Dr. Kotlus discusses the 3 options for nonsurgical fat reduction including Zerona, Liposonix, and Coolsculpting. These are offered at Allure Medical Spa in Michigan and one of the doctors can discuss these with you during a consultation to determine if you are a candidate.

You can read more about these procedures here. 

Non-surgical nose shaping generally refers to filler injections that reshape the nose.  Fillers add volume underneath the skin and are most commonly used to treat wrinkles, but can also be used to inflate the lips or to change the appearance of the nose.  

Fillers to the nose can not actually make the nose smaller, but they can make the nose appear more narrow in cases where there is a flat bridge.  Fillers are also useful in certain cases to disguise a hump by filling around the hump, making it less obvious.  Irregularities or asymmetries after previous surgical rhinoplasty can also often be improved with non-surgical fillers.

There are several options when it comes to fillers that are used for nose shaping.  The most popular are made of gel consisting of hyaluronic acid, a substance that is naturally found in our skin.  These usually last about a year when injected around the nose, and they are fully reversible and non-permanent.  Restylane, Perlane, and Juvederm are all hyaluronic acid gel fillers and are the most frequently used dermal fillers in our cosmetic practice here in Michigan.  Other fillers including Artefill and Radiesse have also been used as non-surgical nose shaping methods.  

The treatment usually takes about 15 minutes and there is often zero downtime. To see if you are a candidate, call us for a free consultation. You can read more about non-surgical nose shaping on our website, here.  

Platelet- rich plasma has earned considerable attention in aesthetic medicine in recent years. It is a treatment derived from your own blood cells, namely the platelets and growth factors that aid in repair. Intuitively it makes sense to use the body’s innate system of growth factors to enhance and modulate cell activity in a targeted manner.

Many aesthetic physicians are using PRP to improve cosmetic procedures, such as fat transfer, facelifts, and laser resurfacing.  The "vampire facelift", also called Selphyl actually uses PRP injections to rejuvenate the face.

There has been published evidence that PRP does improve the recovery after laser resurfacing.  Below, a patient is shown before and 5 days after ActiveFX fractional skin resurfacing with PRP.  The benefits seem to include faster skin regrowth and less redness. 

Read more about PRP treatments with laser resurfacing on a PRP treatment blog post by Dr. Kotlus here. 

Nonsurgical fat reduction is all the rage this year because of the 2 major players on the market, CoolSculpting and now Liposonix.  What's the difference between the 2?

CoolSculpting reduces fat by freezing the fat cells.  It uses a vacuum to pull skin and fat between two cooling plates that carefully control the temperature to a point that injures the fat cells.  On average, a 25% reduction in fat layer thickness is seen in that area after a 1 hour treatment. It requires that the treatment area has some flexibility so the cooling plates have access to the fat cells.

Liposonix uses ultrasound energy to injure fat cells in a precise manner.  The focused ultrasound beams can zap the cells and a consistent layer of fat is reduced (not a percentage of the fat).  It does not require the skin to be flexible.  

Both procedures have no significant downtime and the best results are usually seen in about 8-12 weeks. They don't quite compare with liposuction for body shaping, but the results are dramatic and without any surgery. 

You can read more about Liposonix on the Allure website here, or call if you want a one-on-one, free consultation. 

This video demonstrates the properties of cohesive gel used in modern silicone breast implants. Read more about breast augmentation here.