Presidential scar treatment

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/worldnews/...isappeared.html

Ukrainian President Victor Yushchenko appears to have his movie star features back after dioxin poisoning in 2004 turned the smooth-faced Adonis into a pockmarked bulldog.

Latest images of Mr Yushchenko swimming in the icy waters of a lake in Kiev suggest he has full-recovered from the disfigurement and scarring which ruined his face.

The charismatic president is pictured with a big smile on his unblemished face as he marks Epiphany - an Orthodox Christian tradition - by immersing himself in blessed water.

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http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2009/01/19/...876_224x362.jpg

The president's doctor Mykola Korpan has reportedly said in a Ukrainian newspaper that Mr Yushchenko's face was to eventually return to normal.

With the aid of modern medical technology, Dr Korpan was confident Mr Yushchenko's appearance would be restored in just a few years, as the poison gradually disappeared from his system.

An investigation into the attempted murder of Mr Yushchenko was opened in 2007, but no-one has ever been charged.

The president's pro-Western allies have accused Russia of being behind the plot to kill him, but Moscow maintains its innocence.

Ukrainian prosecutor general Oleksandr Medvedko has said only three countries - one of them Russia - in the world produce dioxin TCDD

PERMANENT CHAPPED LIPS

Ok, while this may seem trivial to some, I can assure you this condition is NO JOKE. I am going to see the derm about this, has anyone else on this website got this condition. I think the scientific term is Exfoliative Cheilitis

I stopped accutane a year ago yet my lips still chap. Ive tried vaseline, e 45 , all of it is temporary relief.

When saliva mixs with dried lip skin it creates a horrible GOO which congeals around your lip. This is awful!

Pixel Laser did the trick

I rarely visit this site anymore, testament to the fact that my 4 Pixel laser sessions have helped me.

I would recommened it to anyone suffering from light to moderate scarring but unwilling to do excisions etc to make their scarring worse.

Now I just have to solve these other problems cheilitis (thanks accutane!) and Dandruff (again, thanks accutane!)

The dangers of Fraxel

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/pages/live/fema...picbox&ct=5

Last week The Mail on Sunday revealed how television newsreader Kate Silverton's violent reaction to laser therapy left her in pain, unable to work and facing the threat of lasting skin damage.

Kate, 37, underwent Fraxel therapy to reduce minor facial scarring – the legacy of teenage acne. This is her compellingly honest account of her experience and a warning to anyone tempted to believe knife-free surgery is risk-free...

Looking back, I suppose I already had an instinct that something wasn't right. When I asked the nurse for the mirror, I'm sure I caught a flicker of reluctance as she handed it over.

Still, I steeled myself with a "Get a grip, Silverton, it's fine." But I didn't feel fine – my face hurt and I was worried.

A glance in the mirror would reassure me I had done the right thing. Or perhaps not.

The face that stared back at me was already red, raw and swollen. There were deep lines running between my nose and mouth and my face had dropped, giving me a puffy, hangdog expression.


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I might have found it funny were it not for the fact it was so painful and I had the terrible sense that something had gone badly wrong. That was just the beginning.

Last week it was revealed that I had undergone Fraxel laser therapy to treat acne scars on my face. It was also revealed that it had, indeed, gone horribly wrong.

My skin reacted so violently that, instead of a couple of days' recovery and back to work, I was absent for two weeks and am still facing possible long-term damage and scarring.

To be honest, I was mortified when people first found out. Then the emails started coming in.

Some were messages of sympathy and they've been lovely. Others have been from women who have had similar treatments, with remarkably similar reactions.

The journalist in me was angry for them as well as for me, and so I find myself writing about a subject I never thought I would do publicly.

Thousands of people are insecure about facial marks and scars for all sorts of reasons and to varying degrees.

It's not necessarily about vanity. Your face is linked to your identity – it is the image you present to the world.

The fact that others might see the problem as a superficial one adds a layer of self-consciousness and guilt to an already distressing situation.

I have continually reminded myself in these past few weeks to keep a sense of perspective. I have reported from war zones and interviewed people who have had terrible things happen in their lives too many times for me to allow this to become an all-consuming event.

But I am concerned by the way information is given to people going to private clinics about the potential risks associated with this type of "minor" surgery.

We as patients – and we are still patients even if we are paying for treatment – have the right to be made fully aware of all the risks before making such important decisions.

I know how much it meant to me to be told there was finally a "safe" way to reduce the scarring on my cheeks – the scarring that had been a constant reminder of my acne-ridden teenage years.

Doing the work I do, I've tried to deal with and conceal my scars with make-up and a little self-confidence. I realised I'd never have perfect, peachy skin.

