When dealing with nodules in the lip it is important to know what material was used to augment the lips. The treatment really varies depending on what was used and how long ago the treatment was performed. Occasional Hyaluronic acid compounds (Restylane, Juvederm, Volbella, etc) can ball up and cause small bumps. These usually resolve in a couple of weeks with massage or dilute injection of a steroid anti-inflammatory solution called kenelog.  Another option is to dissolve the Hyaluronic acid completely with a protein called Hyaluronidase. This material is injected directly into the affected area. Results are quite impressive and visible within 2-3 days.

Another condition that is much more difficult to treat is called 'Bio-film". We don't exactly understand why some patients basically develop a hard film around the implants in their lips/face! These nodules are also injected with Kenelog steroid, treated with Oral antibiotics, and anti-metabolites such as 5FU. If several injections over a few weeks does not dissolve the nodules they can be excised.

Finally; non FDA products such as Silicone and Bioalcamid (seen more frequently in patients from Mexico and South America) don't respond well to steroid injections and can cause severe deformities. These "granulomas" need to be excised. There is always scarring and downtime with excision of these inflammatory nodules in the lip and I perform it as a last resort.The incision is placed inside the mucosa and the hard nodules are surgically removed. Downtime and swelling/bruising is about one week.

Call us if you have irregular bumps or nodules in your lip or face and wish an evaluation to have these lesions removed.

323 653 7700

Dr David Rahimi

I have seen and treated many patients with unsightly and thickened thyroid surgery scars. The scar itself can be treated with Diolite laser for the removal of redness and Mixto Co2 laser for the removal of the thickening and hypertrophic parts. Furthermore the loose skin around the neck can be safely treated with Ultherapy (Ultrasound neck and face lift) or Thermacool CPT (Radiofrequency face and neck lift). Please see us for a complimentary consultation.

The ideal time to have these procedures performed is debatable. I tell my patients that it is never too late but that best results are achieved if the laser and tightening is performed in the first 12 months after the recovery.

323 653 7700

Dr. A. David Rahimi

Juvederm Voluma can be used to fill in deep laugh lines and lips with ease.

Results are immediate and can last up to 3 years.

These are just a few recent examples.

Please visit us for a free consultation.

Evolve Magazine interviewed me last night. 

Forever Young, Inc. will be the December cover for the Evolve issue!

700K Subscribers all over the US and UK.

There will also be a 4 page article covering everything from our newly developed concept of Quadrafecta to future trends in Cosmetic Surgery and Dermatology.

Here is a link to their last issue.

http://issuu.com/evolutionmagzine/docs/evolution_magazine_september_octobe

 I often see young beautiful girls in my practice who are suffering from a disfiguring condition called "PCO". Most are not aware that they have PCO.

This condition can have a range of severities and manifest itself very differently in various patients. Signs and symptoms can be:

mild mid-cycle pain and

excessive bleeding or

very aggressive Acne

and excessive hair and a host of other hormonal problems.

I make sure to refer my patients to their GYN for hormonal workup and an Ultrasound exam.

Birth control pills are very helpful in resetting their endocrine system.

Aggressive acne is treated with topical and oral medications and excess hair is permanently removed using Diode laser hair removal (Ligh Sheer).

www.foreveryoung.net

I always tell my patients about the well know association between numerous skin tags under the breast and neck area and polyps in the colon. These polyps can at times become or turn into colon cancer. Here is another association worth noticing.

Number of moles may be a predictor of breast cancer

Zhang M. PLOS Medicine. 2014. doi:10.137/journal/pmed.1001659.

• June 12, 2014

The number of cutaneous nevi, or moles, on the body may be a reflection of plasma hormone levels and help predict patients’ risk for breast cancer independently of other known factors, study results have shown.

Using the Nurses’ Health Study, researchers prospectively analyzed the relative risk of breast cancer among 74,523 female nurses based on the number of cutaneous nevi reported. The participants were followed from 1986 to 2010.

