Although patients come to our Los Gatos and Palo Also plastic surgery locations for all kinds of cosmetic surgery treatments to turn back the clock, plastic surgeons do more than make Californians look young and beautiful. They also help those who have been born with a deformity or who were disfigured from an accident or illness.
Take Charla Nash, for instance. You definitely read about or saw this story on the TV news, but probably don't remember her name. In 2009, she was the victim of a vicious chimpanzee attack when she attempted to help her friend get the pet chimp back into the house. The chimpanzee was none too happy and went ballistic on poor Charla. She lost her hands, eyelids, nose, lips, and an abundance of facial skin, all in a matter of a few horrifying minutes. Miraculously, she survived but was terribly disfigured.
After her initial recovery, Charla was still missing most of her face. Unfortunately, anything social or out in the public eye was no longer an option for her, unless she wanted to deal with the stares of people who wondered what had happened to her. Fortunately, many talented plastic surgeons stepped in to give her another chance at a normal life.
She underwent a full facial transplant, thanks to several donors and the talented hands of plastic surgeons. She was given new eyelids, new lips, new skin, and a new nose so she could finally smell again. She also underwent a hand transplant; however, Charla developed pneumonia, which affected the blood flow to her new hands. They had to be removed, though doctors hope to make a second attempt soon.
Despite the problems with Charla's new hands, she has an entirely new face; one that appears like everyone else's. She can walk outside without being self-conscious about what others may think or say. And though plastic surgery cannot entirely erase what happened to her, it did give her a second chance to live a normal life.
It's not something any of us want to think about but, are you a donor? Does it state that you are, on your driver's license? Do your family members know that you're willing to donate your organs if you pass away unexpectedly? Although the families of those who donated skin and other tissues to reconstruct Charla were grief-stricken at the loss of their loved ones, their grief was tempered somewhat by the knowledge that their late family members were able to give this woman her life back.
Say goodbye to that extra back, lip, and bikini line hair, and hello to smooth skin. Unwanted body hair is very common for both men and women. Shaving is an option, but it can cause bumps and dry skin if it's done too often. Plucking and waxing don't have to be done as frequently, but they both can be painful and cause redness. There is another option, one that is provided at my
California plastic surgery practice: laser hair removal. Laser hair removal has been popular since the nineties but it has evolved in recent years to give fantastic results.
This Laser Works on All Skin Shades!
My practice has recently acquired the Apogee Elite Laser made by Cynosure. This is a state-of-the-art laser that provides two different wavelengths, which allows us to treat all skin types. Prior to this, most lasers could only treat patients with light skin tones. This means that more patients than ever with excess hair can have it removed efficiently.
It's important to understand that any hair removal method, including laser hair removal, only eliminates the hair follicles that are actively growing. What you see on the surface of your skin at any given time is about 20% of the hair that could potentially appear on the surface-80% of your hair follicles are beneath your skin after your first laser hair removal treatment. When the next “round” of follicles push hair to the surface and those follicles are treated, more hair will come in until we have eliminated all the follicles. That's why it takes about 3-8 treatments to remove all the hair. The number of required treatments can vary quite a bit depending on your individual hair growth pattern.
Say Goodbye to Laser Discomfort!
Besides the ability to treat all skin shades, another great aspect of our new laser is that it doesn't require us to apply anesthesia cream, whereas almost all other lasers do require some anesthesia for the skin's surface. The Apogee laser incorporates Cynosure's Smart Cool system, which is a double cooling system. The Apogee laser uses an external system as well as your body's natural cooling process. This Smart Cool system relieves any discomfort you might experience during the laser hair removal process. Isn't that great?!
Say Bye-Bye to Your Spider Veins!
Here's another reason we love this new laser: the Apogee Elite laser is great for treating spider veins on the legs and face! Spider veins are usually treated through sclerotherapy, but not everyone is thrilled about the use of needles required in that treatment. The Apogee Elite laser is just as effective as sclerotherapy in treating spider veins. The laser light penetrates deeply into tissue to coagulate these small, surface veins and all without discomfort! After coagulation of the tiny vein, it will simply disappear!
WHY WAIT?
A painless way to remove unwanted body hair and spider veins is within your reach. A quick consultation and you'll be on your way to better and smoother skin. Call us today to schedule your appointment! You could be hair and/or spider-vein free by the holidays!
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Turning back the clock so that our faces don't look old and wrinkly is something everyone would like to do. Unfortunately, it's not possible without some type of intervention, such as
