Columbia, Mo. — Eight treatments with a home-use diode laser provide effective and safe permanent hair reduction one year after the last treatment, according to a new study.

Ronald G. Wheeland, M.D., University of Missouri, Columbia, evaluated the efficacy and safety of a home-use hair removal diode laser in 13 adults with naturally brown or black hair and Fitzpatrick skin types I to IV. Each participant received eight monthly at-home treatments. Three different fluences were used and a fourth control area was left untreated.

Dr. Wheeland reported observing significant hair reduction in the treated areas, which generally increased with each treatment and remained stable during follow-up. One month after the last treatment the mean hair count reduction was 47, 55 and 73 percent, respectively, for 7 J/cm², 12 J/cm² and 20 J/cm², compared to control. At one year the corresponding reductions were 44, 49 and 65 percent. Overall, 86 percent of patients experienced more than 30 percent hair reduction, and 38 percent had more than 80 percent hair reduction at one year after the last treatment.

Hair removal was complete for 31 percent, and of those who experienced regrowth, 69 percent reported that the hair was finer and lighter than before treatment. Mild, transient erythema and edema occurred but usually self-resolved within a few hours.

Dr. Wheeland disclosed financial ties to TRIA Beauty, which manufactures the laser used in the study. The findings were published in the September issue of Lasers in Surgery and Medicine.

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Arlington Heights, Ill. — Most women want to see what breast reconstruction surgery results look like on other patients before they undergo treatment for breast cancer themselves, according to new survey results.

The survey, commissioned by the American Society of Plastic Surgeons, showed that 89 percent of respondents want to actually see what reconstruction results look like and to discuss the procedure with breast cancer survivors who have had the reconstructive surgery, the ASPS reports.

“We are going to provide information in a way that’s never been done before on this level,” ASPS President Malcolm Z. Roth, M.D., said in a statement. “A group of breast reconstruction patients will show a group of breast cancer patients what their reconstruction choices look like.”

Survey participants, who were not breast cancer patients, demonstrated little knowledge about breast reconstruction options, outcomes and factors that can affect results of reconstructive surgery, according to the ASPS.

Key findings of the survey of 1,204 women ages 18 and older, conducted by Harris Interactive, include:

• 23 percent of respondents knew about the range of breast reconstruction options;
• 22 percent were familiar with the expected outcomes of reconstruction;
• 19 percent knew that timing of breast cancer therapy and reconstructive surgery affects options and results.

The findings contrast with those of a study in Cancer in 2008, which showed that about 34 percent of breast cancer patients discussed breast reconstruction with their surgeon prior to treatment, MedPage Today reports.

“It is our job as doctors to fully inform our patients about breast reconstruction options,” Dr. Roth said. “Women are telling us that they want to actually see what reconstruction results would look like beforehand, and, as their physicians, we need to do everything we can to honor their request.”

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Chicago — The transconjunctival deep-plane midface lift (TDML) is safe, effective and may be preferable to the traditional midface lift, according a retrospective review conducted by three Chicago surgeons.

With the objective of presenting their nine-year experience with TDML and discussing its benefits and limitations compared to traditional procedures, surgeons with Chicago Medical School, Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine and University of Chicago Pritzker School of Medicine conducted a retrospective review of 124 patients who received TDML by Julius Few, M.D., between 2000 and 2009, according to the study.

The researchers reviewed patient demographics, operative technique, concomitant procedures and postoperative results. The patients included 97 women and 27 men with a minimum of 13 months of postoperative follow-up.

The mean operating time for upper blepharoplasty with TDML was less than 150 minutes. No significant complications occurred. One patient required re-excision of redundant lower eyelid skin, and another patient underwent secondary excision via traditional midface lift.

“The TDML procedure is safe and effective,” the authors wrote. “The technique is readily applicable and more ‘forgiving’ than the traditional midface lift. With proper patient selection, the limited soft-tissue dissection reduces surgical morbidity. Patients with excessive skin redundancy or festoons should be treated with more traditional techniques.”

The findings were published in the August issue of Aesthetic Surgery Journal.

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Atlanta — Health officials have identified a type of prediluted ink as the source of skin infections in tattoos that have been reported in four states.

Investigators with the Food and Drug Administration in January 2012 began investigating reports of seven people in Rochester, N.Y. who had raised, bubbly rashes after receiving tattoos. As many as 19 people got the skin infections after getting tattoos from the same artist, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports.

The infections were cased by a common bacteria, nontuberculosis Mycobacteria chelonae, which was traced to a type of prediluted ink or the water used to dilute the ink. Investigators determined that the tattoo artist used sterile practices and didn’t dilute the ink before use. Water and environmental samples taken from the tattoo parlor were negative for M. chelonae.

Additional investigations by local, state and federal authorities led to 22 confirmed cases of the skin infection and more than 30 suspected cases in New York, Colorado, Iowa and Washington. The FDA found M. chelonae contamination in two of five identified clusters of infections. All of those who were infected were exposed to one of four different brands of ink, the CDC reports.

“No specific FDA regulatory requirement explicitly provides that tattoo inks must be sterile,” the CDC stated in its Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report. “However, the CDC recommends that ink manufacturers ensure ink is sterile and that tattoo artists avoid contamination of ink through dilution with nonsterile water. “Physicans who encounter persistent papular rashes or nodules localized to newly tattooed areas should consider the possibility of an (M. chelonae) infection,” the CDC stated.

