Ice pick scars from a previous doctor who used a needle to treat my acne.

February 1st, 2010

This is a question that I answered for a patient who had another doctor treat his active acne.

The acne scars that you are talking about can occur from regular acne.  There are many people with ice pick type of scars.  The needle surgery that your doctor did would have helped more than hurt.  The expression of the pus from the acne that are infected would have caused much bigger scars if the needle didn’t express the pus away.  Now with your scars there are many ways to approach them.  One is through deep chemical peels that can be applied to the deep part of the those scars.  This can help to an extent.  What might even be better is to have them excised and then after that heals you can then have the areas resurfaced with lasers, like co2 lasers.  The excision then resurfacing route can lead to excellent results.  I also employ dermasanding to the deeper scars after doing a few passes to the lesions / scars when I do Acne Scar Treatment (Seattle).  You can search my website for some results and examples.

Here is a live demonstration video of an Acne Treatment Procedure.

Thanks for reading, Dr Young

Dr Young specializes in Facial Cosmetic and Reconstructive Surgery and is located in Bellevue near Seattle, Washington

Posted in Acne Scar Treatment, Scar Removal / scar reduction / scar revision / scar treatment | Comments Off on Ice pick scars from a previous doctor who used a needle to treat my acne.

Rhinoplasty requires careful analysis during the preoperative stages that the perlane could interfere with

February 1st, 2010

Rhinoplasty (Seattle) requires careful analysis during the preoperative stages.  You need to know exactly what you want to correct and hence having the unaltered preoperative state is essential with rhinoplasty.  If the perlane that you have in the nose and bridge makes a big difference it would be prudent to dissolve the perlane with hyaluronidase. This will allow you the ability to see the native anatomy better and hence your surgeon can come up with an accurate plan.  If it does not make a big difference the preoperative analysis may not be that affected.  If the perlane with in other larger areas of the face where the impact would be less, the need to remove the perlane would be less necessary.

Thanks for reading, Dr Young

Dr Young specializes in Facial Cosmetic and Reconstructive Surgery and is located in Bellevue near Seattle, Washington

Posted in Fillers / Facial Fillers, Perlane, Rhinoplasty / Nose Surgery / Nose job / Nose Reshaping / Nasal Reshaping | Comments Off on Rhinoplasty requires careful analysis during the preoperative stages that the perlane could interfere with

Is there an ideal face and how does ethnicity play a role in facial beauty.

January 26th, 2010

Part of figuring out the answer to facial beauty is determining whether there is an ideal.  The idea of facial beauty and a Facial Beauty to explain it would have to mean that there is an ideal in order to define it.  The mere idea that there is beauty would indicate that there are some people who are more beautiful than others and vice versa.  Then further reasoning would lead us to say that there are extremes.  At the one extreme is the most beautiful and the other is the least beautiful.  Hence, there is an ideal at the most beautiful extreme.

If there is an ideal then how does the mantra “beauty is in the eye of the beholder” play into a theory on beauty.  When finding a mate, my personal thoughts on this is that people are still attracted to people who are extremely beautiful but not all people are able to fall in love with these people and have them fall in love with them back.  Many times, a person can end up with a companion that is equally attractive as compared to themselves because they are able to tolerate that particular level of beauty because a person usually can appreciate self beauty to a significant degree.  Herein, lies some of the truth to the eye of the beholder popular saying.  But, true beauty is not really in the eye of the beholder and there is an ideal out there that a large proportion of the population will concomitantly agree is beautiful.

This same principle applies to ethnicity and beauty.  There is a fairly well known research paper that took a population of Japanese and American people and they were asked to rate a group of women that were Japanese and another group that were Caucasian.  Both the Japanese and American populations found the same Japanese and Caucasian women attractive.  Other studies support this, that there is beauty that transcends ethnic variations.  Also other research, have shown that children that are 3 months old (who have not developed cultural influences that could affect there appreciation of beauty) spend more time looking at people who are more attractive than those that are not as attractive. This further supports that there is a true beauty out there that we can define better.

How does ethnicity fit in?  My theory is that ethnicity can enhance beauty by showing the person determining whether it exists in the face they are looking at a variation of something that is very close to the ideal.  You can have very small changes from the ideal and have a remarkably different looking face yet still look extremely attractive.

Thanks for reading, Dr Young

Dr Young specializes in Facial Cosmetic and Reconstructive Surgery and is located in Bellevue near Seattle, Washington

Posted in My Journey to Find and Attain Beauty | Comments Off on Is there an ideal face and how does ethnicity play a role in facial beauty.

