| Face or body makeover without surgery
TECHNOLOGY has come to the rescue of those who want to have a facelift or a tummy tuck, or whatever else but who are afraid of surgery: there are machines now that make this possible without going under the knife. And it can be done during lunch break, so says Dr. Cecilia R. Bernad.
At her CRB Multi-Specialty Clinic in Perpetual Succour Hospital, she has two machines called Harmony and Accent.
Accent is the machine that gives a non-surgical facelift and body reshaping or thermoshape through the use of heat (laser).
There is no downtime in these procedures, and no downside except for the fact that heat is being applied on ones body or face and therefore, there is some mild discomfort. One goes out of the clinic without a wound or anything that would show what one has been through, except that ones body or face has been tightened and somehow transformed, very subtly.
As Medical Patents Surge, So Do Lawsuits
A surge in patents that protect surgeries and other medical methods has triggered numerous lawsuits in recent years, with inventors fighting more vigorously than ever to protect their intellectual property rights. Patent lawyers say doctors and scientists are suing to protect everything from laser eye surgery techniques to stent procedures to methods for declawing a cat. The medical community is weary of the trend, noting that threats of patent infringement litigation could interfere with effective patient care. Attorney John Dragseth said he has noticed a new trend: doctors getting their own patents, and then asserting them against medical device companies in court. "Many physicians are constantly coming up with new techniques and devices.
Perspiration: It's a hot topic
The signs of summer are everywhere. Tan, toned arms. Skimpy clothes. And sopping wet armpits.We spend most of the year yearning for heat, and once it arrives, we suffer in constricting office attire as soaring temperatures turn even a leisurely lunchtime stroll into a sweat fest.But John Hanken knows how to deal with it. Hanken, who works and lives in Walnut Creek, Calif., has a sweat-proof system for moving about outside in the summertime."Walk slowly," Hanken says. "Never go without an undershirt. It keeps you cool in the summer and warm in the winter." He also has a diplomatic take on antiperspirant and deodorant."Man, you've just got to wear that stuff," he says. "If you don't wear it for yourself, wear it for your co-workers."Sweating, the body's built-in air conditioner, is natural, whether caused by heat, stress, genetics or underlying medical conditions such as an elevated thyroid level."A lot of people have a little sweating," says Dr.
Bausch & Lomb Puts Takeover Bid on Ice
Bausch & Lomb Inc. told eye-care products rival Advanced Medical Optics Inc. on Tuesday it needs to improve its takeover offer to compete with a $3.67 billion cash bid by a private equity firm. Unless Advanced Medical provides extra assurances about the "value and certainty of consummation" of its $4.2 billion cash-and-stock bid, the board of Bausch & Lomb said the offer "would not be likely to result in a superior proposal." It gave the Santa Ana, Calif.-based company until midday Friday to make revisions to its offer. Warburg Pincus, a buyout and venture capital firm in New York, won an agreement from Bausch & Lomb's board in mid-May to pay $65 a share for the 154-year-old maker of contact lenses, ophthalmic drugs and vision-correction surgical instruments.
A glimpse into the future of beauty
A new light treatment for acne Blue and red light have been found to have a positive effect on many skin conditions, but now attention is focusing on the role green wavelengths of light can play in treating mild to severe acne. A recent report in the Cosmetic Dermatology journal examines the use of photodynamic therapy using a green light laser, which involves the application of a light-sensitive agent before the treatment. Green light has already proven effective for treating spider veins and pigmented lesions. The bottom line: Acne is often resistant to treatment; and the success of most over-the-counter and prescription treatments depend on regular and consistent use. Light and photodynamic therapies are attractive options because they are noninvasive, usually well tolerated and can treat many lesions in short sessions.
The Natchez Democrat
Kimberly Johnson recently went from wearing glasses, top, to seeing without them, bottom, all in the span of four hours after undergoing LASIK surgery performed by Dr. Douglas Smith at Eye Center Optical. Published Sunday, August 12, 2007 .
Laser scans reveal how lopsided Lincoln’s face really was
CHICAGO — Artists, sculptors and photographers knew Abraham Lincoln's face had a good side. Now it's confirmed by science.Laser scans of two life masks, made from plaster casts of Lincoln's face, reveal the 16th president's unusual degree of facial asymmetry, according to a new study.The left side of Lincoln's face was much smaller than the right, an aberration called cranial facial microsomia. The defect joins a long list of ailments — including smallpox, heart illness and depression — that modern doctors have diagnosed in Lincoln.Lincoln's contemporaries noted his left eye at times drifted upward independently of his right eye, a condition now termed strabismus. Lincoln's smaller left eye socket may have displaced a muscle controlling vertical movement, said Dr. Ronald Fishman, who led the study published in the August issue of the Archives of Ophthalmology.Severe strabismus leads to double vision and can be treated today by surgery.“Lincoln noticed double vision only occasionally and it did not bother him a great deal,'' said Fishman, a retired Washington, D.C., ophthalmologist and history buff.Most people's faces are asymmetrical, Fishman said, but Lincoln's case was extreme, with the bony ridge over his left eye rounder and thinner than the right side, and set backward.Lincoln's appearance was mocked by his political enemies, historians say.
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