The Los Angeles Valley News reported today that the final Helath Care bill okayed by the Senate this morning has had the proposed 5% cosmetic surgery/treatment tax (Botax) removed. Thanks to everyone who supported the removal of this discriminatory tax. In not so good news for tanning salons and actor George Hamilton, an extra 10% tanning tax has been included into the bill.

Marketers and public relations advisors (who seem to have as much presence at our scientific cosmetic medicine meetings as surgeons, "in the current economy") have been recommending for years to include patient testimonials on our cosmetic physician websites saying for instance how wonderful "Dr. So&So, Beverly Hills cosmetic surgeon" is, because, "After all Doctor, it's not how good you really are, but the perception that you create for prospective 'clients' on the ever present internet", (admit it, you wouldn't be reading this at this moment if it were not so sadly true).

I was raised to respect the ancient sage advise of our forefathers, "It is better to let others 'toot your horn' than to do it yourself". As Jerry Seinfeld said in the final 2009 episode of Curb Your Enthusiasm, "having said that", I cannot resist sharing this e-mail exchange that I had this morning with a recent patient. I believe that it will serve as my testimonial requisite for cosmetic surgeon websites for my pr and marketing friends.

In a message dated 12/19/2009 1:49:21 P.M. Pacific Standard Time:

Doing and looking much better. Probably another blast maybe two on that same area and I'll be good. Tell all the "Fraxel Haters" that this stuff really works!!! Thank you.

"Dr. Ben" (I changed the name to protect the very innocent, considerate, nicest guy in the world)

To which I replied, most consistent with letting others do the tooting:

Hi “Dr. Ben",

Thanks. You tell 'em! Seeing is believing.

Happy Holidays and a Healthy, Prosperous 2010.

Dr. P

Michael A. Persky, M.D., F.A.C.S. 16311 Ventura Blvd. Suite 600 Encino, California 91436

website: www.drpersky.com email: drpersky@aol.com phone: 818 501-3223 (face) Fax: 818 981-3071

Choose your facial plastic surgeon carefully.

It seems that you can't go anywhere, speak to anyone, or look at any media without being exposed to Tiger Woods gossip from numbers 1 through 13 to his association with a recently arrested Human Growth Hormone (HGH) physician. Well for a few moments and sentences here I hope to fill you in on the "non-Tiger" gossip at Dr. Persky's office, what’s new, and what we look forward to in the upcoming year.

We had our annual Holiday office party last night. I began my toast to my staff by saying, "As you look around the room tonight at all of these wonderful faces, what can you say......but what a fortunate and lucky man that I am". My office staff including Felicia, Catherine, Michelle, Mason, Deena, Dana, Jennifer, and Cindy is considerate, caring, and compassionate about our patient’s well-being. It is my pleasure and privilege to have been blessed with the support and help that they each provide.

What's ahead in 2010 and beyond? Our practice now offers patients an alternative to Botox, recently FDA approved Dysport. The most commonly asked question about Dysport is how is it different from Botox? Patients who have tried both describe Dysport as creating a different feeling (more pleasant in some) of decreased muscular movement while still eliminating unwanted lines and wrinkles. My best answer to patients is to try both and see which gives you a better result. It is nice to have multiple modalities to make patients look less tired and less aged.

I have treated many patients with Sculptra and look forward to using this collagen stimulating filling agent a great deal more in 2010 and beyond, as the technique of use, dilution, and injection has been refined so that patients benefit from a safe and most naturally effective long-term replacement of lost facial volume (i.e., read facial aging reversal).

And who doesn't have a few (or a few hundred) brown and red spots on their body that they would rather not have anymore? Solta's brand new Dual Fraxel platform has received rave reviews from patients treated around the country, including those lucky enough to be our test patients last November. I look forward to getting rid of many brown and red spots from the face and body in upcoming years. We should have this revolutionary technology permanently in our office by the beginning of the year.

