So as promised, Roxanne was our very own guinea pig for a technique we like to call the Mini Laser. It uses the Profractional laser to rejuvenate tired looking skin. Many patients in the range of 20-35 are looking for a solution that is stronger than a chemical peel, with minimal risks but most importantly, MINIMAL DOWNTIME! Let’s think of this as the Intro course to laser treatment.

So what did we do? We found the most sensitive skin on the face of the earth (*cough* Roxanne *cough*) and performed the Mini Laser treatment. While we are employing the same lasers we use for even the most aged skin and acne scarring, we apply much lower settings to improve textural concerns, sun damage, fine wrinkles and to give patients that oh so satisfying “oh my gosh, your skin looks amazing! What did you do?”

So we wanted to see realistically how much downtime patients can expect to get from the Mini Laser. While we encourage patients to experience “Fresh Fridays,” by having the treatment on a Friday, be a little red over the weekend and then good as new by Monday; sadly we are not here on the weekends and Roxanne may not have appreciated me waking her up on Saturday and Sunday to take pictures! So instead, Roxanne had her treatment last Monday and you will see the pictures of her on…

Day 1 - Tuesday we see her without a stitch of makeup looking pink, but says she feels totally normal. She headed straight back to the makeup station after this picture so she was ready to work again.

Day 2 – Wednesday we see her looking almost back to normal without any makeup again!

Day 3 – Thursday we get to see her gorgeous after with no makeup on (except for a little mascara!)

When we asked Roxanne to share her experience she explains that prevention was one of the main reasons she decided to do the “Mini Laser.” Ensuring that her skin stands the test of time is extremely important to her. While she still has two more treatments to go in the series, she says her skin already feels baby soft, her pores appear smaller and it helped to get rid of some pigmentation that was bothering her. Glowing skin and no need for time off? We’re saying holla to the Mini Laser!

At our cosmetic surgery clinic, one of our favourite parts of the surgery process is seeing the patient back at their follow-up visits to celebrate their outcome! After coming so far in this journey together, there is nothing better than taking those ever important after pictures and sitting down to compare how truly far they’ve come. Being a female plastic surgeon, Dr. Khanna understands that as women we have very specific concerns, but are thrilled when our expectations are exceeded!

So just last week we were able to take celebrating to a whole new level when we sat down with Vicki for our final episode of “A Patient’s Journey.” Vicki has been kind enough to sit down with us during her consult, the day of her eyelid lift surgery and now 5 months after her procedure to discuss how the day went, what her recovery was like and how thrilled she is now with her final result.

We have had such amazing feedback from patients so far and we intend to offer our patients more of these first-hand experiences. Who better to share their experiences then real patients who have gone through the process with Dr. Khanna.

Last week we welcomed home some of our ICLS team, as they returned from a whirlwind trip to Brazil. Although they were only gone for three days, Dr. Sapra our dermatologist, Karen, Kelli and Abi fit in a lot of learning in just a short amount of time. While in Brazil, they visited two of the top doctors in San Paulo to learn a variety of new skills and techniques using many of the technologies and fillers we already know and love.

Members of the ICLS team have travelled all over the globe from Hong Kong, Spain, London, British Columbia, Mexico, Czech Republic and many more, just to learn about the national trends in cosmetic surgery, new techniques, as well as to visit the top facilities and doctors from around the world. In order to be the best we maintain that we need to visit and learn from the best. Learning is lifelong; and in a world where technology changes every day, we will continue to travel in order to deliver the best care to all of our patients.

So back to Brazil. On this trip, Dr. Sapra and the nurses learned about the newest, safest and most effective methods for rejuvenating the hands. Hands tend to be a neglected area of the body, but also tend to give away our age. So with a combination of laser and injectable therapy, the tone, texture and look of the hands can be quickly and effectively improved! Stay tuned for a list of procedures that are part of our “Fresh Fridays.” It includes treatments that give great and lasting results without the associated downtime. We recommend having your treatment done on Friday and then you are back to work without a care in the world by Monday.