A perspective article about the tattoo-related skin infections was published Aug. 22 in the New England Journal of Medicine.

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Florence, Italy — Autologous fat tissue for cosmetic transplantation can be harvested by either a wet or dry technique, with no substantial differences in adipose tissue specimens, according to results of a recent study.

Researchers from the University of Florence studied 65 patients undergoing reconstructive lipofilling. Subcutaneous fat specimens were collected through either the wet or dry technique using a two-hole Coleman blunt cannula attached to a 10 cc Luer-Lok syringe. The tissue preservation was then assessed and evaluated.

No significant differences were visually observed between adipocyte samples harvested with or without tumescent solution, according to the study abstract. Further analysis confirmed that the mean surface area and shape of the tissue specimens were not significantly different in the lipoaspirate.

“The results from the present study provide the first histologic evidence and cell viability assessment to demonstrate that there are no substantial differences in the adipose tissue specimens harvested with the wet and dry techniques,” the study authors wrote.

The findings were published in the August issue of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery.

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Ann Arbor, Mich. — Manufacturers recommendations for cleaning suction tips may be inadequate, resulting in residual debris even after cleaning, according to a new study.

In response to an alert issued by the Food and Drug Administration to hospitals regarding reprocessing methods of medical devices, researchers with the University of Michigan tested manufacturers’ recommended cleaning methods for surgical instruments, including suction tips, which are exposed to large amounts of organic debris and are difficult to clean.

After following the manufacturers’ instructions on cleaning the suction tips, investigators often found debris where it should not have been; the manufacturer’s cleaning methods were not effective, the study authors said.

“As instruments become more complex, cleaning processes necessarily become more complex as well. Determining the best means of cleaning instruments is vital to ensuring patient safety,” the authors wrote. “This project revealed that often the instruments are not thoroughly cleaned even though personnel follow manufacturer instructions, but the solution to this problem, as well as its significance, requires additional investigation.”

The findings were published in the AORN Journal.

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Newark, N.J. — According to a new study, perioperative use of selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) is not harmful and has no adverse effects for patients undergoing facelift surgery.

The study, led by researchers with the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey, assessed the rate of hematoma following surgery among a group of 250 patients who underwent a modified deep-plane facelift and 13 patients who received necklifts from January 2010 to May 2011, both SSRI users and nonusers.

Twenty-two percent of the patients had been taking SSRIs or serotonin norepinephrine reuptake inhibitors (SNRI). For those taking SSRIs or SNRIs, the total hematoma rate was 1.72 percent, compared to 1.95 percent for nonusers.

“Usage of SSRIs was more common in this large series of facelift patients than in the general population. In these patients, SSRIs in the perioperative period are found to be safe and did not seem to adversely affect outcome,” the study authors wrote. “We found no evidence to support discontinuing SSRIs perioperatively.”

The study was published in the July/August of Archives of Facial Plastic Surgery.

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London — Following the Poly Implant Prothèse (PIP) breast implant scandal, the U.K. has begun a review of the cosmetic surgery industry, which may have far-reaching implications.

Bruce Keogh, medical director of the National Health Service, will lead a group tasked with investigating and making recommendations to the government by March 2013, Reuters reports.

The investigations come in the wake of the PIP breast implant scandal, in which as many as 400,000 women worldwide were given silicone breast implants of substandard quality by the French firm.

Other cosmetic procedures, such as facelifts, botulinum toxin injections and liposuction, will also be under review by the panel.

“The recent problems with PIP breast implants have shone a light on the cosmetic surgery industry,” Mr. Keogh is quoted as saying. “Many questions have been raised, particularly around the regulation of clinics, whether all practitioners are adequately qualified, how well people are advised when money is changing hands, aggressive marketing techniques, and what protection is available when things go wrong."

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Albany, N.Y. — A change in New York state law now requires insurers to provide reconstructive surgery after patients undergo a partial mastectomy.

Previous law required health insurers to provide coverage for reconstructive surgery following full mastectomies, the Wall Street Journal reports.

According to Senate Majority Leader Dean Skelos, advances in medical technology are making partial mastectomies possible in situations that would have previously required full mastectomies.

The bill was sponsored by Sen. Kenneth Lavalle, a Republican from Suffolk County, and Democratic Assemblywoman Vivien Cook of Queens.

There were no immediate figures available for the costs associated with the new law.

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Norman, Okla. — New blood vessels can be grown from adipose-derived stem cells obtained via liposuction, according to researchers at the American Heart Association’s 2012 Scientific Sessions.

The cells, harvested through liposuction, were seeded onto a bioscaffold, and eventually rolled into tubes by researchers, PR Newswire reports. In a matter of weeks the tissue grew into usable blood vessels, which can be used in complex procedures, such as heart bypass surgery. Because they are made from autologous cells, there is no risk of rejection or adverse reaction.

A potential problem is that the cells take time to grow.

“They would not be available immediately, but you could bank your own cells and keep them until the time comes that you need them,” PR Newswire quotes Roberto Bolli, M.D., chief of cardiology at the University of Louisville in Kentucky, as saying.

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