Consulting Dermatologic Specialist - Dr. Forrest Brown, M.D., F.A.A.D. - Dallas, Texas - Aesthetics

“No Downtime” Laser Skin Tightening Treatment

ALST (Augmented Laser Skin Tightening) involves a special, high-powered erbium laser with a newly-developed lens that breaks the beam of light into 64 tiny beams that penetrate the skin in a checker board pattern. Immediately after the procedure and for two weeks thereafter, a special proprietary cream (developed by Dr. Brown) is applied to improve the development of collagen. The procedure is completed with three additional treatments, repeated a monthly intervals. The results are dramatic improving of the skin’s firmness and tightness and softening of skin lines and folds.

Laser Hair Removal

Excessive or unsightly body hair can present a significant problem for both men and women. CDS is a leader in medical treatment for this condition. We were the first in Dallas to offer the un-pulsed ruby laser, the latest and most effective treatment at the time, and now offer the state-of-the-art 810 Diode. This laser is considered the "Gold Standard" for hair removal and allows us to treat the broadest range of skin and hair color possible.

Three to five treatments are required to reach significant permanent hair reduction but improvement is seen after the first treatment. Treatments are usually recommended to occur at a monthly or six week interval.

Prices are based on the size of the area to be treated and may be on a per-treatment price or as a package which offers some savings.

Collagen Injections

Collagen is the fibrous protein that gives skin its elasticity. Collagen injections have been used for decades to replenish the skin's suppleness and to help maintain its youthful appearance. Collagen is a safe, non-surgical treatment that can smooth out facial lines, wrinkles, and scars. The effects of collagen injections can last between four and six months. Collagen injections can be repeated as necessary. To learn more about collagen, please contact Us today.

Restylane® Injections

Restylane® is a revolutionary solution to wrinkles and thin lips. It gently smoothes away fine lines around the lips and mouth and on the forehead, leaving no scars at the injection sites. It is completely biodegradable and contains no animal proteins, so it is natural and considered extremely safe.

Recently FDA approved, this new filler is available in three tissue varieties—Restylane®, Restylane® Fine Lines, and Restylane® Perlane. Restylane® is primarily used for lip enhancement (especially to prevent lipstick “bleeding”) and wrinkle correction, while Restylane® Fine Lines is most effective in filling fine, superficial lines in the chin and cheeks. Restylane® Perlane is used for shaping facial contours and for lip augmentation.

Performed in 30-minute sessions, Restylane® treatments are long lasting and can be repeated as necessary, typically every six to 12 months.

Fat Injections

Fat injections can be used to fill in wrinkles and lines, to create contours in the face, and to fill in scars. Because fat from one area of a patient's body is used to fill in another, there is little chance of allergy or incompatibility. Fat injections are usually done on an outpatient basis with local anesthetic, and the results should last approximately five to seven years.

The donor site (often the buttocks or abdomen) is first numbed and injected with fluid to make extracting the fat easier. The donor fat is collected through a needle and syringe. After the fluid is removed, another needle is used to reinsert the fat into the treatment area. We will slightly overfill the treatment area at first since some of the injected fat will be reabsorbed by the body.

Most patients can resume normal activities soon after undergoing fat injection. Some minor swelling and bruising can occur during the first few days following the procedure. Fat injections are usually more permanent than other fillers.

BOTOX® Injections

There is no reason to hide behind unsightly crow's feet, smile lines, and other wrinkles. BOTOX® Cosmetic, a purified chemical that is injected into the skin to reduce the appearance of wrinkles, can restore your youthful appearance quickly, safely, and easily. In addition, BOTOX® Cosmetic can now be injected into the underarms every six months to completely eliminate sweating. To learn more about BOTOX® Cosmetic, please contact us today.

Hyperhydrosis Treatment

The symptoms of hyperhydrosis can be embarrassing for our patients. Continual perspiration under the arms, in the palms of the hands, and in other areas can leave patients feeling less than confident. Excessive perspiration can be treated with Botox® Cosmetic and the results last for many months.

Laser Resurfacing

The gold standard for facial regeneration over the last twenty years has been CO2 laser resurfacing. The results that could be produced on fair northern European skin were beyond compare. Major sun damage, moderate lines and wrinkles, blotchiness, and sallow ness were all removed. The results were “baby-bottom” skin that was tight, smooth, and of a uniform fair color all lasting for years.

However, recovery time was very prolonged with a week or more of confinement at home required for healing. If that wasn’t enough, the redness might last for three or months. Other difficulties included being very problematic for skin of any degree of natural color and the results in men tended toward an un-masculine look.

Switching from the CO2 to the Erbium laser definitely decreased the time required for healing but confinement at home for a time, albeit shorter is still required.

Techniques have also been altered using less energy and fewer passes of the laser beam but in our present society few have the time or temperament for more than a weekend of “down time”.

Consulting Dermatologic Specialists continue to offer both CO2 and Erbium Laser for those who desire their remarkable results.

