• Botox® - A common and popular injectable material that decreases muscular activity and when placed in certain areas on the face, reduces wrinkles, smooths skin texture, shapes eyebrows, and appears to lift and tighten the skin. It can be used in younger patients to prevent deep wrinkles from developing or in older patients as a rejuvenative procedure. It is also used as an adjunct to surgery to maintain results after certain surgical procedures. It has no associated "down-time", it is extremely safe, cost-effective, but effects are not permanent, lasting 3-6months, so touch-up is required. It can also be used to treat excessive sweating from the armpits, and may have a role in improving headaches
• Injectable fillers - Many products are available to restore volume to the face, and fill wrinkles, depressions, or skin surface irregularities. Fillers plump up creased and sunken areas of the face providing a smoother, more youthful appearance. Some of the available fillers currently being used at Desert Hills Plastic Surgery Center are Collagen, Restylane, Juvederm, Perlane, and Radiesse. Most products are not permanent, which is ideal, as facial contours are always changing as a result of aging, gravitational forces, weight fluctuation, and facial movements. For this reason, touch up or maintenance procedures are required for long-lasting effects.
• Hand Rejuvenation - This is an area that is often overlooked. The dorsum (top surface) of the hand can sometimes give your age away. Sunspots, thin skin, and skeletonization of the underlying structures can be improved upon so that your hands look youthful and your jewelry looks attractive. Injectable fillers such as Radiesse can be injected just under the skin of the hands and smoothed, to thicken the skin and immediately improve the appearance of your hands. The procedure is painless with no downtime and immediate results lasting approximately 9 months. Additional improvements in skin quality are obtained with topical anti-aging skin care treatments as well as bleaching products to improve freckling and sun damaged skin.
• Skin care -Skin care is an important adjunct to maintaining a healthy, youthful look.

  There are many products and product lines available which claim to improve skin quality. It gets very confusing as to what products work, and which have the right concentrations of key ingredients. We have experience with all medical based skin care product lines. From this broad based experience, we have developed our own recommended products, which work. These products contain effective concentrations of key ingredients proven to improve the appearance and quality of your skin. These include: retinol, vitamin C, antioxidants, and glycolic and other acids. These products are proven safe and effective in treating and preventing photodamage, and increasing cell turnover to improve skin smoothness, firmness, irregular pigmentation, and the appearance of fine wrinkles. Antioxidants and retexturizers help with immediate skin improvements such as increased tightness and smoothness, and less puffiness. The formulation of these products also has a delivery system which minimizes irritation, otherwise commonly seen with regular use of retinols and other exfoliants. It is important to carry your skin care treatments down to the neck and chest, and hands so that your skin looks even, healthy, and uniform throughout. Results can be appreciated as early as 4-6 weeks after starting the program.

  Glycolic acid peels are done in the office to "jump-start" your skin care regimen. These are light exfoliative peels with no downtime which help with pigmentation issues, fine lines, and irregular surface texture. They also facilitate deeper and more even penetration of your regular skin care products. Peels can be performed once or twice per month for several months, then as maintenance several times per year.

  Transchloroacetic acetic peels are moderate depth chemical peels done in the office. Results are more dramatic and one can expect about 5-6 days of downtime. These can be repeated once or twice per year for the ultimate in skin maintance and a continuous fresh and youthful appearance.

  Daily sunscreen, avoidance of smoking and tanning, and a healthy diet and exercise is essential to maintaining a fresh face and youthful glow.

  All patients desiring facial rejuvenation should be on an effective skin care program which keeps the skin healthy, smooth, and fresh and to improve and maintain any surgical or non-surgical results
  
  

Lip Augmentation

Lip augmentation can be done as an isolated procedure or as part of general facial rejuvenation surgery. It can correct thin lips, atrophic lips as a result of aging, lip asymmetry, volume differences between the upper and lower lips, as well as provide volume to reduce wrinkles around the mouth.

There are various methods to enhance the lips. Filler substances can be surgically placed or injected to increase lip volume. There are many different filler substances available, both natural and synthetic. All of these materials can also be used to fill wrinkles or facial contour irregularities.

Juvederm or Restylane - Injectable hyaluronic acid, a normally occurring material in the human body. Similar to collagen. Lasts 6-9 months. No skin testing required. Juvederm is currently our top choice for filler, as it is the most natural and longest lasting. Some patients experience over 1 year longevity.

Fat - Fat is removed from an area of excess, such as the abdomen or thigh, and transferred to the lips and/or face. This is a more involved procedure than Juvederm, and the results can be long lasting. A touch up procedure may be required.

Laser Skin Resurfacing

Who is a Candidate?

• People with facial wrinkles, sun-damaged skin, hyperpigmentation, or scarring
• People with fine lower eyelid wrinkles, as an alternative to lower blepharoplasty
• Patients with fair complexions are the best candidates
• Individuals with a philosophy of excessive sun exposure or tanning are not good candidates

Goal of Surgery:

• Smoother, more youthful appearance of the skin
• Removal of fine wrinkles
• Tightening of the skin
• Improvement of skin irregularities
• Smoothing out of scars
• Improvement of irregular skin pigmentation, sun spots
• Dr. Brown uses two types of lasers. The Carbon Dioxide laser can have dramatic results, with approximately 80% improvement in skin quality. Recovery period is generally longer; 7 days until healed, followed by several months of pinkness to the skin requiring use of makeup. The Erbium laser can improve skin quality 40-60%, and recovery is faster, about 5 days until healed, and only 2-4 weeks of pinkness to the skin

Procedure Description:

• The procedure is done on an outpatient basis under general anesthesia, and takes about 30 minutes. Laser surgery is often combined with other facial procedures
• The laser removes the top layer of skin in a very precise and predictable manner

Postoperative Course:

• Vaseline is used to maintain skin moisture while healing
• No bandage is necessary
• A crust will form over the next several days, frequent light facial washings are performed, and healing will be complete in a week
• Redness or a light pink discoloration will be seen over the affected area for a variable period of time. This will gradually resolve to a healthier, youthful appearance. Makeup and sunscreen are used after the first week.