Participants reported the number of cutaneous nevi on their left arms, from shoulder to wrist, that were 3 mm or greater in diameter. The researchers grouped the women into four categories based on the number of reported nevi: none, one to five, six to 14 and 15 or more.

Invasive breast cancer was documented in 5,483 cases. Women with more cutaneous nevi had a significantly increased risk of developing subsequent breast cancer, according to the researchers (P = .003).

During the 24-year follow-up, absolute risk of developing breast cancer increased from 8.48% among women without cutaneous nevi to 8.82% for women with one to five nevi, 9.75% for women with six to 14 nevi, and 11.4% for women with 15 or more nevi. Every five additional nevi found was reported to increase breast cancer risk by 8%.

The researchers also reported that the number of nevi seemed to be associated only with the risk of estrogen receptor-positive tumors. Women with more nevi had higher levels of estradiol and testosterone (P = .02 and P = .06, respectively).

Attention to detail is the key to a successful procedure

I think in Cosmetic Surgery, much like in day to day life, attention to detail can mean the difference between mediocre results versus great results. Allow me to elaborate. I often sit in front of a patient for a cosmetic consultation. Patients in their late 40s and 50s come to me for my advice on how to look younger and feel better. A brief glance allows me to evaluate their face on 6 or 7 different levels. I see signs of sun damage from their early youth indiscretions, signs of weight gain and loss, stresses of life, poor eating habits, bone erosion, and effects of smoking and smog here in Los Angeles. The question I often get asked is : What do I need Doc?”

I often sit back and say with a calm voice: you don’t need anything. Then I ask their permission to share with them what I see and Analyze their face or body. At times I take photographs with my 3D Vectra Camera and show them their sun damaged skin, asymmetrical volume distribution and eyebrow locations. It is quite amazing how little people actually know their own skin and faces. My simple goal is to make them look the way they did 10 or 20 years ago.

Very few patients have noticed these subtle changes. At times I can see my patients becoming defensive and almost upset at me for pointing out the things I see.

I then put a program together for them that address these changes on several levels.

Tightening the skin without cutting, thickening the skin and removing blood vessels and blemishes, and filling the irregular contouring is only part of this program. Good nutrition and exercise is the second half.

Looking younger and healthier without cutting surgery is a reality in 2014. Please see us for a complimentary consultation and discussion on how to achieve our goal of making you look and feel 10-15 years younger.

Yours,

Dr. A. David Rahimi

I am often surprised that my patients don’t know the relationship between smoking and wrinkles. The plus 4000 carcinogenic and mutagenic chemicals in tobacco smoke cause degradation of Collagen. The skin loses its elastic fibers and skin laxity ensues. Please read the Mayo article below by Dr. Dale.

I live in a large metropolitan city (Los Angeles) and see the smog and dirt in the air and on my skin. Adding smoking to this will shave off 5-10 years off your life AND make you look another 5-10 years older! Is it worth it?

Dr. R.

Is it true that smoking causes wrinkles?

Answers from Lowell Dale, M.D.

Yes. So if you need another reason to motivate you to quit smoking, add premature wrinkles to the list.

(read more)

Dear Physicians,

News/ 

 http://www.eonline.com/news/540248/hugh-jackman-reveals-another-skin-cancer-scare-no-more-sun-for-him

Hugh Jackman Reveals Another Skin Cancer Scare—No More Sun for Him!

by Natalie Finn Thu., May. 8, 2014 5:07 PM PDT

Instagram

We hate to see Hugh Jackman's face going through all this.

But the multitalented Australian actor did his fans yet another good turn by revealing that he needed to have yet another Basal-cell carcinoma removed from his nose.

"All out now. Thanks Dr. Album and Dr. Arian. PLEASE! PLEASE! WEAR SUNSCREEN!" Jackman reminded via Instagram, to which he posted a pic of his bandaged, bearded visage.