Accent XL, offered by Dana Kramer, RN, will continue to be the work-horse for non-surgical fat and cellulite sculpting in our office. Jennifer, our wonderful aesthetician looks forward to continuing to build her clientele with the fabulous personal regimes of skin care and peels that she gives to very happy patients.

Of course I still offer facial plastic surgical procedures though the trend over the past few years has been toward non-surgical treatments. Rhinoplasty and eyelid surgery continue to be very popular surgeries whose results are difficult to match non-surgically.

I look forward to continuing my facial plastic surgical education as well as sharing my knowledge with others through national and international meetings, lectures, and online forums such as RealSelf.com and MakeMeHeal.com. I will continue to devote my energy to determining what new technologies are safe and effective versus those that are risky and more hype than real. Speaking of which, the jury is still out on Zerona laser, the passive skin laser that promises to shed "inches" from targeted areas just by letting the painless laser light pass over the skin. Patients do lose some inches, but it is still too early to know how long the results will last.

For all, I hope and pray for peace, health, happiness, and the ability of each of us to treat each other as we hope others would treat us. Be well and G-d Bless.

The recent violence suffered by recording artist Rhianna, and this past Thanksgiving's 2:30 am "accident" suffered by golf star Tiger Woods has brought the subject of domestic violence (confirmed and rumored, respectively) to the forefront.

The National Domestic Violence Project offers individuals who have been affected by domestic violence the hope of wholeness by treating the facial injuries.

The American Academy of Facial Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery (AAFPRS) Foundation is the first surgical group to take a firm stand and become involved in assisting individuals of domestic violence break the cycle of violence, enhance their self-esteem and rebuild their lives. Many victims of domestic violence receive facial injuries and are not financially able to have these injuries adequately repaired. AAFPRS offers consultation and surgery, pro-bono, to eligible individuals through FACE TO FACE: The National Domestic Violence Project.

The AAFPRS has developed a partnership with the National Coalition Against Domestic Violence (NCADV), which is the umbrella group for the majority of shelters in this country. In addition, the American Medial Association has enthusiastically endorsed the program.

The AAFPRS is a leader in the medical field by helping empower individuals who have been physically abused. The problem of domestic violence is vast. Everyday, the AAFPRS works hand-in-hand with the shelters making sure that the individual is helped emotionally then physically hopefully eliminating the painful memories of the abuse.

We realize that the facial plastic surgery that our doctors perform will not alleviate the emotional scars that these individuals carry at all times. That is why we have partnered with shelters across the country. Healing must occur within before the surgery erases the physical scars.

For further information go to http://www.facetofacesurgery.org/domestic/index.html

(image courtesy of www.tera.cl)
Solange Magnano, 38, a model who won the Miss Argentina title in 1994, died Sunday from complications caused by surgery to reshape her buttocks.

The London-based Times Online reported that the doctor who operated on her at a cosmetic surgery center in Buenos Aires might not have been “a real professional,” according to a former president of an Argentinian association of plastic surgeons.

Buenos Aires is one of many foreign destinations for patients seeking relatively inexpensive plastic surgery.

Magnano was a familiar figure in Argentina, though she is little known in the United States. Comments from grieving fans flooded her Facebook fan group, which was renamed “We Miss You, Solange Magnano.”

Last Thursday, she underwent a buttocks augmentation, which usually involves buttocks implants. On Friday, she was hospitalized with a pulmonary embolism, in which a blood clot or other substance blocks the main artery in the lungs.

Fashion designer Roberto Piazza, whose clothes Magnano often modeled, said the buttocks augmentation involved injection of a liquid that unexpectedly “went to her lungs and brain.”

Referring to Magnano, he said, “A woman who had everything lost her life to have a slightly firmer behind.”

Another fashion-world friend said, “She only underwent the procedure because she thought it was no big deal.”

Magnano is survived by her husband and eight-year-old twins.

In the United States, buttocks operations are relatively rare, with only 3,600 performed last year. About 100 times more breast augmentations are done, according to the American Society for Aesthetic Plastic Surgery.