She helps people look younger and was featured on television, but her work is the antithesis of plastic surgery reality shows "Dr. 90210" or "Extreme Makeover."Instead, R.A. Long High School 1970 graduate Dr. Brandith Irwin uses her Seattle dermatology clinic and laser center to give patients a youthful appearance without putting them under the knife.Her expertise on smoothing wrinkles, minimizing blotches and blemishes and protecting skin from the sun has made her a resource for several news and magazine articles about skin care. She published her advice in her 2002 book, "Your Best Face: Looking Your Best Without Plastic Surgery," which landed her a spot on an "Oprah Winfrey" episode about aging."It's fun to help people look better because when they look better, they generally are more confident," said Irwin, 54.

Doctor is one of a kind in Sparks

Four months ago, Northern Nevada Medical Center welcomed a physician whose roots in medicine go back well into the 1600s; it also granted the Sparks community a specialist it needed.

The institute is designed to treat the full spectrum of male and female urology ailments through traditional surgery, laser surgery, prostatitis, interstitial cystitis and procedures for prostate disorders and endourology.

Eye surgery center now accepting patients

DECATUR - Macon County Eye Center has a new and improved neighbor.Advanced Eye Surgery and Laser Center LLC recently has opened directly behind Macon County Eye Center as a new facility that performs outpatient eye procedures, including advanced cataract surgery, eyelid surgery, glaucoma surgery and laser treatments, Lasik corrective vision surgery and more.The mission of building the surgery center was to provide patients with a more convenient and economical alternative for eye surgeries, said Dr. Sushant Sinha, physician and medical director of both centers."We realized one inconvenience for our elderly patients, which is the majority of our patients, was going to the hospital, getting very confused and walking across a big parking lot," Sinha said. "We want to provide the utmost care and create a friendly, convenient and reliable facility."Previously, patients had to go to Decatur Memorial Hospital or Central Illinois Surgery Center for cataract surgery, said Dawn Followell, clinic administrator of Macon County Eye Center.

A feast for the eye

While sitting in the waiting room of the Jacksonville Eye Center in Riverside, 21-year-old Richard London saw a side of his mother hed never seen before, specifically, the inside of her cornea.

The amazing images displayed on a 52-inch LCD monitor, while in a nearby room Dr. Robert Schnipper peered through microscopes and used computer-controlled lasers to restore Rhoda Londons sight through the most advanced lasik techniques available.

Its amazing how you can improve your vision like that, the son said with an intense gaze. You cant do that with anything else, like hearing.

But London wasnt the first person to watch Schnipper in action. In fact, Schnipper and his colleague, Dr. Senthil Krishnasamy, host monthly live surgeries where potential patients, family and friends or those who just want to see something extraordinary, can watch a lasik surgery and decide if its the right way to correct their vision.

Local golf: Calusa Pines' Erick advances to PGA Assistant Professional Championship

Calusa Pines' Boomer Erick shot a 69 on Tuesday to finish second in the South Florida PGA Assistants' Championship at Quail Creek Country Club in Naples. Erick also qualified for the 31st annual PGA Assistant Professional Championship from Oct. 25-28 at the PGA Golf Club in Port St. Lucie.