MedEsthetics—business education for medical practitioners—provides the latest noninvasive cosmetic procedures, treatment trends, product and equipment reviews, legal issues and medical aesthetics industry news.
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BEST PRACTICES Cosmetic procedures appeal to a wide variety of people, yet practices can ���nd themselves limited to very speci���c patient demographics. This can be the result of referrals that grow from a doctor���s initial base; it can also be the result of the practice���s marketing message. Do your advertisements and promotional materials show a wide range of ages, ethnicities and body types? If not, you may be inadvertently turning away patients eager to try your services. Manuel Gonzales founded Social Ideas Internet Marketing to help practices reach out to the growing Hispanic population through targeted social media and Internet campaigns. In addition to helping practices create campaigns and websites with images and messages that will attract these prospective patients, the company offers Spanish-language services. It will translate credentials and practice information to create Spanish-language or bilingual websites, social media pages and blogs. Physicians who sign up with the company are also listed on its websites, cosmeticsurgery10.com and cirugiaplastica411.com. For more information, contact 800.457.2907, manuelgonzalez@socalideas.com. Eyebrow Projection Affects Attractiveness Eyebrow projection may just as important as eyebrow shape in our perception of facial beauty. ���The eyes play an essential role in facial attractiveness and beauty and should be surrounded by high walls, similar to the principle of utilizing frames for pictures on a wall,��� said Eser Yuksel, MD, author of ���Sagittal Projection of the Eyebrow Versus Facial Attractiveness,��� presented at the 2012 meeting of the American Society of Plastic Surgeons. ���Higher walls allow for greater projection of the eyebrow, which we found correlates to a greater degree of perceived facial attractiveness.��� The study measured the surface area and projection of the soft tissue from the top of the eyelid to the eyebrow, known as the ���oblique frame.��� Photos of 20 patients with low and high oblique frames were examined, as were pre- and postoperative photos of 20 additional patients who had undergone fat grafting to increase their oblique frames. Ten randomly selected subjects rated the photos as 0-unattractive, 1-no inclination or 2-attractive. The subjects rated the photos of patients with higher oblique frames and those who underwent fat injections to their oblique frames as more attractive. Camou���age Makeup Improves Quality of Life Camou���age makeup dramatically improves quality of life for patients struggling with skin diseases and should be offered by dermatology practices upon initial consultation, say researchers Lauren L. Levy and Jason J. Emer of the Mount Sinai School of Medicine, Department of Dermatology. In ���The emotional bene���t of cosmetic camou���age in the treatment of facial skin conditions: personal experience and review,��� (Clinical, Cosmetic and Investigational Dermatology 2012:5 173-182), Levy and Emer reviewed studies on quality of life for patients suffering from acne, psoriasis, rosacea, vitiligo and melasma, as well as studies that measured changes in quality of life for similar patient groups who were offered camou���age makeup services. Patients with facial skin diseases reported 8 MARCH/APRIL 2013 | MedEsthetics feelings of depression, anxiety, decreased selfesteem and suicidal ideation. In two studies���a three-center study that included 135 patients and a second, smaller 20-patient study���patients who were offered camou���age makeup showed a signi���cant improvement in quality of life, which was measured using the Dermatology Life Quality Index (DLQI). With a maximum score of 30 representing an ���extremely large effect on the patients life,��� researchers reported an average DLQI of 9.1 before the patients were offered advice on camou���age makeup and 5.8 one month after starting use of the makeup. In the second study, improvement was 9.2 to 5.5. The questions with the greatest change in DLQI scores were related to sexual and interpersonal relationships. TOP LEFT: �� THINKSTOCK/ISTOCKPHOTO.COM; TOP RIGHT, BOTTOM: �� ISTOCKPHOTO.COM Broaden Your Patient Base