While on the beaches of Ipanema, we also adopted a tad bit of body envy. We learned that when it comes to Brazilian woman, there are no stereotypes. Brazilian woman truly ARE absolutely gorgeous! We observed that while a beautiful bust was extremely important, it seemed that breast augmentation was much more about maintaining proportions, with implants remaining extremely natural in appearance. This absolutely reflects many of the beliefs of our very own female plastic surgeon Dr. Julie Khanna, since she takes scientific measurements to ensure that her recommendation for breast implant sizing maintains the most natural and idealistic proportions.

So with no further ado, here are some of our amazing photos from this most recent trip:

For anyone that knows him, it is abundantly clear that Dr. Sapra, our resident dermatologist, can never be accused of being lazy. Dr. Sapra is now the co-editor of the brand new journal The Chronicle of Cosmetic Medicine and Surgery and have just been graced by the first issue. The journal is a distinctive publication that is written specifically for the medical community involved in cosmetic surgery and medicine. The journal seeks to “offer information on clinical developments and practical therapeutics, to stimulate discussion of the broader issues in aesthetic medicine and to encourage the best practices.”

The journal was born as a collaboration between the publishers of The Chronicle of Skin and Allergy and the organizers of the annual Cosmetic Update educational conference. In the words of Dr. Sapra: “We are proud to provide the first Canadian journal for physicians practicing aesthetic medicine and we look forward to working with you to create a vehicle for the exchange of experiences and information. It’s my privilege, along with my colleague Dr. Nowell Solish to serve as co-editor of the chronicle.”

We’ll be writing posts about the highlights from the journal throughout the year so stay tuned for our future post on breast augmentation, written by our very own female plastic surgeon Dr Khanna.

There are many times throughout the year when ICLS is left without our resident Dermatologist and Plastic Surgeon. Whether Dr. Khanna, our female plastic surgeon is leading a meeting in Calgary (she was there last week) or Dr. Sapra is travelling abroad to learn about the latest and greatest procedures, we are often left without our amazing docs! In fact, some of our team are in Brazil as we speak, but not to fear, we will be blogging all about this when they return!

When they’re away also happens to be the only time our staff could possibly have treatments done themselves. It is just way too busy on a daily basis, but believe me, it is so much easier to talk about a procedure when you are speaking from experience and have actually had it done!

During this past Christmas break, Anna and Jan were interested in trying some of our Non Surgical Fat Removal treatments. So Anna had her first Liposonix treatment, which uses ultrasound to destroy excess fat cells. It works great for patients who would like to address their full abdomen and sometimes even their sides. Jan also was able to have a Zeltiq Coolsculpting treatment, which uses cold to destroy excess fat cells. It is best suited for pockets of fat on the abdomen, love handles, back fat, arms and thighs.

Jan will just require the one treatment and like many patients, we have split Anna’s treatment into two sessions to make it extremely comfortable. We asked Anna what her first treatment was like and she said, “it was a total breeze. I had maybe two pinchy spots around my hips, but other than that it was easy.”

When talking to the ladies about their experiences, I realized that they were able to offer me a plethora of information and advice about aspects of the treatments that I would have never even thought to ask…objective achieved! They gave me a detailed description of the sensations experienced, how to sit comfortably, how to entertain yourself and what to realistically expect after treatment. I am interested in having a fat removal procedure myself and although I know all about the procedure, I was struck by how reassuring speaking to Anna and Jan was. Knowing that they have gone through the process themselves and were qualified to be brutally honest about their experience, put a lot of my fears at bay. If you are considering a procedure and want to speak to someone who has gone through the procedure themselves feel free to ask we can definitely find someone for you to speak with!

We know what you’re thinking…taking one look at Roxanne, ICLS’s cosmetic surgery co-coordinator, it is hard to believe that she is involved in any form of dangerous physical activity other than dodging the salespeople at the mall. Little might you know; Roxanne actually rides everyday at Parish Ridge Stables in Burlington.

