Laser Clinic MD

More heat on the great Botox ‘Botax’ debate, this time from Time.The health care bill currently being debated in the Senate includes a provision that would levy a 5% tax on elective cosmetic surgeries. The proposed Bo-tax is being presented by supporters as a simple economic tool to help offset health care costs, yet detractors—including some 7,000 doctors in the American Academy of Plastic Surgeons—say that the tax is based on inaccurate assumptions that everyone who gets plastic surgery is very wealthy, that it unfairly targets women, who make up the majority of plastic surgery patients, and that it will drive people to seek less expensive and potentially more dangerous options for cosmetic procedures. As it’s currently written, the proposed tax wouldn’t apply to people seeking cosmetic treatment for injuries or disfigurements caused by accidents, trauma or disease. Yet, often, plastic surgeries aren’t clearly either for medical or aesthetic reasons, and instead can be a combination of both. (The person who has a nose job to clear up a breathing problem and has a little sculpting done as well, for example). Additionally, plastic surgeons argue that the taxes could further harm their business, which has already seen fewer patients since the economic downturn as liposuction and other procedures have lost popularity.

A general practitioner who performed a botched breast reduction that left a woman disfigured learnt how to do cosmetic surgery by reading text- books, attending meetings and assisting other surgeons.Dr Christiaan Botha, who is not qualified to perform plastic and reconstructive surgery, yesterday admitted that he started performing cosmetic surgery after 10 years of “self-study” and assisting qualified surgeons.He faced charges of unprofessional conduct before the Health Professions Council of South Africa (HPCSA) relating to a breast reduction procedure performed on a patient in July 2007.He pleaded guilty yesterday.In July 2007 Zelna Venter went to Botha to have a breast reduction because her breasts were causing neck and back pain.But the operation left her scarred – one of her nipples fell off and both areolas had to be removed – after an infection set in and the wound began to smell soon after the procedure. Follow-up visits to Botha saw Venter being put on two courses of antibiotics and having the wound restitched several time before a second opinion was sought, and Venter was sent for an emergency operation.It was during this operation that Venter’s areolas and a chunk of skin were finally removed.Venter’s husband last night barred her from speaking to the media and said they had gone through great trauma in the past two years.

Medical spas that provide Botox wrinkle treatments, laser hair removal, and liposuction and facial toning are faring better amid times of slower consumer spending. [Jupiter Images] Spas and salons in New Jersey are hurting, along with the rest of the economy, but the relatively pricier medical spas among them seem to be better off, so says Hannelore Leavy, executive director of the International Medical Spa Association, in Union Township, which has 350 members worldwide, including about 30 in New Jersey.The medical spa industry is faring better because its patrons are more affluent than those that patronize conventional day spas, Leavy said. “In every recession, people buy more cosmetics because they want to look and feel good,” she said. Medical spas provide that “instant gratification,” she said.Medical spas typically provide Botox wrinkle treatments, laser hair removal, and body contouring procedures like liposuction and facial toning, many of which have to be done under medical supervision, Leavy said.Salons providing basic services like haircuts and nail jobs are also handling the recession better than expected because those are necessities, said Leavy, who also heads the 800-member Day Spa Association from her Union office. The day-spa industry has been badly hit because massages, facials and herbal wraps are considered luxuries, not necessities, she said.

A general practitioner who performed a botched breast reduction that left a woman disfigured learnt how to do cosmetic surgery by reading text- books, attending meetings and assisting other surgeons.Dr Christiaan Botha, who is not qualified to perform plastic and reconstructive surgery, yesterday admitted that he started performing cosmetic surgery after 10 years of “self-study” and assisting qualified surgeons.He faced charges of unprofessional conduct before the Health Professions Council of South Africa (HPCSA) relating to a breast reduction procedure performed on a patient in July 2007.He pleaded guilty yesterday.In July 2007 Zelna Venter went to Botha to have a breast reduction because her breasts were causing neck and back pain.But the operation left her scarred – one of her nipples fell off and both areolas had to be removed – after an infection set in and the wound began to smell soon after the procedure. Follow-up visits to Botha saw Venter being put on two courses of antibiotics and having the wound restitched several time before a second opinion was sought, and Venter was sent for an emergency operation.It was during this operation that Venter’s areolas and a chunk of skin were finally removed.Venter’s husband last night barred her from speaking to the media and said they had gone through great trauma in the past two years.

More heat on the great Botox ‘Botax’ debate, this time from Time.The health care bill currently being debated in the Senate includes a provision that would levy a 5% tax on elective cosmetic surgeries. The proposed Bo-tax is being presented by supporters as a simple economic tool to help offset health care costs, yet detractors—including some 7,000 doctors in the American Academy of Plastic Surgeons—say that the tax is based on inaccurate assumptions that everyone who gets plastic surgery is very wealthy, that it unfairly targets women, who make up the majority of plastic surgery patients, and that it will drive people to seek less expensive and potentially more dangerous options for cosmetic procedures. As it’s currently written, the proposed tax wouldn’t apply to people seeking cosmetic treatment for injuries or disfigurements caused by accidents, trauma or disease. Yet, often, plastic surgeries aren’t clearly either for medical or aesthetic reasons, and instead can be a combination of both. (The person who has a nose job to clear up a breathing problem and has a little sculpting done as well, for example). Additionally, plastic surgeons argue that the taxes could further harm their business, which has already seen fewer patients since the economic downturn as liposuction and other procedures have lost popularity.

Medical spas that provide Botox wrinkle treatments, laser hair removal, and liposuction and facial toning are faring better amid times of slower consumer spending. [Jupiter Images] Spas and salons in New Jersey are hurting, along with the rest of the economy, but the relatively pricier medical spas among them seem to be better off, so says Hannelore Leavy, executive director of the International Medical Spa Association, in Union Township, which has 350 members worldwide, including about 30 in New Jersey.The medical spa industry is faring better because its patrons are more affluent than those that patronize conventional day spas, Leavy said. “In every recession, people buy more cosmetics because they want to look and feel good,” she said. Medical spas provide that “instant gratification,” she said.Medical spas typically provide Botox wrinkle treatments, laser hair removal, and body contouring procedures like liposuction and facial toning, many of which have to be done under medical supervision, Leavy said.Salons providing basic services like haircuts and nail jobs are also handling the recession better than expected because those are necessities, said Leavy, who also heads the 800-member Day Spa Association from her Union office. The day-spa industry has been badly hit because massages, facials and herbal wraps are considered luxuries, not necessities, she said.