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I urge you to go to your coffee table and open your favorite magazine. Now look at the photos of five youthful actresses and models featured in the magazine and see what they all have in common.

High Cheekbones.

High cheekbones are seen as a sign of beauty in many cultures. It is a sign of youth and health.

As we age the Zygomatic bone (malar bone, cheek bone) shrinks and the cheekbone flattens. This, in turn, causes laxity and looseness of the skin and contributes to drooping below. The drooping shows itself in form of jowls in the lower face.

My patients are often amazed that two syringes of their favorite filler (Restylane, Juvederm, Perlane, or Radiesse) can make such a dramatic effect in their appearance. By applying the above mentioned fillers (or fat for that matter) I can restore the youthful cheekbone structure, tighten the skin, and significantly improve jowling in the lower face. Symmetry is restored and high cheekbones return the face to its youthful form.

I sometimes inject a few cc of salt water (normal saline) into the cheekbones just to show my patients how they will look after the procedure. The salt water simply absorbs into your system a few hours later and everything goes back to its normal state.

Raising and replacing the lost volume in the cheekbones may be an option for you if a facelift is out of the question. Please allow us to show you.

Consultation is always free.

A. David Rahimi, MD, FAAD.

Once again Hollywood was practicing its culture of excess. Plastic surgery was taking over and famous 22 year old actresses such as Heidi Montag were admitting to 10 surgeries in one day!

I truly believe that the perception of cosmetic surgery is rapidly changing. Hollywood producers are looking for actors and actresses that look natural. Huge breasts and gigantic lips are out and emphasizing natural beauty is back in.

There is nothing wrong with beautiful flawless skin, an angular jaw, perfectly positioned eyebrows, or a shapely body. The back lash is against the poorly executed “Wind Swept” look.

My philosophy from day one has been to “make patients look their best; not someone else”. I often talk patients out of expensive and aggressive procedures and recommend less invasive and conservative procedures. It is all about a sound "maintenance attitude". A good skin regimen, monthly facials or Microdermabrasion, Retin A cream once a week and the occasional ‘Polishing’.

Stay Forever Young.

Hope to see you for a personalized consultation.

A. David Rahimi, MD, FAAD.

I was driving to my Westlake office on Monday when I had the opportunity to listen to a report on NPR about facelifts and if they actually work?

Researchers looked at 3D CT scans of the bony structures of the face from patients in their 40s, 50s, 60s and 70s. What they discovered is that as we get older the bones in the chin, jaw line and eye sockets absorb.  They not only look and feel different; there is actually less of it. This was something we suspected for years. Now it could be actually quantified via CT scans. The essence of the program was that facelifts will only work IF this volume loss is also addressed.

I remember learning during my residency Mount Sinai Medical Center in NY that certain structures such as the nose and ears actually increase in size as we get older.

I have been addressing these changes with my Tuliplift for over 12 years now.

I don’t just pull the skin to cause “the face to lift”. Tuliplift has several components that address the lost volume of the bony structures, actinic or sun-damaged skin, re-distribution of the fat, and wrinkles:

Here are the goals of a Tuliplift:                       

·         Tightening of the facial SMAS fascia and muscles of the neck (Platysma)

·         Liposuction of excess fatty tissue in the neck and jowls

·         Replacing the lost volume by re-inserting the fat over the cheek bone, jaw line and in the laugh lines(this addresses the lost bone issue addressed above)

·         Tightening the earlobes and nose with a chemical peel, CO2 laser, or Fraxel

·         Removal of excess skin

·         Restoring the youthful contours

Most people are amazed to know that all of this can be performed under local anesthesia and less than 2 weeks downtime.

Please read my book for a detailed discussion and presentation on this subject.

Thank you.

A. David Rahimi, MD, FAAD.

I have had a chance now to administer Dysport to about 100 of my patients and the results have been consistantly good.

The muscles around the eyes relax faster than Botox and I have not seen any cases of drooping. I believe that it will last as long as Botox; but that remains to be seen.

Competition is good and I am delighted that after nearly 2 decades of BOTOX we finally have a second agent to choose from. I also hope that the availability of Dysport will drive Botox prices down and make it more affordable for everyone.

Dr. A. David Rahimi

There is a solution; often times cutting surgery can be avoided by using advanced fractional laser technology to improve these scars.

Please take a few minutes and review our Mixto-Fraxel procedure and schedule a complimentary consultation with Dr. David Rahimi.

It can cost as little as $500 to drastically improve eyelid scars.

Zonya V.

office manager

Foreveryoung, Inc.

Most patients with Hispanic or African American heritage are not aware of their risk for developing  skin cancers.

Malignant Melanoma, for example, is more common in white skin but can be more aggressive in back skin.  A recent article in the Journal of Surgical Oncology (Vol. 78, No. 1: 10 – 16) showed that when African Americans develop the disease, it’s deadlier.  African Americans have a 45% survival rate at five years compared to 69% in whites.