Is there a cheaper option for repairing the earlobe that are stretched out with gauges and is it possible to repair these for $400 for both ears which I’ve found over the internet.

January 25th, 2010

The price of 400 for ear lobe repair (otoplasty, ear reshaping, ear shaping, ear plastic surgery, ear cosmetic surgery) that you mentioned could be for one ear.  Also before knowing that is the price, when you actually go to the particular office they may mention that you need to pay a facility fee and anesthesia fee that could make that much more.  Be sure to ask about all the fees.  If it is true that the price they gave you is $400 for both ears and no other costs, I would check to see how well they do the procedure.  Sometimes, you get what you pay for.  Take a look at their results.  When you are talking about gauges, this could mean a significantly complicated repair that could require time.  For that price, if they take shortcuts, which often people do when they price things aggressively like that, you might not get what you wanted completely.

Thanks for reading, Dr Young

Dr Young specializes in Facial Cosmetic and Reconstructive Surgery and is located in Bellevue near Seattle, Washington

Posted in Otoplasty / Ear Reshaping / Ear Shaping | Comments Off on Is there a cheaper option for repairing the earlobe that are stretched out with gauges and is it possible to repair these for $400 for both ears which I’ve found over the internet.

How painful is dermabrasion? How would you rate the pain level? What are some anesthesia options for dermabrasion?

January 25th, 2010

Intense Pulse Light is a procedure where a wire brush is used to take down superficial and deeper layers of the skin to reduce scars, improve wrinkles, decrease pigmentary problems, etc.  It works under the same principle as Usually dermabrasion is not done without some type of anesthesia.  The types of anesthesia include local, regional, oral / iv sedation, general anesthesia.  Most physicians use a combination of above to do dermabrasion.  If it is a concentrated area like a scar, local anesthesia can be the only thing needed depending on the normal anxiety levels that a person usually gets in this type of situation.  If the person is likely to get anxious than oral or iv sedation can help.  For the whole face and larger areas, some type of whole body sedation through oral or iv sedation is helpful.  Regional anesthesia where the nerves are anesthetized can help the whole situation.

Thanks for reading, Dr Young

Dr Young specializes in Facial Cosmetic and Reconstructive Surgery and is located in Bellevue near Seattle, Washington

Posted in Dermatology, Laser Resurfacing, Scar Removal / scar reduction / scar revision / scar treatment, Wrinkle Treatment | Comments Off on How painful is dermabrasion? How would you rate the pain level? What are some anesthesia options for dermabrasion?

Can hyaluronidase leave scars, holes? Does the enzyme break down a persons own acids and what affects are there?

January 25th, 2010

Facial Fillers is an enzyme that breaks down hyaluronic acid such as fillers used for cosmetic purposes like restylane, juvederm, perlane, etc.  It doesn’t seem to affect natural hyaluronic acid and has a predominate affect on filler injected.  The reason for this is due to the fact that natural hyaluronic acid is found around a substructure within the skin.  When natural hyaluronic acid is degraded it is reformed almost just as quickly.  In fact, natural hyaluronic acid is turned over on a daily basis so your body naturally degrades its own hyaluronic acid and replaces.  With your natural foundation, the hyaluronic acid is formed all the time so the enzyme injected and its effects will be reversed quickly.  It does not leave scars or holes,  except in the area of previous filler injections.  You have to be conservative in the amount that you use otherwise you can get depressed areas in the previous area that you augmented.  That is the only temporary risk.  Some suggest a skin test for the enzyme in case of an allergic reaction.  But I know of hundreds to thousands of patients who ht tave received this in surgery centers with no issues at all.

Thanks for reading, Dr Young

Dr Young specializes in Facial Cosmetic and Reconstructive Surgery and is located in Bellevue near Seattle, Washington

Posted in Fillers / Facial Fillers, Juvederm, Perlane, Restylane | Comments Off on Can hyaluronidase leave scars, holes? Does the enzyme break down a persons own acids and what affects are there?

Tip grafts to define the tip in a thick skinned nose after 4 previous rhinoplasties

January 25th, 2010

Since you have had 4 rhinoplasties (Seattle), anyone considering your surgery will be very cautious.  That many procedures leaves the nose with low blood supply and hence more at risk for additional procedures.  Grafts in these noses have less blood supply and are more likely to have decreased volume and action that they were intended.  That needs to be understood.  Tip grafts can make your nose more defined but thick skin prevents the details from showing.  You can always make the skin less thick by reducing the fat underneath the tip but this can be risky but possibly the only way to define the tip in this situation in addition to the tip grafts.