Most of the desirable tightening effects of laser resurfacing have to do with heating the tissue beneath the skin to cause a wound that heals with contraction. The problems arise from the effect of the energy used on the outer skin called the Epidermis. This layer is ablated, or literally blown away and must heal from a raw draining wound. Newer techniques that put the energy deeper within the skin without affecting the Epidermis have been called Non-Ablative Resurfacing.

CDS has been a pioneer in these techniques which are listed below.

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Case 1 - Side

Case 1 - Front

Laser Tattoo Removal

Having second thoughts about your tattoo? If so, you’re not alone. Every day we see patients who have second thoughts about their tattoos. What once seemed like a good idea just doesn’t fit your new image, and you wish it would just go away. Now your wish can come true. Using our advanced laser system, your tattoo can be removed safely, without leaving a scar. The ink particles of your tattoo absorb the laser’s light, are broken up into tiny fragments, and are then absorbed by your body’s natural cleansing mechanism.

Maximum treatment results take about five to six weeks, with normal skin tone typically returning within six to 12 months after your last treatment session. Larger ink particles may require multiple treatments. Because tattoo ink is not regulated, some patients have only partial clearing, even after several laser sessions. Side effects may include swelling and reddening of the skin around the tattoo, or a whitening of the skin called hypopigmentation. These symptoms are normal and gradually disappear.

Blepharoplasty by Laser

Droopy, puffy eyes and eyelids can make you appear tired or older than you are. Cosmetic/reconstructive eyelid surgery, also called blepharoplasty, can restore the skin around your eyes to its natural, youthful appearance and drastically reduce the signs of aging. In some cases, it can even improve vision impaired by sagging lids.

Laser Blepharoplasty is a non-invasive approach to this procedure. The laser can firm, tighten, and lift the skin around the forehead and eyes, revealing a new, younger looking you!

Thermage®

For patients who are seeking the results of a facelift but are hesitant to undergo invasive surgery, Dr. Brown offers the Thermage® skin lifting procedure. This non-surgical, non-invasive procedure is designed to tighten and firm facial skin and offers the patient a beautiful, more youthful appearance.

Thermage® is designed for younger patients -- meaning usually individuals in their 30s to 50s are the best candidates. The procedure utilizes heat from radiofrequency to tighten and improve the appearance of facial skin. When the heat is applied to the face, it forces the collagen under the skin to contract, reducing the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles. Like facelift, it can offer dramatic results. Unlike facelift, it does not require incisions or a long recovery time.

Although most patients will experience minor discomfort, they usually will not require anesthesia.

Mesotherapy

Mesotherapy is a term coined in 1958 by the French physician, Dr. M. Pistor, to indicate a process of placing medicines via injection just beneath the skin (the Mesoderm) to make a local effect without having a general body effect. With small doses placed in the area, the dermis or mesoderm, just below the epidermis, it is possible to make a more profound medical effect than could be done safely with medicines given by mouth or intramuscular injections.

No Needle Mesotherapy

The draw back to Mesotherapy has always been needle sticks involved. Although not especially painful, the idea was really a “turn-off” for many people.

To get around that problem and offer the significant advantages of Mesotherapy to his friends and patients, Dr Brown has pioneered No-Needle Mesotherapy in the North Texas area. Based on space age technology, this new device uses electrical wave forms and laser to drive the Mesotherapy medications into the skin without injections. Cellulite is significantly improved with this treatment and it is also used to smooth bumps after liposuction.

Although it is not a substitute for liposuction, for the person that has only a few small bulges that detract from their appearance, Mesotherapy can be a significant alternative. Let us talk to you about this new treatment program.

Although the field of Mesotherapy is very broad and the method is useful in the treatment of muscular, joint, and neurological problems, in Dermatology it is primarily used in controlling limited, unsightly fat deposits and is called Lipo-therapy.

A sub-field of Mesotherapy dealing with the treatment of fat just below the skin has been called Lipo-therapy. It is a slightly different technique and uses different medication but the idea of injecting medications just beneath the skin in the area to be treated is just the same. Standard tumescent liposuction remains the best way to remove large areas of superficial fat below the skin. Lipo-therapy must be regarded as a helper or adjunct to liposuction or for treatment of areas not really practical for liposuction. Areas such as the fat pads in the lower eyelids, the chin and jowls are especially good for Lipo-therapy. Also, it can be helpful to eliminate small pockets of fat left after liposuction.

At the present time, the medications used in Mesotherapy and in Lipo-therapy are introduced under the skin by injection using very small needles with only minimal discomfort.

Mesotherapy and Lipo-therapy should be only a part of a rejuvenation program. A consultation in our office can further answer any questions you may have.

Microdermabrasion-Vibraderm

Microdermabrasion

Machines to abrade the skin lightly have been in use for about ten years. In simple terms, Aluminum oxide crystals are blown across the skin to abrade the skin to the most superior surface and smoothing that surface; this is a process similar to sand blasting. There are problems, however, with this method:

Exposure to aluminum a substance linked to Alzheimer's
Aluminum dust particles on clothes and in hair
No benefit other than temporarily smoothing the skin
Possible cross-contamination due to loss of pressure or contact with tubes.

