Allergan, the makers of Botox, have announced that they recently won an injunction against Merz Pharmaceuticals and Merz Aesthetics. The injunction prohibits Merz from selling Xeomin, a Botox competitor, in the U.S. for 10 months. U.S. District Judge Andrew J. Guilford wrote in his decision that Merz misappropriated trade secrets belonging to Allergan. He wrote, “there […]
As part of Florida House Bill 1263, the new liposuction requirements have passed. This means that any physician (MD or DO) who performs liposuction of more than 1 litre of fat, or any sedation case lasting more than 5 minutes must do so in an accredited surgical facility. Lipo in the back room of a spa, […]
Today, the U.S. FDA gave approval to a third breast implant manufacturer – Sientra – to supply silicone gel-filled breast implants for both cosmetic and reconstructive patients in the U.S. Sientra joins Allergan and Mentor as FDA-approved implant manufacturers. As a condition of approval, Sientra is also required to conduct several ollow-up studies that will assess patient outcomes and safety issues. The FDA […]
Myth #1: Many people mistakenly believe that plastic surgery residency teaches only reconstructive surgical techniques, and not the cosmetic ones. Myth #2: Many people think that the more anatomically limited fields of dermatology, ophthalmology, or facial plastic surgery must get more cosmetic surgery experience during residency than the over-worked plastic surgery resident, who has to […]
This week, an FDA advisory panel voted 20-2 to recommend approval of a new weight loss pill, called Qnexa. Qnexa is a combination of two previously available medications that seem to work together well: phentermine and topiramate. Phentermine is a stimulant, while topiramate is often used for migraine headaches. What’s interesting is that in 2010, […]
Big laser companies just keep getting bigger…. This week, Cutera, the California based laser company, announced that it had acquired laser competitor Iridex for $5+ million, adding Iridex and Laserscope-branded devices to their stable of lasers. Just a few months ago, Solta Medical, the makers of Thermage radiofrequency units and Fraxel lasers, purchased Liposonix, the new FDA-approved fat melting technology, for $35 million. […]
Ulthera is a new non-invasive skin tightening device. The idea seems promising: use intense focused ultrasonic energy to target tissue deep to the skin, heat and coagulate the tissue, thereby getting some tissue shrinkage and tightening. It’s had great press on the various TV talk shows. It is FDA approved – so we know it’s […]
This month, an expert group of physicians and surgeons has published their latest guidelines on preventing, diagnosing and treating blood clots – DVT’s and pulmonary emboli. It’s a massive report, known as AT9 – even the executive summary runs 39 pages. It can be found here. Why do we, as plastic surgeons, need to know this stuff? Because […]
The latest numbers in the American obesity epidemic were released in this month’s issue of JAMA. Here’s the one bit of good news: – American women, overall, aren’t getting any bigger than they were during the last study, which looked at the 1999-2008 data, but 35.8% of US women still fit the BMI-derived definitions for […]
Just this week, the FDA has given their approval to the marketing of a new laser from Cynosure called Cellulaze. Like the name suggests, it’s a surgical laser treatment for cellulite. Here’s how it works: With the help of local anesthesia, several small incisions are made near the area of cellulite. A laser fibre is inserted […]