Thanks for reading, Dr Young

Dr Young specializes in Facial Cosmetic and Reconstructive Surgery and is located in Bellevue near Seattle, Washington

Posted in Rhinoplasty / Nose Surgery / Nose job / Nose Reshaping / Nasal Reshaping | Comments Off on Tip grafts to define the tip in a thick skinned nose after 4 previous rhinoplasties

Laser Resurfacing with Active fx / Deep fx / Max fx to tighten the face for a non surgical face lift

January 24th, 2010

As I mentioned in another blog, Active and Deep fx are techniques using technology to decrease the downtime from laser resurfacing while attempting to get better results. One thing that I mentioned in the last blog was that often times the more aggressive you are the more results you can get but also the more risk you take on.  Active Fx and Deep fx attempts to get  better results by having fractionated more superficial ablation and deeper fractionated ablation.  This technique treats the superficial elements like wrinkles, pigmentation and skin textures in a fractionated manner with the Active fx while trying to tighten the skin with the deep columns of ablation with the deep fx.  This can get subtle to moderate results.  If you want more significant results then max fx is an option to consider.  This is like active fx except the ablation is not longer fractionated and essentially is like more traditional resurfacing.  With max fx you are likely to get more tissue tightening.  Scientific research has shown that the amount of skin reduction that can be achieved with max fx is approximately 1cm squared in the cheeks and 0.5cm squared in the forehead and mouth area with less reduction around the eyes.  There is a limit to the amount of wrinkle reduction from laser resurfacing.  There is a point where the amount of water decreases the deeper you go.  This prevents the co2 laser from getting to deep.  This also prevents the co2 laser from creating scarring but also keeps the affects from working at the deeper wrinkles.  The options then include repeating the laser resurfacing in another year to further improve the results.  The other option which I like is the addition of dermasanding to the deeper wrinkles like around the eyes, between the eyes, around the mouth and parts of the cheeks.  I will talk more about dermasanding in another blog… Here is a live demonstration of my use of a co2 laser and laser resurfacing.

Thanks for reading, Dr Young

Dr Young specializes in Facial Cosmetic and Reconstructive Surgery and is located in Bellevue near Seattle, Washington

Posted in Laser Resurfacing | Comments Off on Laser Resurfacing with Active fx / Deep fx / Max fx to tighten the face for a non surgical face lift

What is a glycolic peel best for treating?

January 24th, 2010

Glycolic acid peels are superficial but can be important for regular skin care. They are superficial peels and the aggressiveness of the peel is dependent on the percentage of the glycolic acid in the preparation.  They are fairly safe and it is very difficult to make them deep and thus complications are much lower as compared to other peels.  One thing to remember is that sometimes the more aggressive you are the more results you will get for the most part.  Glycolic acid peels that are from 0-30% can be done at home with some guidance.  Anything stronger would be wise to be carry out with the guidance of a physician.  At home glycolic peels are a great way to keep up your skin from a maintanence stand point.  I usually start patients on a skin care program with retinols, hydroxy acids, buffing cleansers, gentle cleansers and see how they do and tolerate it.  Once this basic regimen is tolerated for a couple of weeks then I start them on the at home glycolic peels and guide them through this.  With this regimen, you can get your skin to turnover much quicker (from 28 days to 10-14 days or less).  This will help with unwanted pigmentation, decrease the size of pores, improve texture, and decrease fine wrinkles.

Thanks for reading, Dr Young

Dr Young specializes in Facial Cosmetic and Reconstructive Surgery and is located in Bellevue near Seattle, Washington

Posted in Chemical Peels, Dermatology, Skin Care / Intense Pulse Light | Comments Off on What is a glycolic peel best for treating?

How often should you do chemical peels to maintain the results.

January 24th, 2010

How often you do peels can be subjective and dependent on how you feel your skin is doing and for what condition you are treating.  Chemical peels can be varied in terms of how deep you want the peel and how deep the issues you are trying to treat. Superficial wrinkles and pigmentation issues can be improved by superficial peels.  Deeper wrinkles and pigmentation can be improved by more aggressive and deeper peels.  Deeper peels should not be repeated for several months and even up to a year.  Your physician can monitor how you are healing and determine this.  Superficial peels allow a faster recovery and thus you can do these much more frequently.  Glycolic peels can be done 2-3 times per week depending on how a person is tolerating the treatments.  Your doctor can help you determine this.  To maintain the results you need to determine with your doctor how your results are coming along.

Thanks for reading, Dr Young

Dr Young specializes in Facial Cosmetic and Reconstructive Surgery and is located in Bellevue near Seattle, Washington

Posted in Chemical Peels, Dermatology, Skin Care / Intense Pulse Light | Comments Off on How often should you do chemical peels to maintain the results.

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