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 Folsom
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SKINovative® News & Press
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SHOP FOR SHOES, GET A
SHOT OF BOTOX® |
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December 17, 2006
DALLAS - Amy Andrade had been thinking about BOTOX® for
a while. So when she spotted a spa-like "cosmedical"
clinic in the upscale Dallas mall she visits about
once a month, she was immediately interested. When she
learned the clinic was connected with one of Texas'
leading medical institutions, she was sold. She had
BOTOX® injected into her 32-year-old forehead and near
her eyes to smooth out infinitesimal wrinkles. "It was
great. I felt like I was getting a facial," said the
furniture showroom manager.
AS A GIFT?: Cosmetic surgery cuts both ways | Boomers
look for a boost She was hoping to look younger and
knew about BOTOX® because several of her friends have
had the injections. Medical spas like the one at
Dallas' NorthPark Center are booming. The number in
the United States has jumped from 50 in 2002, when
BOTOX® injections won federal approval, to about 2,500
this year, according to the International Medical Spa
Association. Malls and other retail sites are the hot
spot locations as companies and medical institutions
move closer to their customers. Such spas offer
minimally invasive cosmetic procedures like injections
of BOTOX®, which relaxes facial muscles to make lines
fade, and fillers like Restylane, which add volume.
Not all medical spas have ties with a major medical
institution like the Klinger Advanced Aesthetics
Cosmedical Center, Spa and Salon at NorthPark, which
has teamed up with the University of Texas
Southwestern Medical Center. Some "cosmedical" clinics
don't even require their practitioners to be plastic
surgeons or dermatologists. Those who specialize in
the field say involvement by a plastic surgeon or
dermatologist ensures consumer safety. Dr. Rod Rohrich,
professor and chairman of the department of plastic
surgery at the University of Texas Southwestern
Medical Center, is one of two plastic surgeons who
help oversee cosmetics procedures at the NorthPark
operation.
"When you peel back 'BOTOX® in the mall,' you have a
top-notch medical facility in a mall setting," he
said. "What you're doing is you're getting the best of
the best in a place where people shop and you're doing
it safely."
The doctors are generally there just half a day a
week, sometimes more. But they say they are always
available for the nurse practitioner, who does most
procedures.
Benjamin Akande, dean of Webster University School of
Business and Technology in St. Louis, said that it's a
business decision that makes sense. "The partnership
with these legitimate entities gives them the kind of
credibility that cannot be questioned," Akande said.
"They're saying this is as good or better as you
coming to your local plastic surgeon."
Moving such procedures closer to consumers also makes
sense because "cosmetic surgery in the 21st century is
not an anomaly," Akande said. "It's a daily fact of
life." The Klinger spa in Dallas is located across
from the Barneys New York store and near |
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Our Treatments Have Been Featured in
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Neiman
Marcus. It offers haircuts, massages and nail services
along with its cosmedical procedures. BOTOX® there
starts at $400 for one area of the face, Restylane at
$650. Andrade, the 32-year-old who got the BOTOX®
treatment, said that she'd made a few phone calls to
research the procedure before being drawn in by the
sleekly designed spa, which is connected to the
Sephora cosmetics store next door.
Almost two weeks after her injections, she said she's
been pleased with the results, which she described as
a natural look. "I still have expression," she said,
while getting rid of some creases between her eyes.
"Nobody really notices it except me."
Aware that the results fade in three to five months,
she said she'll decide then whether to do it again.
She has gotten some compliments.
"Some people say, 'Oh my God, your skin looks so
beautiful."' Her typical reply is that she's been
using a new skin product.Her bottom line, though, is:
"I like it, so I think that's what counts."
BOTOX® is the No. 1 minimally invasive cosmetic
procedure, with 3.8 million treatments done last year,
according to the American Society of Plastic Surgeons.
The International Medical Spa Association estimates
that by the end of the year revenue from medical spas
will exceed $1 billion, said Hannelore Leavy, founder
and executive director of the group.
The Dallas location is an example of a concept Klinger
plans to market to other medical spas and doctor's
offices, said Klinger chairman and chief executive
officer Richard Rakowski. For a licensing fee, the
Norwalk, Conn.-based company plans to put the Klinger
name on other spas that adhere to its standards, which
include supervision by board-certified plastic
surgeons. Klinger has another such flagship clinic in
an affluent shopping area in Chevy Chase, Md., that is
overseen by doctors from Johns Hopkins Medical. Leavy
said each state has different qualifications rules for
those who perform minimally invasive cosmetic
procedures. Work done by those poorly trained can lead
to "a lot of complications," she said. In October, the
American Society of Plastic Surgeons and the American
Society for Aesthetic Plastic Surgery drew up "guiding
principles" for supervision of non-physician personnel
in medical spas. Specialists in the field say the
issue is who's running these spas and who's
supervising. Dr. Richard A. D'Amico, president-elect
of the American Society of Plastic Surgeons, said the
concern is more about safety than location. He said
that it's important that such procedures are at least
overseen by a plastic surgeon or a dermatologist.
The procedures may look like simple injections, but
serious complications could result if someone isn't
properly trained. For example, an injection that
paralyzes the muscle, like BOTOX®, given in the wrong
spot could cause an eyelid to droop, he said.
Skinovative USA, a Tempe, Ariz.-based chain of medical
spas that opened in 2001, does not demand that its
medical directors be plastic surgeons or
dermatologists.
Vin Wells, company founder and chief operations
officer, said the chain's directors are doctors or
nurse practitioners who get training at corporate
headquarters. "It's really about the quality of
training," he said. Skinovative has four mall-based
medical spas and is adding two more in the coming
months, including one in the Houston Galleria, Wells
said. Despite the accessibility of mall-based medical
spas, those who run them say they screen patients to
make sure that they understand the procedure and
determine whether it's appropriate for them.
"We don't want impulse buyers. We take a careful
history, talk about pros and cons," said Dr. Jeff
Kenkel, professor and vice chairman of the department
of plastic surgery at UT Southwestern, who oversees
the NorthPark spa along with Rohrich. "We want to make
sure that that person is educated about what they're
looking for."
Wells of Skinovative says his doctors almost never
treat someone the same day. "People aren't
psychologically ready for it," he said.
Kate Parsons, director of the Center for Ethics at
Webster University in St. Louis, said that she is
worried that as such services become more widely
available, people will be less inclined to examine why
they feel the need to fill in winkles and look
younger.
"I guess my concern is that we're not examining that
as much as we could be," Parsons said. "It is becoming
increasingly accepted as one more option among the
array of cosmetics and fashion.
Copyright 2006 The Associated Press. All rights
reserved. This material may not be published,
broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
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