There may be several reasons for this: genetics may play a role and health care providers think of skin cancer less often in darker skin. These cancers may also occur in unusual places such as bottom of the feet, under the nails, or the genital area.

Think A,B,C,D,E

A mole that is Asymmetrical.

Irregular Border

Multi Colored

Diameter greater than 6 mm

An Evolving mole that stands out.

Make sure your provider checks you head to toe on a yearly basis.

Dr. A. David Rahimi

There is a wonderful article in the Cutaneous Oncology section of Dermatology Times (February 2010) by the veteran researcher Harry Rubin D.V.M.,D.Sc. that confirmed what I had been suspecting for some time: Skin and skin cells may act as early detector of internal cancers.

Skin cells contain fibroblasts which contain a copy of our genetic material. Flaws in the genetic material, which may lead to internal cancers such as Colon Cancer, can easily be researched in fibroblast cultures obtained from skin.

Many other internal conditions: Diabetes, Lupus, Hepatitis, Thyroid Disorders, etc. have skin manifestations that are often the way these conditions present themselves.

A. David Rahimi, MD, FAAD,

I truly believe that symmetrical faces have a distinct advantage when it comes to getting the best that life has to offer.  Consciously or un-consciously we all discriminate. We begin judging people the minute they enter a room. A first impression is made and it is often very difficult to change this impression.

An article recently published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences confirms that “People’s assessment of physical beauty is mostly about symmetry”.

Early this year I lost a dear friend to Malignant Melanoma. It was a terrible thing to see a good friend and fellow physician lose the battle with this terrible condition.

Melanoma rates are rising very fast; it’s an epidemic.  According to the most recent National Cancer Institute in 2009 there were 68,720 newly diagnosed cases of invasive melanoma and 53,120 cases of in situ (very early and confined to top layer of the skin) melanoma in the United States. These numbers are expected to increase in 2010.

The skin on the chest and the back of the hands are an often neglected and can give away your age. Until very recently the number of options to treat the chest and back of the hands were very limited. Now there is renewed hope….

I have devoted an entire section on my website to the rejuvenation of hands:

Age spots can be lasered, rough spots and pre-cancers can be frozen or cauterized, fine lines can be treated with the application of various acids and microdermabrasions and hollowness on the back of the hands can be filled with Radiesse or fat grafting.

Now we have a new tool in our armamentarium to treat the aging skin of the chest and hands:

The Mixto Fraxel.

Many of my patients ask me questions about touch ups on their facelift. Here are some of the commonly asked questions and their answers:

Will I have more scarring from a touch-up facelift?

The answer is NO. I usually take the old scars out, tighten the muscle from inside, remove excess fat and skin and place the incision inside the ear to achieve a near-invisible scars (see my before and after results). Facelift scars can also be treated with a chemical peel of Fraxel (CO2 Resurfacing) to reduce their appearance.

When should I consider getting a touch-up on my facelift?

Generally speaking facelifts need to be touched up every 10 years or so. In some people they last much longer. Excessive sun exposure or dramatic weight changes can loosen the skin and result in hanging neck and jowl area. In those instances, an earlier touch up may be needed.

Am I too old for a touch up Facelift?

You can have a touch up Facelift if you are in good health and have 2 weeks down time to heal. Age is usually not a limiting factor. A physical exam by your primary care doctor and a medical release is always performed to make sure that you can tolerate the procedure. I often talk with the internist if my patient has diabetes or is suffering from any chronic conditions. We also perform routine blood work before the procedures to check your kidney, liver and blood clothing status.

Hope to see you soon for a private and confidential consultation.

A. David Rahimi, MD, FAAD.

• I encourage my male patients not to shave too close in the neck area. In fact switching to an electric Razor often helps.
• Reducing the bacterial count on the skin also helps; this can be achieved by the application of prescription topical or oral antibiotics (Erythromycin and Clindamycin solution, oral Tetracycline, Minocin, Dynacin, Doryx, Oracea etc).
• Benzyl Peroxides (BP): Application of BP to the skin causes a significant decrease in the number of bacteria and helps lighten residual brown spots from previous ingrown hairs.
• Retin A, Tazorac and Differein Gel: These 3 classes of topical agents decrease sebum production and loosen up the clogged hairs. This, in turn, reduces ingrown hairs and smoothens the skin. The drawback is that they make the skin more sensitive to the Sun and getting facials.
• Microdermabrasions and light chemical glycolic peels help improve impacted pores and those white bumps called Milias.
• Scrubs: Neutrogena makes a great facial and body scrub. Once a week under the shower helps exfoliate the dead layers of the skin and reduce bacteria counts.
• Stronger acids such as Jessner and TCA (Tri-Chloro-Acedic Acid) can also be judiciously used to treat scarring and clogged pores.
• Lasers and Light sources: Resistant cases can benefit from Phodynamic Therapy and lasers such as the Cooltouch laser (see our menu of services).

Many patients with a darker skin complexion (Hispanic, Asian, African American, Armenian, Middle Eastern) are told that they have to simply live with their acne scarring and that nothing will help them.

There is hope and We can help...