Cosmetic Medicine - The New Frontier

LASIK. Laser hair removal. Botox. Fillers Cosmetic surgery. Breast Augmentation. Liposuction. Pot Tuck. Face Lift. Hair Restoration . . .the listing travels on and on.

These are becoming family cants in United States and many parts of the human race as more than than and more Americans happen it increasingly acceptable to have got non-surgical as well as surgical cosmetics processes performed to better their visual aspect and tegument along with their self-esteem and confidence.

According to the American Society of Plastic Surgery, over 11 million cosmetics processes were performed in 2006, an addition of over 50% from 2000. Consumers made nearly two million visits to medical watering places in 2004, up from just over a million in 2000, disbursement $226 million in 2004, up from $69 million in the twelvemonth 2000, according to the International Watering Place Association (ISPA.)

In 2006, 83% of decorative processes were minimally invasive or non-invasive in nature.

The International Checkup Watering Place Association (IMSA) reported that the figure of medical watering places in the United States have jumped from 50 in 2002, when Botox injections won federal approval, to about 2,500 in 2006. According to the ISPA, the medical watering place industry have experienced 69 percentage norm yearly growth.

Similarly, anti-aging merchandise demand in the United States will turn 11.1 percentage annually through 2007. Fastest additions are projected for memory improvement, sexual dysfunction/impotence merchandises and merchandises with visual aspect enhancing benefits. Market demand will go on to lift and is expected to attain $30 billion in 2009.

Nationally, the norm terms of popular treatments scopes between $175 for microdermabrasion to $1,977 for a optical maser tegument resurfacing, according to the American Society of Plastic Surgeons. While there is some terms competition, this industry still have pricing power.

Cosmetic medicine, although not a defined industry, generally stands for both non-invasive as well as invasive/surgical cosmetics processes performed either by doctors or under the supervising of a doctor or clinician.

Examples of non-invasive processes include optical maser hair removal, photograph facials, peels, microdermabrasion and related to services.

Minimally invasive processes include injectables and fillers such as as as Botox, Restylane, Juvaderm and others.

Invasive processes generally mention to decorative surgical procedures such as breast augmentation, liposuction, human face lifts, pot tucks and others. Generally, most medical watering places make no execute plastic surgery and make not have got surgical suites.

The combination of assorted sub-sectors ranging from optical maser hair remotion to decorative surgery probably stand for a $70 billion asset industry and growing.

According to a recent article in the Wall Street Journal, not only consumers but docs are jumping on the bandwagon as well by entering the so-called Beauty Business as the Diary labeled it.

Moreover, this industry is no longer the sphere of skin doctors and plastic surgeons. Physicians from all fortes including pediatricians, internal medical forte docs, OB/GYNs, ENT specializers and even eye doctors have got jumped into the fray.

Faced with declining reimbursements and consequently, declining pattern income and increasingly demanding schedules, many doctors are abandoning traditional medical specialty altogether or developing out of-bounds patterns that offering elective/cosmetic medical processes and services.

Many doctors are developing a concern called the Checkup Watering Place which, according to the International Checkup Watering Place Association (IMSA) is defined as a installation that runs under the full-time, on-site supervision of a accredited health attention professional person whose primary intent is to supply comprehensive medical and wellness attention in an environment that integrates watering place services, as well as traditional, complimentary and/or option therapies and treatments.

The most common services offered at a medical watering place include optical maser hair removal, Botox, Restylane, fillers, photograph facials, tegument greening and other related to services.

Advanced service and processes include hair restoration, decorative surgery including breast augmentation and liposuction, mini human face lifts, forehead lifts, palpebra surgery and others.

Cutting border processes include Fraxel which is basically advanced, fractional tegument resurfacing; ultrasound and surgical vena treatments; jazz band cosmetics surgical procedures; specialty Master of Education watering places for men, teens, women and other segments; and age direction or anti-aging.

This concern is not limited to physicians. Entrepreneurs have got got jumped into the affray as well by establishing franchising companies, Master of Education watering place chains, optical maser device manufacturers, consulting houses and other endeavors to take part in this burgeoning industry.