A Basal-cell carcinoma is the most common form of skin cancer and is usually entirely treatable, though it can spread and cause damage to surrounding tissue.

Humberto Carreno/startraksphoto.com

Jackman also had one removed in November, and he also turned his trip to the doctor at the time into a lesson for us all about the necessity of a good SPF.

The repeat Men's Health cover hunk just made the NYC high-society scene with wife Deborra-Lee Furness on Monday at the Met Gala, Jackman in a Tom Ford tux almost getting the white-tie theme right, minus his black bow tie.

Still in New York, the X-Men: Days of Future past star stopped by Good Morning America today with costars Ellen Page, James McAvoy, Patrick Stewart and producer Lauren Shuler Donner, whom Jackman credits with ensuring that he got the part of Wolverine in the first X-Men, 14 years ago.

The latest film "felt not only like a great reunion but all of us had this great sense of gratitude," he said. "That 14 years later we could play these great parts in a movie which is entertaining but also has something to say. A real blessing."

This is a really important article

Please read

I see this all the time in my practice. Patients that lose too much weight still suffer from disproportionate fat deposits in the hips. The other extreme is that diets and weight loss cause wasting of the face and hollowness that makes the person appear older.

The solution is judicial laser liposuction with Smart Lipo.

Can you really control where you lose fat?

They're called "comfort" foods for a reason -- they bring back warm memories, tickle your taste buds, and soothe your soul. Though some comfort foods are deep-fried, covered in cheese, or packed with sugar, some can actually help you lose weight. Beat the battle of the bulge with the following cozy eats.

Editor's note: upwave is Turner Broadcasting's new lifestyle brand designed to entertain the health into you! Visit upwave.com for more information and follow upwave on Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, Pinterest and Instagram @upwave.

(upwave.com) -- The rumor: You can spot-reduce to lose body fat

Legend has it that, by targeting specific parts of your body through exercise, you can laser-focus where your body burns fat.

Heck, the guy in the TV commercial for that abs thing lost 60 pounds around his midsection by doing three minutes a day on what looks like an assisted twerking machine. And popular wisdom says there's no problem getting washboard abs if you do enough crunches.

But are the rumors true?

The verdict: You can't control where you lose fat

Sorry, but where your body loses fat has more to do with genetics than with that weekly "Six-Pack-A-Palooza" class at your gym.

"Asking your body to lose fat in one area is like trying to remove a cup of water from one corner of a filled bathtub," says personal trainer Lecia Whitlock, an instructor at The National Personal Training Institute. "The overall water level will go down, but there won't be a divot in one corner of the tub."

A 2013 study measured the effects of exercise on the fat mass of a targeted body area. Subjects did a ludicrous number of leg presses using their nondominant leg over the course of 12 weeks.

Despite performing between 960 and 1,200 reps (!) three times a week against very light resistance, participants saw no significant change in fat mass in the exercising leg. There was a decrease in fat mass in the upper body, but nada in the leg that did all of the work.

upwave: The best fat-loss workout

So, where does this leave you if you want to lean out through the middle?

First off, we just saved you anywhere from $19 to $199, because now you won't be tempted to go out and get the latest "fat-burning" abs gizmo. And that's only the beginning of the good news.

If you're serious about losing your gut and are following a sound exercise and diet program, there are some things you can do to decrease the appearance of your waistline while your body leans itself out.

"Strength training the muscles of the upper body -- especially the shoulders and back -- will improve your posture and change your body's proportions," says Whitlock. "This will make your waistline appear smaller."

Your improved posture will get you standing taller and appearing thinner, and the added muscle you'll be building will help increase your overall metabolism and speed up the rate at which your body is burning calories and shedding body fat.

upwave: Quick 5-minute upper body workout

Ultimately, the key to a more ripped midsection isn't doing a zillion crunches. It's working the entire body and eating correctly.

