Cosmetic Solutions

The office of every cosmetic surgeon, medical esthetician, or dermatologist is lined with before-and-after patient photos. The physical transformations they document make a persuasive case for the restorative powers of cosmetic work, but they don’t speak to one of its greatest results: renewed confidence. When quality of life is affected, cosmetic solutions like these make patients feel like themselves again.

PROBLEM: Excess Skin After a Major Weight Loss
SOLUTION: “We’re seeing a lot of this problem due to the increase in bariatric surgery in recent years,” says Dr. Douglas Gervais of Minneapolis Plastic Surgery. A number of cosmetic procedures address excess skin by targeting specific problem areas. Brachioplasty, for example, tightens sagging skin under the bicep. A belt lift is a full circumferential lifting and tightening of loose skin around the midsection. And thigh lifts eliminate sagging skin folds on the leg. Because extreme weight loss affects the entire body, many patients opt to have several of these procedures done at one time.

PROBLEM: Back Pain
SOLUTION: Large breasts can cause a variety of problems for their owners: neck and back pain, deep shoulder grooves from bra straps, even headaches. A breast reduction can ease many of these symptoms and also leave patients with firmer, higher breasts. “These are some of my happiest patients,” says Dr. Robert Wilke of Edina Plastic Surgery. “They not only like their appearance better but they have less discomfort.”

PROBLEM: Unwanted Veins
SOLUTION: Leave this problem to the lasers. Take care of everything from small facial veins to large blue reticular leg veins with two to four appointments of laser therapy that deliver pulses of light energy directly to the offending vessels. Patients have no down time, no need for compression socks, and minimal redness and swelling following treatments.

PROBLEM: Acne and Acne Scars
SOLUTION: Acne is an issue often associated—but not relegated—to teenagers. Solutions include topical retinoids and oral medications but also laser treatments and chemical peels based on the type of acne (i.e. a prevalence of whiteheads, acne rosacea). Natalie Ansari, a certified laser technician and medical esthetician with St. Paul Skin and Laser Clinic, recommends a series of Omnilux light therapy treatments in which a blue light destroys bacteria while a red light helps with inflammation and decreases oil production. She pairs it with chemical peels to exfoliate and eliminate scarring.

PROBLEM: Sun-Damaged Skin
SOLUTION: Sun-damaged skin, especially when viewed in an ultraviolet photograph (see “The Truth About Your Skin”), can look irreversible but sun spots and a damaged dermis are relatively easily fixed. “A peel program oftentimes in combination with AFT and lasers can reverse the signs of sun damage and pre-malignant cells in the skin,” says Dr. Charles Crutchfield of Crutchfield Dermatology in Eagan. AFT (advanced fluorescent technology) targets pigmented cells to reduce sun spots and blood vessels to reduce redness. Lasers and peels, on the other hand, remove the upper layer of sun-damaged skin to reveal the healthier, undamaged layer beneath.

PROBLEM: Eczema
SOLUTION: “Eczema is a terrible condition: Your skin flakes and peels and you’re scratching all the time—it’s just a terrible quality of life, especially for children,” says Crutchfield, who considers his work treating the condition one of the most rewarding of his job. “You can very quickly make a tremendous difference.” Phototherapy makes that difference by using a narrow band ultraviolet B light to reduce inflammation in the skin. When used in conjunction with a skincare program that’s tailored to a patient’s specific symptoms, Crutchfield describes the results as nothing short of “remarkable.”

PROBLEM: Rosacea
SOLUTION: This chronic skin condition causes a persistent redness of the face, swollen blood vessels, and pimples across the nose and cheeks. Crutchfield’s answer is again AFT, a treatment that’s absorbed into the skin to quickly turn around ruddy complexions. Patients walk out with reduced redness and calmer skin after just one treatment.

This article has been adapted from the original, which was published in the April 2009 issue of Mpls.St.Paul Magazine.