A Touch of Hollywood

As I watched the Academy Awards last week, I noticed that there is certainly no shortage of beautiful men and women in Hollywood. The truly distinguished, however, are the actors and actresses who have managed to maintain successful careers, and a refined appearance and persona over several decades.

These are not the stars that we see in the tabloid magazines. These are the beautiful, iconic faces that typically grace the covers of Vanity Fair, GQ, or Vogue. These are the type of good looks that we try to emulate with cosmetic surgery, fillers or Botox. While we can’t make our patients look like celebrities, we can accentuate positive features such as cheek bones, lips, eyelids, and noses with nonsurgical and surgical interventions. Small amounts of Botox and Juvederm in the right places frequently result in a recognizable improvement in overall aesthetics.

Dr. Theda C. Kontis, M.D. from John Hopkins Medical Institute recently published an excellent scholarly review of injectable facial fillers. In the February 2013 issue of JAMA Facial Plastic Surgery, Dr. Kontis reviews the history and safety record of Hyaluronic acid, the main component of Juvederm, which has now been used for over seven years. Safety data has been recorded from over 400,000 patients with an adverse reaction rate of 0.06%. Most commonly used medications have an adverse reaction rate between 2-10%. In 2011, 1.2 million patients were injected with Hyaluronic acid in the United States. Based on those numbers, we can extrapolate that approximately 100,000 patients received Hyaluronic acid injections in Canada. This confirms what I tell my patients: Hyaluronic acid fillers such as Juvederm are very safe and effective. The best news in all of this is that you do not need to reside in Beverly Hills or make twenty million dollars a movie to enhance your true beauty.

Have a great March. Spring is just around the corner.

Dr. Keohane

Renewed, Recharged and Refocused...

In early December, I attended a three day course in exciting New York City—“The Cutting Edge 2012". This was an international interdisciplinary rhinoplasty symposium highlighting advances in rhinoplasty and facial cosmetic surgery. This course was co-sponsored by the American Society for Aesthetic Plastic Surgery and the American Academy of Facial Plastic Reconstructive Surgery.  There was great participation from surgeons from all over the world.

The universal theme of this meeting was the integration of rhinoplasty, fillers, Botox and other therapies to achieve a harmonious, natural result that is in balance with the rest of the face. Since rhinoplasty surgery is as much artistic in nature as it is scientific, often nonsurgical modalities, such as radiofrequency therapies like the eMatrix, judicious use of injectable fillers or steroids are used to modify results for those patients who have difficult-to-treat skin types. 

The use of high-volume fillers like Juvederm Voluma accentuate a good rhinoplasty result. Botox placed in the frown lines above the nose will soften the face, highlight the surgical result and provide a pleasing, harmonious result.  It was also reassuring to learn that our standard of care and good quality results are more than comparable with those of international experts from all over the world. 

These international scientific seminars are a wonderful way to recharge and refocus on our practice.  Maintenance of competence and continuing education is something that I take very seriously.  I attend 3 or 4 scientific surgical meetings each year and register and record these events with the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada.  I believe this process makes me a better physician and ultimately, the beneficiary is you, my patient.

Whether your 2013 wish list includes younger looking skin or facial rejuvenation through surgical techniques, our team provides safe, effective, natural-looking treatments tailored to your unique needs. On behalf of the Centre, I wish you a beautiful New Year. Hope to see you soon.

Dr. John Keohane

On Beauty & Happiness...

Recently I had the pleasure of listening to a remarkable lecture by Dr. Nancy Etcoff at the American Academy of Facial Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery annual meeting.

A practicing psychologist, and faculty member of the Harvard Medical School, Dr. Etcoff writes and lectures extensively on the neuroscience of beauty and teaches a course titled, “The Science of Happiness." Her work explains why humans strive to look their best, choose procedures such as straightening crooked teeth, use cosmetics, Botox, dermal fillers, and in some cases undergo cosmetic surgery. The human brain intuitively recognizes imperfections that need correction. As humans have evolved over thousands of years, attractiveness is recognized and rewarded emotionally, and in many cases, financially.

I see this in my practice as patients are often quite accurate in identifying the cosmetic problems that need to be corrected with either surgery or non-surgical techniques whether they are 18 or 62. As I tell my patients, it is not vanity. It is simply neuroscience.

May the holidays bring you much happiness this season!

Dr. John Keohane

The Season of Transformation

I hope you have been enjoying the change in seasons as much as I have. While summer brings much to the table, the crispness and flawless colour of fall on the prairies is also magical — and fleeting! It seems that we've hit winter already....

I have just returned from the American Academy of Facial Plastics and Reconstructive Surgery Annual Meeting in beautiful Washington, DC. This type of event is an amazing learning venue as it brings together a great collection of interesting speakers, including leading experts from all over the world. Many new techniques were discussed - here are some highlights:

• “Fat grafting” in conjunction with facelift surgery is growing in popularity. You can learn more about this technique here.
• High volume, high viscosity facial fillers, such as Juvederm Voluma for very deep facial valleys around the mouth and nose.
• New and advanced Botox injection strategies for reducing fine and deep wrinkles as well as masseteric fullness in Oriental patients.
• As always, new and interesting concepts for achieving lasting results in primary and revision cosmetic nose and eyelid surgery.

On that note, this has been our busiest year ever for cosmetic rhinoplasties (nasal surgeries). We have been averaging one to two difficult revision cases per week as well as three to four primary cosmetic rhinoplasties. These transformative procedures restore self-esteem to patients. We are privileged to have patients coming to see us from British Columbia, the Northwest Territories, Saskatchewan, and of course all over beautiful Alberta. I am touched by these patients’ trust in our efforts, facility and staff. If you would like to learn more about a procedure or a specific surgery, please contact us.

Enjoy the beauty the season(s) and be well!

Dr. John Keohane