What New York City Women Want:
Real results
The ultimate desires of the cosmetic or plastic surgery patient has never changed. We all want to look younger, more well-rested; like the same person we are-but better. The pendulum of cosmetic surgery however continues to swing back and forth every few years.
10 years ago, the most critical elements of the youthful face was being wrinkle-free, having full cheekbones, and good skin texture. The relative importance of each component was in that order. Today we find ourselves with the same concerns but in the opposite prioritization. Today’s woman (or man for that matter) in New York City wants flawless skin, strong cheekbones, and wrinkles (although the fewer the better) are less bothersome.
Celebrities like Kim Cattrall and George Clooney has shown us you can rock out wrinkles with style and sex appeal. The desire for improved skin still remains of paramount importance.
New York City women have no time to recover and want results that work. This need has given birth to fractional laser technology. The difference between a fractionated laser and an ablative laser is confusing to the average consumer, but is actually quite simple. A fractionated laser delivers energy to the deep tissues in columns, leaving islands of unharmed skin to allow for a quicker recovery. An ablative laser removes the unwanted tissue in a straight beam, leaving no such island behind.
Fractionated lasers come in many forms and fashions from different companies. The selling point on these lasers is a quicker recovery time- often 3-5 days. With these lasers, the results are not as dramatic than traditional ‘ablative’ lasers. These fractionated lasers usually require 3 or more treatments to see appreciable tangible results.
Ablative lasers are the ‘gold standard’ of results in which others lasers compare themselves to. With these lasers the results are often dramatically impressive. Unfortunately, prolonged redness and discomfort will occur and can persist for months after treatment.
Dr. Scott Blyer, of CAMEO Surgery, has developed a technique to get the results of an ablative laser with the cumulative downtime of 2 or 3 fractionated laser treatments. By a creative process using elements of your own blood applied topically, Dr. Blyer has made this possible. Redness that used to last 2-3 months is essentially gone in 10 days. Pain that was at one time rated as a 9 out of 10, is now described by his patients as 0 out of 10. Patients after this procedure rarely take more than simply a Tylenol.
The questions Dr Blyer poses to his patients are these: “Would you rather 4 treatments with a laser that has lesser results or one treatment and be done?” The answer is usually one. His next question is, “Would you like a treatment with 10 days of downtime or over 16 days?”
Now it is time for artithmetic. If you have 4 treatments with a laser, each with 4 days off, this adds up to 16 days of downtime. This is more than the 10 days of downtime following an “aggressive procedure”. Of course, less days is mores desirable. It makes sense.
Sun-damaged skin is repaired, wrinkles erased, and skin tightened without any surgery. Dr. Blyer’s technique is the one procedure that can make a significant improvement in creating a more youthful appearance without surgery. People often boast they look 15 years younger, as they are left with baby-smooth, shiny skin.
Dr. Blyer has heard what women of New York City and Long Island are demanding and this technique was his genesis. This procedure using an ablative Erbium-Yag laser delivers gorgeous results with little downtime and essentially no pain. The answer to rapid healing and pain alleviation is all natural, in your own blood.
Plastic Surgery and Cosmetic Surgery Are Not the Same Thing
Cosmetic surgery and plastic surgery are different specialties requiring different education, training, and experience. Cosmetic surgery involves procedures designed to enhance appearance.Such procedures include breast implants; chemical peels; chin, cheek augmentation, and nose enhancements; face lifts; hair transplants; liposuction, and tummy-tucks.Cosmetic surgery was developed, and is practiced, by dermatologists, facial plastic surgeons, general surgeons, gynecologists, oral and maxillofacial surgeons, ophthalmologists, otolaryngologists, plastic surgeons, and doctors from other fields. Unlike cosmetic surgery, plastic surgery is dedicated to reconstruction of facial and body defects due to birth disorders, trauma, burns, and disease.
The American Medical Association recognizes the reality that ‘cosmetic surgery’ is a separate and distinct specialty. The American Academy of Cosmetic Surgery has been dedicated to patient safety in cosmetic surgery for approximately 3 decades and the American Board of Cosmetic Surgery is the only board exam dedicated to cosmetic surgery exclusively.
There are currently no residency programs in the U.S. devoted exclusively to cosmetic surgery.Residency programs in dermatology, general surgery, obstetrics and gynecology, oral and maxillofacial surgery, ophthalmology, otolaryngology, and plastic surgery do not include training on every cosmetic procedure.Doctors seeking to learn the vast array of cosmetic surgery procedures must do so after completing their residency training. Understanding this fact is necessary to understanding the difference between “cosmetic surgery” and “plastic surgery.”
Residency training required to become board certified in plastic surgery may not include training with respect to many common cosmetic procedures.The Residency Review Committee of the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education has established minimum cosmetic surgery case requirements for plastic surgery programs. These include 10 breast augmentations, seven face lifts, eight blepharoplasties, six rhinoplasties, five abdominoplasties, 10 suction lipectomies, and nine “other” cosmetic procedures.Therefore, while the title “board certified plastic surgeon” tells you the doctor has received certain training and experience with respect to “plastic surgery,” it does not tell you the same thing with respect to “cosmetic surgery,” and it does not tell you the doctor has more or less “cosmetic surgery” training than a board certified dermatologist, facial plastic and reconstructive surgeon, general surgeon, gynecologist, oral and maxillofacial surgeon, ophthalmologist, otolaryngologist, or other doctor. Therefore, to find the most qualified doctor for a specific cosmetic procedure, patients must compare doctors’ overall (residency and post-residency) training and experience with respect to that procedure.Even the members of the American Society of Plastic Surgeons (ASPS) who admitted to having cosmetic surgery themselves, only 75.9% had the procedure performed by a surgeon board certified by the American Board of Plastic Surgery. www.cameosurgery.com