The medical section of our consultation office treats skin diseases that cannot be diagnosed or treated by your physician and takes care also of the cosmetic medical treatments of sun-damage skin: wrinkles, furrows, creases and depressed scars. WHAT ARE THESE DIFFERENT NON-SURGICAL PROCEDURES ? 1. Injections of biodegradable temporary implant materials: They are injected in the dermis using a very fine needle in order to raise depressions to the level of the surrounding skin by filling in the lines and wrinkles just under the surface of the skin. These biodegradable products are used on all types of wrinkles, facial creases and scars, mostly on superficial lesions. Collagen is a bovine derived material. Two skin tests prior to collagen injections are required on account of possible allergy to the American-made collagen (1-2%). Hylaform is a fowl derived material and Restylane is a synthetic product (no known allergy to both products). Usually two successive sessions are needed to obtain a full correction (collagen: Zyderm-1, Zyderm-2, Zyplast; hyaluronic acid: Hylaform, Restylane). 2. Permanent non-degradable products: These implants are inserted below the surface of the skin in order to fill the hollow furrow and give some bulkiness. These non-degradable products are used for the treatment of deep facial furrows and scars. SoftForm is a soft synthetic tube-shaped implant made of a non allergenic polymer. It is a simple in-office procedure done under local anesthesia. The implant is inserted below the surface of the skin through two small incisions. It is then invaded by conjunctive tissue. SoftForm is implanted in one session, however it may be necessary to use another product such as collagen to achieve full correction of the treatment area. Artecoll consists of microspheres suspended in a solution of collagen. It is used as an injectable micro-implant. Prior to injections, one skin test is required on account of possible allergy to this German-made collagen (rare). If optimal correction is not achieved after the Artecoll initial implant, the treatment can be repeated 2 months later. 3. Botox: The diluted toxin is injected directly into the muscles of the superior area of the face. These muscles are responsible for the frown lines of the forehead, rhytides of the periorbital and intersuperciliary (glabellar) areas. 4. Chemical peelings: It consists in the application of an acid product to peel the surface of the skin to treat mild sun-damaged, light wrinkling and irregular pigmentation. Most superficial chemical peelings are done with fruity (glycolic acid Neostrata or Reversa AHA) and medium peels are performed with 20% to 35% trichloroacetic solution (TCA). Other chemical peeling agents are also used. 5. Microdermabrasion (MegaPeel): Microdermabrasion involves sanding the skin with small microscopic crystals made of aluminum oxide. A special instrument, MegaPeel, passes the crystals over the surface of the skin and then removes them quickly to buff superficial skin irregularities. Changes are cumulative and most microdermabrasion procedures are repeated at ten day or two week intervals. Six to eight sessions are usually suggested for optimal results. There is little down time associated with this procedure, because after each treatment there is minimal redness of the skin that which usually subsides within 30 minutes to one day depending on the depth of the procedure (the number of passes). A series of MegaPeels will improve: acne scarring and some other types of scarring, fine lines, moderate wrinkles, enlarged pores, pigmentation problems and uneven tones, dull, lifeless and sun damaged skin. 6. Sclerotherapy: Sclerotherapy is a technique to remove small vessels of the skin of the lower extremities. These vessels are often nicknamed telangiectasis, superficial varicosities, veinous stars, spider veins. Sclerotherapy involves injecting a minute quantity of a sclerosing solution inside the vein, using a very small needle. One must note that the Candela ScleroPlus and the CoolGlide lasers are also a natural complement to sclerotherapy of lower extremities to treat effectively small vessels the diameter of which is less than five millimeters.     .. ... .. ...