But it's always been there – a button easily pressed. Last year, I was asked to present Ultimate Wild Water – a BBC1 prime-time programme where I spent almost the entire time in a wetsuit and in the water.

The hour-long programme was filmed in the unforgiving High Definition format – and I wore no make-up throughout.

I did have reservations – what woman wouldn't? But I wanted the programme to be authentic and honest and, besides, I told myself I really should confront this two-decade-old demon.

I didn't watch the programme back in High Definition but I thought I looked OK. I had indeed beaten my demon. Eamonn Holmes called to say: "Well done, kiddo – a woman who's not afraid to appear on TV without make-up – brilliant."

But then there was the senior television executive who exclaimed: "Darling! My God, that was cruel putting you in High Def with no make-up." He didn't mean his words to sting. But they did.

The truth is, it doesn't matter how many people say: "Kate, you look lovely," it's the one negative note that resonates. Like the solitary email when I was presenting Breakfast on BBC1 that read: "Kate's skin looks like a lizard." Nice, thanks for that.

I developed acne when I was about 16. It was so severe I was referred to a dermatologist who, after all other medication failed, finally prescribed Roaccutane, a particularly powerful drug that eventually helped reduce the red, angry lumps on my face.

I was prescribed it again in my early 20s but by then my skin was already scarred on both cheeks.

After university, I trained as a radio journalist at the BBC then went to Tyne Tees television. The news editor was gruff and of the old school of journalism. He would shout and swear at you from across the room. I liked him. He called a spade a spade and taught me so much.

But 11 years on, I still remember the day I realised my attempts to cover up my scars had failed. I was about to go on air when he hollered: "Oi, Silverton, get down to make-up. I don't want to see your pockmarks on screen tonight." He saw me flinch and I know he regretted it instantly.

I then looked at having the scars removed but the treatments seemed so abrasive. They involved either dermabrasion (in those days it meant you would effectively sandpaper the skin) or acid peels that sounded horrific.

I thought I should just get "over it" and see the marks as something innately "me". But I remained self-conscious and sometimes worried my requests for soft lighting might leave people thinking I'm a diva. But the alternative – admitting I was conscious of my acne scars – didn't appeal.

Over the years, I'd managed to convince myself that nobody but me really noticed. That wasn't so easy after the Ultimate Wild Water comment or that email to Breakfast.

At the end of last year, I suddenly feared that my bad skin was the worst-kept secret in television – that everyone talked about it but most were just too polite to say. So I looked into my options.

This was not something I rushed into. I went to Dr Jan Stanek's clinic off Harley Street. I went to him because of his reputation.

He appears on a number of television shows and I know friends who have had other treatments with him. But on arrival, I was told it would be his colleague, Dr Tom Bozek, who would treat me.

I suppose I trusted him before even stepping through his door. I took a friend with me for my consultation on December 18.

We asked numerous, searching questions. Fraxel therapy was sold to me as a dream treatment: non-invasive, highly effective, leaving mild redness and swelling that would disappear within a day, maybe two. I pushed for information on possible adverse reactions or long-term side-effects.

I specifically said: "What are the side-effects? What is the potential here because if there are any risks, I won't have this done?" My friend, too, was really specific asking about long-term side-effects.

But Mr Bozek said: "No. I've done thousands of these and nothing has gone wrong." When you're told that, it negates any doubt you might have. You think, "Great".

There was another treatment suggested too – Erbium – which involved burning off the top layer of skin and letting it regenerate over a fortnight. That was far too dramatic.

I asked for more information on Fraxel but I was told there was none to be had. I picked up a small pamphlet in reception and that was that. I kick myself for it now. But I had been reassured by Tom Bozek that this would work, was without real risk and I would be back to work in no time.

Having gone this far, I thought, I should make the leap. It would be a Christmas treat to myself.

I was told that I would need between three and five treatments costing between £500 and £700 a time, depending on the extent of the area covered.

On Fraxel's website, the treatment is compared to restoring a painting, only instead of cotton-buds and fine brushes, the tool Mr Bozek would use was a laser.

I had my first treatment on Saturday, January 5. I went on my own this time. I cleaned my face before going to the clinic but I'd driven through the grime of London by the time I arrived.

I was handed a hairband and anaesthetic cream was plastered over my lower face. I waited an hour as the anaesthetic took hold.

Then a nurse gave me a consent form and one sheet of information. At that stage it seemed a bit late. I felt vulnerable and foolish and I signed. I lay back uncomfortably in the treatment room and cottonwool pads were placed over my eyes. I was told it would feel like hedgehog prickles over my skin.

Now, I've got a high pain threshold, but as it started I thought: "Bloody hell, this really hurts." I said as much. It felt like electric shocks piercing my skin.