Roxanne is not one of those riders who only wears crisp white shirts and maintains her hair in a perfect French braid. She is involved in every aspect of the riding process. The most unexpected of these: Roxanne has to routinely clean the stables before her ride. This means hacking away with a rake and shovel in order to get all of the muck out of her horses stall. At the end of this arduous process she is often covered in grit and sweat, which is a terrible combination for someone who prizes themselves on keeping a clear and acne free complexion. So she keeps up to date on her Botox treatments, uses the products she swears by and is actually going to be the first of our staff to try the Mini Laser treatment (more to come on this awesome new treatment!)

Roxanne explains that she naturally has really oily skin, which means she is just one ride away from a breakout! That’s why she always carries her handy dandy Colorescience Let Me Be Clear Powder. It’s a powdered salicylic acid (acne and oil fighter); with SPF and a pinch of colour to even out the complexion. Right on!

Facial hair is not a topic us ladies like to discuss openly. We whisper solutions to each other, google remedies, subject ourselves to painful waxing and threading appointments; all the while ensuring no one is peeking over our shoulders. Well to that I say No More! If you are insecure about hair growth on your face it is now possible to remove it using laser hair removal at our cosmetic surgery clinic. Because the face is an incredibly sensitive region, Dr. Sapra our dermatologist often recommend the Lightsheer Duet. Lightsheer Duet works by emitting a near-infrared laser light that is absorbed by the pigment located in the hair follicle. It also uses suction which can reduce any discomfort. The laser is pulsed for only a fraction of a second. The duration of each pulse is just long enough to damage the follicle, while the contact-cooling hand piece protects the skin by creating conductive cooling during the laser energy delivery. Imagine not having to tweeze, pluck, poke or bleach your sensitive skin again.

We have recently been made aware by many, that we are guilty of ignoring men on our wee little cosmetic surgery blog. Not to worry though, the tides are changing. This week, we wanted to discuss an everyday skincare routine for men. I know that this combination of words can often sound like an oxymoron but our resident dermatologist would beg to differ. According to Dr. Sapra, it is important to have an everyday routine as a means of prevention and treatment. Using products that work for you will help prevent signs of aging and sun damage…

Four years back one of our staff was so concerned about her hubby’s skin that she had to trick him into using sunscreen by giving him the Vivier 30 Moisturizing Shield which is a light “man-friendly” moisturizer that just so happens to sneakily contain a good amount of sun protection!

So understanding that this is foreign territory for most of you fellas out there, we have put together a foolproof combination of products to keep you looking oh so fresh.

1. SwissTEC Optimal Cleanser: A gel based cleanser that will remove impurities, soothe skin and lock in hydration.
2. Clarifying Elixir: instantly reduces the size of clogged pores, removes acne causing dead surface cells all the while balancing the skin’s moisture level.

And if we haven’t overwhelmed you too much already proceed on to step three:

3. Trifoliant: is a powerful, yet gentle physical exfoliator that will help to achieve a smooth and even skin texture. This product uses quartz exfoliating particles, salicylic acid and Vitamin A to promote cell turnover, thereby improving the firmness and smoothness of the skin.

For any of you that follow us on our cosmetic surgery blog, you know that we are verging on obsessive when it comes to videos. We love having Dr. Khanna talk about topics she educates her patients on every day. We have people tell us all the time that the videos are helpful when researching their options.

For the 2012 year we have lots of new, amazing videos in the works. Coming first is our facelift video with Dr. Khanna where she explains how she determines who is a good candidate for anything from facelift, necklift, brow lift and eyelid lift. This should be up and running within a week or so.

Also stay tuned for an in-depth look at non-surgical fat removal. We will be showing live treatments of Liposonix and Zeltiq and ask these patients about their concerns, expectations and how the treatment feels.

Lastly, we will be airing the last episode (Vicki’s final result after Blepharoplasty). We have now done two series that follow patients through the actual surgery process.

Check out our revamped YouTube channel that houses our full video library. Click here to watch: http://www.youtube.com/iclsca

Hi everyone! Today we just wanted to wish all of you a very happy holiday season from all of us at ICLS. We are especially grateful for your support of the website and our blog in its very first year. Your e-mails, comments and suggestions have made it such a pleasure to write. We wish you continued abundance, happiness, and peace. Happy holidays! Bring on the turkey!