My plastic surgery practice is based on what really works and makes a considerable visible difference. Surgical procedures make an instant difference. The recovery time is usually one to three weeks, depending on the procedure. We try to stay away from gadgets and products that are heavily marketed as effective, but in reality make little difference. When they advertise these gadgets they show the best pictures they can find , but even on their best picture it is hard to tell the before from the after. Skin care is another area where advertising and marketing make people spend thousands of dollars every year in products that simply don’t work and are potentially harmful. When I desided to introduce skin care in my practice about seventeen years ago I useed the Obagi Nu Derm. Dr Obagi is credited to have introduced skin care to the plastic surgery community. He had devised a system of skin care that would allow control of pigmentation and the depth of peels based on observation on changes in the skin. The pre-peel preparation was done with products based on hydroquinone for pigment control and retin-A for increasing the cell renewal rate and reducing the stratum corneum (the keratin layer on top of our skin). The differences were spectacular and I was ready to include the system into my practice. Now about seventeen years later, I still believe that it is the best system out there and I still use the products.
Farhad Rafizadeh MD FACS