Vibraderm

Recently, new technology has become available that uses a paddle coated with a non-aluminum abrasive to smooth the skin. This method has the added advantage of vibrating the skin which can be shown to induce new collagen formation beneath the skin. There are no aerosols of crystals that leave a deposit on the skin, hair, and clothes and because there is no aerosol, areas near the nose and lips and on the eyelids can be treated.
Because the vibrating paddles treat larger areas than the Microdermabrasion wand, the whole process is much quicker. The chest, neck, and hands may be made smoother and younger appearing because of the new collagen that is generated.
Let our highly competent staff introduce this amazing new technology to you.

Cool Touch Laser

After years of scientific research and development, Cool Touch Laser Corporation developed a new laser rejuvenation technique called Non Invasive Collagen Enhancement. The technique targets the layers of skin where collagen is made and stimulates new growth of collagen. These changes come with only very mild and transient redness and truly no down time.

Dr. Brown was the first physician to make the Cool Touch Laser available in the North Texas Area and has used it successfully to help restore a full natural look to the upper lip and around the eyes. Most recently, he has used the Cool Touch laser to treat depressed acne scars with excellent results.

Photodynamic Therapy (PDT)

The term PHOTODYNAMIC THERAPY or PDT means that light is acting with something, usually a drug, to cause a specific effect that is not just due to the light alone. Most classic forms of PDT require the drug to be taken internally and the whole body may likely react when exposed to light.

HOWEVER, in this center only topical photodynamic therapy is done. The effect of topical PDT is limited to the area where the drug is applied to the skin and the patient may be in light safely as long as the treated area is carefully covered.

The principle is very simple. An amino acid normally present in the body in making hemoglobin is applied to the skin. Once inside the skin, the active tissues such as actinic keratoses, sun damaged skin, and some skin cancers convert the amino acid to a natural compound that is very reactive and destructive in the presence of light. Normal skin and other normal tissues do not build up high levels of the reactive compound so there is little reaction in these tissues. This differential effect is very significant and makes PDT a very specific treatment.

The procedure is simple also but requires some period of incubation time depending on what is being treated. The skin is cleansed well with soap and water and then the skin oil is removed with special chemicals so that it does not interfere with the penetration of the medication. The medication is painted on the skin which is then covered very carefully to exclude all light. Depending on what is being treated, the medication will be allowed to remain from thirty minutes up to over night before the covering is removed and the area exposed to a special light.

The treatment period may be somewhat painful but chilled air and local anesthesia will help.

After treatment, the skin is covered again for twenty-four hours unless extra light treatment in the form of natural light is desired as it is in some cosmetic procedures.

In addition to treatment of precancerous and cancerous conditions, PDT is now being used for treatment of acne and for aging and sun damaged skin but the technique is essentially the same.

Photodynamic therapy is a "cutting edge" treatment that CDS was instrumental in developing and that has multiple uses. Let us discuss it with you to see if it has an application for you.

Photo-Facial

Using light in some sort of intense form for facial improvement has been around since the 1980s. Initially, it was laser resurfacing, but that required a very long time to recover to return to work and society. Another technology appeared in the middle to late '80s using intense light derived from a flash lamp similar to the flash lamps used for photography, but it was also the technology used to strip paint off airplanes and I felt that it was not a safe technique born out by the number of burns that I saw in my practice on patients treated in other places.

Fortunately, technology continue to advance and a new machine has become available that seems to solve all the problems previously present.

Three things seem to happen when the skin of the face is exposed to the wave lengths of light used in the photo-facial:

Small red vessels are closed off and are no longer red; in fact, the face loses much of the redness that contributes to an uneven appearance.
Dark brown spots as well as the general brown color of aged skin are lightened. Again, a more uniform color is produced.
The light may stimulate collagen growth which improves the quality and texture of the skin.

Instead of trying to do everything at once, treatments are done at monthly intervals which bring significant improvement in redness and color irregularities with minimal to no down time. The number of treatments required really depends on the pre-existing condition but most people require three to four sessions.

The procedure is really quite simple. The patient arrives and cleans the skin with one of our elegant proprietary cleansers. A topical anesthetic is applied and worked into the skin. Cold air is blown on the skin and the treatment is done. Slight stinging may be felt at times but it is not bad. After the treatment, the cool air is continued for a few minutes and then a soothing jell is applied and the patient can leave and go about normal activity.

The results of decreased general redness and visible vessels along with a more uniform pigmentation have made both men and women patients very happy. Almost anyone of the lighter skin types will benefit. Only a consultation at Dr. Brown's office can tell for sure.

Scar Treatment

Scars, whether from accidents or surgery or from medical conditions such as acne, can be soul destroying if they occur on the face or other visible areas of the body. At CDS we offer many methods to make scars much less visible and at time even disappear. Lasers can be used to decrease redness and smooth the skin. Dermabrasion, Derma-sanding, Microdermabrasion and Vibraderm can all be used to smooth out bumpy scars and filling agents such as collagen, silicone, and the Cool Touch laser can be used to level depressed scars. A consultation is needed to discuss the method or methods that will work best for you.