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Acne
- before & after
As European spas and
their government-sponsored "cures" wane in
popularity, Medical Spas are gaining. They
are combining the best of Western medicine
-non-ablative lasers and light pulse devices
that rejuvenate without wounding the skin-with
the best of Eastern medicine and its emphasis
on relaxation, tranquility, and touch.
Dr. Aaron Barson, medical director of Surface
Medical Spas in Utah, cites three factors
behind the rise of the MedSpa.
"One is the
new medical technologies that show real results,"
says Dr. Barson. "The second is aging baby
boomers, who make up more than 51 percent
of the population. Boomers want to look younger
but are bypassing the older technologies of
plastic surgery in favor of newer, non-invasive
techniques that give more natural results.
The third factor is that we have the technology
to perform these anti-aging procedures without
surgery or recovery time."
They all come
together at the MedSpa.
MEDICAL
SPAS "Any
facility that presents a merger of medical
practice and spa therapeutics could be called
a medical spa," says Dr. Barson. "That's a
pretty open definition and covers everything
from traditional medical facilities like plastic
surgeons who have added Botox injections to
their list of procedures, to medical spas
headed by a physician and staffed by nurses
and aestheticians, to destination health spas
that have a visiting physician that gives
Botox injections.
The line between day spas and medical spas
is also blurry.
"There are
many different levels," says Dee DeLuca-Mattos,
vice president of Avance, a skin care company
based in New Jersey, and president of the
newly formed Medical Spa Society. "For example,
Juva MedSpa in New York City is first and
foremost a medical facility, run not by spa
practitioners but by doctors who treat skin
and body conditions with prescribed medical
solutions. So a facial at Juva uses medicinal
products."
She compares
it with De Pasquale Spa in Morris Plain, New
Jersey, "which is more of a wellness center
that treats the skin and body with seaweed
and other natural plant-based products. But
there is also a cosmetic surgeon on the premises,
and the staff works closely with doctors and
hospitals off-premises. So De Pasquale is
first and foremost a spa, but one with medical
partnerships."
One way to
find out if a MedSpa jibes with your personality
is to visit it beforehand, pick up some brochures,
check out the clients, and ask questions of
the staff.
ESTHETIC
SPAS Anyone who has ever wedged
a dermatology appointment into her work week
will appreciate the concept behind New York-based
Skinklinic and Southern California-based Complexions
Rx. Storefronts that are open eight days a
week and offer treatments you'd expect to
find in a doctor's office. But they're delivered
by nurse practitioners (registered nurses
with advanced training) at slightly lower
prices than doctors charge.
These franchised
face places also offer microdermabrasion,
laser hair removal, facials, and glycolic
peels but stop short of performing physician
based treatments like Botox, skin-cancer checks
or prescribing drugs like Accutane (an oral
drug for severe acne), referring those cases
to local doctors.
By bringing dermatology to the masses, these
mall chains help the many acne sufferers who
lack a regular skin doctor and aren't aware
of anything stronger than Clearasil to fight
blemishes. And the convenience factor is a
strong lure; besides being open on weekends,
some of these clinics see clients until 8:00
P.M. several days a week.
PLASTIC
SURGERY SPAS Located within
or adjacent to a plastic surgeon's offices,
these offer pre- and post-surgery treatments
like lymphatic massage (said to drain fluid
from tissues before and after a face-lift,
tummy tuck, or liposuction), deep chemical
peels, microdermabrasion, laser hair removal,
and soft tissue injections.
Most common
are the plastic surgeons that add one or two
pieces of technology and hire a technician
working on commission to manage the non-surgical
patients.
Since the potential
for improvement or harm is greater with invasive
procedures, it's important to check credentials
and make sure that a physician actually is
in charge.
There have
been a number of cases where treatments have
been performed by technicians that were supposedly
under physician oversight but were in effect
performing procedures on their own. Some of
these cases resulted in terrible consequences
for the patient and ended up, as you'd expect,
in court.
DERMATOLOGY
SPAS As dermatologists look
for ways to supplement the reduced fees paid
by HMOs, they are reaching out to the very
spa personnel they scorned 20 years ago: facialists
whose expensive creams did little more than
moisturize.
But with the
invention of cosmeceuticals like glycolic
acid and Renova that really penetrate the
skin and improve its appearance, doctors are
expanding their offices and hiring paramedical
aestheticians (facialists with advanced training)
to give treatments and sell product lines
formulated, not surprisingly, by the derms
themselves.
It seems to
be a win-win for everyone, since patients
gain access to higher-strength products distributed
only through physicians and can also have
blocked pores cleared with medical tools,
like lancets, that only doctors or their staff
can legally use.
CHECK-UP
SPAS With consumers' growing
interest in good health through fitness and
other preventive medical strategies, diagnostic
centers like Accuscan
in Salt Lake City appeal to those who want
a soup-to-nuts physical without having to
run all over town to different specialists.
People looking
for a "manager" who can perform tests, view
the results, and put it all together for them
in a customized health program check into
these Spas for one to three days or more,
sandwiching the fun stuff (yoga classes and
deep-tissue massages) in between blood tests
and ultrasound scans.
"Many of us
are basically idealistic doctors who were
frustrated with diagnosing diseases that could
have been prevented in people who were not
short on money or brains but who just didn't
get screened," says Dr. Daniel Cosgrove, medical
director of the Wellmax Center for Preventive
Medicine in La Quinta, California.
He's meeting
the challenge of drawing people into his center
on the grounds of the La Quinta Resort &
Club with cosmetic dermatology treatments,
"which make them look and feel more beautiful.
Once we have their attention, we start talking
about the less glamorous procedures like colon-cancer
screenings" or bone-density testing in conjunction
with a whole-body CT scan.
BUYER
BEWARE "Whether
you're buying a house, a purse, or a service
at a medical spa, the first rule is buyer
beware," says Dr. Barson. "Make sure the spa
facility is reputable and that its aestheticians,
manicurists, and massage therapists are licensed
by their state boards".
As for the
doctors at the facility, find out if they
specialize in the newest non-invasive cosmetic
technologies. If they are offering only one
or two advanced technologies it's a sure sign
that they don't specialize.
"The new technologies
require extensive training outside of surgery
or dermatology," says Barson. "There is no
board certification in Aesthetic Medicine.
The best way to make sure you're in the best
hands is to find out if your provider specializes
in non-invasive cosmetic procedures or just
offers it as a sideline."
BOTOX
KNOW-HOW "It's
important to find out if the medical spa you
choose is physician-supervised," says Dr.
Joshua M. Wieder, assistant clinical professor
of dermatology at UCLA School of Medicine.
"That way, if a question or complication arises,
the physician can lend an opinion."
As for nurses
using wrinkle- fillers, he says, "For years
nurse practitioners and medical assistants
have injected collagen without problems."
But, he adds, "Botox is much trickier to inject.
It's very operator-dependent in terms of how
much you put in and where you put it. I don't
inject Botox in the same place on every patient,
because it depends on where the muscles are
pulling, and since some people's lines are
asymmetrical, I may put more Botox on one
side of the forehead than the other. So I
wouldn't recommend having Botox injected by
a non physician."
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