A figure of companies in the industry have gone public including, but not limited to, Palomar, a maker of optical maser and Intense Pulsation Light (IPL) devices; Lumenis, another optical maser manufacturer; LCA Vision, also known as LASIK Plus, a concatenation of 60 LASIK centers; and tender loving care Vision, another concatenation of nearly 100 LASIK and oculus centers, among others.

Large, privately held corporate iron of centres include American Laser Centers with nearly 200 centers. Some of the franchise Master of Education watering place companies have got got scaled to between 50 and 80 centers.

Moreover, big pharmaceutical and device companies have sizeable divisions that provide to assorted sections of the cosmetics medical sector.

According to Dr. Sir Leslie Stephen E. Pascucci, a reputable and experienced refractive operating surgeon and ophthalmologist, based in Naples, Florida, "Baby-boomers will surrogate a important involvement in processes that let them to look, see and experience younger. As a grouping they prefer minimally invasive and safe processes and respect major surgical intercessions as being off in the future. Today's refractive surgical processes as well as decorative treatments suit the mold."

Another factor refueling the roar is the handiness of easy recognition and funding for decorative medical processes through a figure of funding companies. According to Susan Richardson, Vice-President of Selling at Unicorn Financial Services, "Unicorn have recognized what consumers really desire is 24 calendar months no involvement payment programs to pay for their decorative (medical) procedures. Instead of charging $6,000 on a recognition card, the consumer have the attractive and low-cost option of making 24 monthly payments of $250 without any interest." This have really brought the center income consumer into the fold, thereby not limiting aesthetic processes and services to the upper echelon of society.

Mention must be made of the somewhat controversial but growing anti-aging Oregon age direction industry which utilizes bioidentical internal secretion substitution therapy including occasionally human growing internal secretion (HGH) concerted with an intense regiment of diet, nutrition, fitness, vitamin and addendums to stem the ageing procedure and assist people experience little and healthier. Despite the controversy, patients have got flocked to such as centres that are springing up nationwide.

While not traditionally within the medical watering place domain, many medical watering places are beginning to offer anti-aging/age management services.

The cosmetics medical sector is also characterized by niches focusing on men, teens, women, the aged and ethnical segments, particularly the Latino and Asiatic marketplaces which are growing at twice the charge per unit of the mainstream marketplace for decorative medical procedures.

According to Kathy Smith, President of Nu/Hart Hair Clinics, an emerging human race leader in hair transplantation, "Men are becoming increasingly aware and concerned about their visual aspect for professional as well as personal reasons, and are willing to pass the money to look and experience good." She added, "Marketing to the male consumer is somewhat different from selling to women and takes a particular skill, endowment and approach."

Individuals, including doctors as well as enterprisers and others, seeking to come in the exciting cosmetics medical industry should see a figure of professionals and cons. Positives include a growth industry that is null of coverage and the restraints thereof; marketing-driven; assists people look and experience better; strong consumer demand; enormous opportunity; corporate as well as entrepreneurial settings; and good income potential.

Some negatives include doctor dependence, crumbled industry, intensifying competition, high cost of equipment, construct out costs of facility, expensive wages for medical staff, changing regulation, and still somewhat of a medical domain.

Opportunities be for aestheticians who execute tegument attention treatments; nurses and Doctor Assistants (PAs) who can execute a figure of non-invasive and minimally invasive procedures; clinic/spa managers; entrepreneurs; corporate executive directors and directors for the big iron and optical maser manufacturers; gross sales and selling people for the laser, pharmaceutical and merchandise companies; consultants; and obviously physicians.

Consumers seeking information on decorative medical specialty are well served by visiting the web land sites of the assorted professional and industry associations as well as some consumer advocacy groupings that are beginning to concentrate on this field.

When visiting a Checkup Spa, don't presume that just because person is wearing a achromatic coat, they are qualified or experienced to execute a certain procedure. Be certain to inquire pointed inquiries of watering place staff before engagement processes and treatments.

These inquiries include the makings of the staff and doctors; licensure of the facility; experience and skills; who is performing the procedure; grade of on-site physician supervision; will you acquire to see a doctor; hazards and side effects; usage of Food and Drug Administration approved technology; and what haps in the event of a complication; etc.