss but instead fill the loss when injected and then are slowly degraded with time.

Sculptra

Our office has performed more than 1000 treatments over the last 3 years using Sculptra. We have not been so impressed with a product like this since Botox. Sculptra treats the loss of volume or “skeletonization” of the face and hands, which occurs due to normal aging. Sculptra does this by stimulating the body to produce collagen and skin cells. This is the first FDA approved “Bio-active” biodegradable filler on the market. Other products can address these issues, such as fat and dermal fillers, but not with the reliability, dependability, safety and duration of Sculptra, which can last for 3-5 years. Dr Joseph is a National Trainer and Advisor for Sanofi Adventis, the company that makes Sculptra and has trained over 100 physicians using my techniques with this product. Visit Sculptra.com and access the United Kingdom website to see the amazing aesthetic results.

Carbon Dioxide Laser Skin Resurfacing

We are pleased to offer a new technological advancement in skin rejuvenation called Fractionated Carbon Dioxide Laser Skin Resurfacing (FLSR). It represents the next advancement in the treatment of skin since Intense Pulsed Light (IPL) or “Fotofacial”. Not only will FLSR improve pigment problems in the skin, such as IPL, but also significantly improve the pigment problems in the skin including fine lines. FLRS produces thousands of tiny localized treatment areas called Micro thermal Zones. These zones cover only a “Fraction” of the total surface area of the skin that is being treated. Unlike traditional Carbon Dioxide Laser Skin Resurfacing, which treats 100% of the skin surface, only 20-30% of the total skin surface is actually “Resurfaced”. This allows for a much faster recovery and eliminates the need for anesthesia in order to undergo the procedure. Prior technologies, including Thermage and Fraxel, tried to obtain dramatic results with little or no down time and fell short of the claims the companies that manufactured them made. The advantages of FLSR include fast recovery, use of only topical anesthesia and the ability to treat almost every part of the body including neck, chest, and hands. The disadvantages are the need for 5-7 days of mild down time when compared to the guaranteed 10-14 days associated with traditional Carbon Dioxide Skin Resurfacing. There is also a mild pinkness of the skin for up to 14 days more, which looks like a sunburn and can be covered with make-up. In exchange for this temporary redness, one will obtain a noticeable and significant improvement in the skin. Although not providing as dramatic an improvement as deep peels and full Carbon Dioxide Lasers, this treatment represent middle ground between IPL and other aggressive procedures. The adage of “No Pain No Gain” still holds true but now the pain can be chosen for the amount of gain obtained by choosing between IPL, FLSR and traditional Carbon Dioxide Skin Resurfacing technologies. We would also expect some skin tightening with this procedure but as of yet we are unable to provide more exact information regarding this potential outcome.

Intense Pulse Light

IPL or “Photo Facial” continues to be one of the best technological breakthroughs in the last 8 years. This device uses specific frequencies of light which, when flashed on the surface of the skin, are absorbed by the brown and red pigmented irregularities, enabling the body to remove them without burning the surface of the skin. Therefore, there is usually no down time, such as there are from chemical peels and laser skin resurfacing. These procedures also treat these problems but do so much more aggressively. Unlike these aggressive treatments, IPL can be used on any part of the body like chest, hands, and limbs. Improvements can be seen in as little as 1-2 treatments. Most patients will need 3-5 sessions spaced three weeks apart.

Non-Ablative Skin Tightening

Currently there are “no down time” treatments for skin tightening which offer improvement when compared to previous systems like Thermage. The infrared light heats the skin inducing collagen production and cell division. Because of this, there is an immediate and potential long-term improvement. The results are not as potent as surgery or Fractionated C02 Laser or Traditional Laser Skin resurfacing, but are applicable for those with early aging or those who do not want to go under the “knife” at present. We recommend 4 - 5 treatments, one occurring every 2 - 3 weeks.

Laser Hair Removal

Laser treatments provide a fairly quick and easy way to remove unwanted hair anywhere on the face and body. This revolutionary treatment utilizes lasers or light which emit energy that passes through the skin to the hair follicle, where it is then absorbed and transformed into heat. This results in a permanent disabling of the hair follicles.

Surgery

To date nothing replaces surgery for long-term improvement. Many advertisements for procedures such as Thermage, thread lifts, string lifts and Minilifts have not stood the test of time. Non-surgeons usually offer them in order to entice patients into trying these low-risk, minimally invasive procedures to avoid definitive correction of the aging face. Although possibly applicable for a very small group of people, these technologies and procedures fall short of providing lasting improvement. When appropriate, all patients should try the least invasive treatments first. However, do not hesitate to undergo the correct surgery, as it will always provide the best results if done well. This is why a detailed consultation is necessary in order to determine what is best for you.

Fractionated Laser Skin resurfacing

We are pleased to offer a new technological advancement in skin rejuvenation called Fractionated Carbon Dioxide Laser Skin Resurfacing (FLSR). It represents the next advancement in the treatment of skin since Intense Pulsed Light (IPL) or “Fotofacial”. Not only will FLSR improve pigment problems in the skin, such as IPL, but also significantly improve other problems in the skin including fine lines. FLRS produces thousands of tiny localized treatment area called Micro thermal Zones. These zones cover only a “Fraction” of the total surface area of the skin that is being treated. Unlike traditional Carbon Dioxide Laser Skin Resurfacing, which treats 100% of the skin surface, only 20-30% of the total skin surface is actually “Resurfaced” This allows for a much faster recovery and eliminates the need for anesthesia in order to undergo the procedure. Prior technologies, including Thermage and Fraxel, tried to obtain dramatic results with little or no down time and fell short of the claims the companies that manufactured them made.

The advantages of FLSR include fast recovery, use of only topical anesthesia and the ability to treat almost every part of the body including neck, chest and hands. The disadvantages are the need for 5-7 days of mild down time when compared the guaranteed 10 -14 days associated with traditional Carbon Dioxide Skin Resurfacing. There is also a mild pinkness of the skin for up to 14 days more, which looks like a sunburn and can be covered with make-up. In exchange for this temporary redness, one will obtain a noticeable and significant improvement in the skin. Although not providing as dramatic an improvement as deep peels and full Carbon Dioxide Lasers, this treatment represent middle ground between IPL, and other aggressive procedures. The adage of “No Pain No Gain” still holds true but now the pain can be chosen for the amount of gain obtained by choosing between IPL, FLSR and traditional Carbon Dioxide Skin Resurfacing technologies. We have also seen some skin tightening with this procedure but as of yet we are unable to provide more exact information regarding this potential outcome.