I remember thinking: "I don't think I'll be coming back for more of this – it hurts too much." I was overwhelmed with the feeling that something bad was being done to me. Worse, I was allowing it to happen.

When he'd finished, Mr Bozek left the room without a word. The nurse handed me the mirror. She told me to wear an ice-mask and sleep upright. I'd be fine by the next day.

But I wasn't. My eyes were so puffy I could hardly see and my face so swollen and painful I could hardly speak. A day later and it was worse still and these horrible yellow-heads were breaking out over my nose, chin and cheeks. I called the clinic and was told to take painkillers and call in the morning.

But it was a Monday and I was due in at work to read the 8pm news bulletin which had just been launched with great fanfare. It was a crucial week but there was no way I could go on air. I was mortified.

By Tuesday, I was really worried. My face was massive, red, painful and covered in disgusting spots. I was embarrassed to go out but I had to go back to the clinic. I was too worried about the reaction not to.

The receptionist could barely hide her shock. She asked how I was. "I'm devastated," I said and realised, to my shame, that was true. The spots were breaking out as you looked at them. It was alarming.

I was told the reaction must be due to bacteria on my skin and prescribed antibiotics but I decided to go to see my own GP. By then, I was so horrified by my appearance that I swathed myself in a scarf and ran to my car, terrified of meeting anyone.

My GP doubled my antibiotic dose and, on a friend's advice, I sought a second opinion from consultant dermatologist, Nick Parkhouse. He has been wonderful. He asked if I had cried yet which I promptly did in his office – most embarrassing. I felt exposed and dismayed by how upset I was. It all seemed so self-indulgent.

But he reminded me he is used to seeing the results of cosmetic procedures that have gone wrong and said the shock is akin to that of a car crash. I balked at that. It sounded ludicrous.

But talking later with my friend and colleague Dr Jonty Heaversedge, the BBC's Street Doctor, he spoke in similar terms, which I found very reassuring.

He joked and said he felt stressed when he got a single spot (I laughed and said I had lost count of mine) but I was shocked when I realised how long it would take until my ravaged skin would be significantly better.

Nick Parkhouse said he could not guarantee there would not be long-term damage and worse scarring than before. He also said the skin eruptions might recur.

Mr Bozek had seen me in the same state and said: "It'll be OK. You'll be back to work in a day or two."

He said that he had done 1,100 treatments and never personally seen such a reaction but that "one or two cases will be like this".

I said: "This is the first time you've mentioned this." I suppose that's when my upset began to tip towards anger. I felt so betrayed.

I've been told to stay out of the sun and not to swim in chlorinated pools. That, on top of everything else, has really impacted on my well-being. I love swimming and find it therapeutic physically and mentally.

It was a friend who suggested I seek legal advice, pointing out that, at the very least, I'm self-employed and have lost earnings. I have instructed lawyers to see what legal action I can take.

I had never really devoted much thought to this subject before but since having the treatment, and this horrendous reaction, that has changed – dramatically.

It is absolutely crucial that anybody considering undergoing any sort of medical procedure is as aware as it is possible to be of any risks, however slim.

I realise I have to be careful here. I don't want to sound bitter – like a woman who got unlucky and is lashing out. I know that no one can ever truly guarantee the outcome of surgery and I know there are people who will think: "Well, she knew there must be risks." But it's simply not good enough to adopt a "buyer beware" attitude to medicine.

Before I had Fraxel, I was asked in an interview: "Do you have any regrets?" I said: "No". That is no longer true. I absolutely regret having this treatment. And what lies at the heart of my regret are two awful words, "If only..."

If only I had known all about the risks. If only I had been fully aware and informed. If I had, I honestly don't believe I would have gone ahead.

My skin is still painful and fragile. I am using heavy make-up to hide the spots that have persisted for weeks. Worryingly, new spots have appeared recently. Something, somewhere, went wrong with my treatment. And however brave a face I'm trying to put on this now, I wouldn't wish this, or the regret that I feel, on anybody.

• A spokesperson for Dr Stanek said: "Due to patient confidentiality, Dr Stanek cannot comment on the treatment of a specific patient. His clinic adheres to the highest international standards, and independent consultants who operate within the clinic are among the leading practioners in their field."

Kate Silverton did not receive any payment for this article.


She used tane huh? The usual suspect

Pixel Thread

Im trying the 'Pixel laser', the poor mans 'fraxel' .

Its 200 quid a go, and im gonna try about 5 treatments.

Ive just got back from doing a 'test patch' on my cheeks.

They are red raw, but not swollen. I could smell the burning of my own flesh, so much for 'non ablative' lol

It felt like someone slapping an elastic band against my cheeks, but no blue die was needed.

Next week it starts for real.