Strength training will increase the calories you burn 24/7. High-intensity cardio will let you burn big chunks of calories in a small amount of time. And a healthy diet will ensure that you're taking in the proper number of quality calories.

You might not lose three pants sizes in a week like the guy in the ad, but you will eventually reach your goal. "And as a bonus," says Whitlock, "the rest of your body will look and feel better as well."

This article was originally published on upwave.com.

Watch Dr. David Rahimi discuss Skinceuticals products for Lush.com

http://youtu.be/dvphbM-v_FY

Thank you 

Look younger and more refreshed without looking "pulled" or "done", and without scars or a significant downtime is the "Holy Grail" of Cosmetic Surgery.

Over the last 20 years the art and science of Cosmetic Surgery has significantly improved. At the beginning of my professional career all I could offer my patients was cutting facelift and eyebrow lift with a real possibility of significant scarring and downtime.
All of this changed with the advent of non-surgical procedures such as Ultherapy, Pelleve and fractional Co2 lasers such as Mixto and Fraxel.

Using the principles of Quadrafecta we can employ 4 cosmetic procedures to concurrently lift, tighten, and refresh the skin, refill hollowness under the eyes and naso labial folds, and remove excess fat in the jowl and neck area.
www.quadrafecta.com

This combination approach leads to long lasting results and a refreshed look with no scarring and minimal downtime.
My motto is always to look your best self, and not someone else.
Please make an appointment for a complimentary consultation and bring photos of yourself from 5 to 10 years ago.
Looking forward to seeing you at Forever Young, inc. In Los Angeles

Dr. David R.

Over the past few months I have had patients who visited us from Canada, Belgium, Germany, and all over the united States (San Francisco, Las Vegas, North Carolina and more) to have their procedures performed. Experience counts. I have personally performed over 100000 laser and Cosmetic procedures since 1994. There is an Art to choosing the right procedure for the right patient. But implementing the treatment regimen is just as important

“The whole is greater than the sum of its parts.”

Aristotle

Quadrafecta refers to a technique of choosing 4 different procedures or devices to achieve the desired result. The emphasis is on “minimally invasive” and “natural appearance”.

 During the consultation process we chose from the following procedures and devices the 4 that will suite you best. Occasionally a fifth procedure is needed to address all the aspects of the aging face.

 Ultherapy (Ulthera)- Ultrasound deep Face, eye and neck lift

Pelleve- superficial Radiofrequency face and neck lift

Mixto Laser _ Co2 fractional laser for fine and deep lines

Fillers- Sculptra, Radiesse, Juvederm, Restylane, Perlane

Chemical Peels- TCA and Jessner Peels

Smartlipo Triplex- fat removal and skin tightening with Smartlipo Laser

IPL Photofacial- Light source to remove brown spots and Blood Vessels

Diolite Laser- Laser to remove larger blood vessels

COOltouch Laser- Non ablative laser to tighten pores

Clear and Brilliant Laser- to remove fine line and brown spots

Thermage CPT- Body lifting with Radiofrequency

Relume- Removal of light scars with focused UVB light

YAG 5 laser- Removal of discoloration and irregular pigmentation

Surgical face and neck lift (Tuliplift)- www.tuliplift.com

Allow me and my team to make you look and feel 10-15 years younger.

Please read this morning' CNN article on Twins and Smoking.

I personally see this all the time in my own patients. Smoking ages your skin 10-15 years- period.

http://www.cnn.com/2013/10/31/health/smoking-aging-identical-twins/index.html?hpt=hp_c3

(CNN) -- Here's something to think about the next time you put a cigarette to your lips: The skin around those lips is going to look older, faster.

You're also more likely to get bags under your eyes sooner. And jowls. And more wrinkles around those lips.

Researchers in Ohio studied the physical differences between the faces of nonsmokers and their twins who smoked and found confirmation of a long-held belief: Smoking does indeed age you