News blog posts and news

Olay Regenerist Ad Banned In UK For Misleading Consumers

The Olay Regenerist advertisement now banned in the UK featured a beauty journalist saying "women who aren't ready for cosmetic injections constantly ask me to recommend a skin cream that really works."

She went on to explain that she "was excited when this study, revealed at the World Congress of Dermatology, showed that pentapeptides are effective in reducing the appearance of lines and wrinkles. So if you're not ready for cosmetic injections, but want dramatically younger looking skin, try Olay Regenerist with pentapeptides."

The Advertising Standards Authority is the regulatory group which monitors the content of advertising in the UK. The ASA provided several reasons for the ban, most notably that many viewers objected that the ad was "misleading and offensive, because they believed it implied cosmetic injections were a natural or inevitable next step for women as they got older."

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Patient Gagger, Medical Justice, Falls Short On Promise

For those not aware, Medical Justice sells a controversial waiver that over 2,000 doctors are now presenting to their patients, where the patient agrees not to post online comments about the doctor or their medical experience (referred to as a gag order by other media outlets).

In the Medical Justice blog, they make the statement:

As healthcare consumers, we look forward to the day that we have statistical, actionable information delivered with transparency. We will send a note of praise to any entity that reaches that milestone first. But, the current flock of anonymous consumer rating sites are nowhere near that goal.
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The Botox Bus Now Stops In Orange County

Destinations Medical Spa of Newport Beach is a mobile medical service offering Botox, fillers, and laser treatments to people in the Orange County region in the comfort of their own homes.

Dr. Donna Richardson, the medical director and treating physician told OC Metro that her "unique, hygienic mobile services are designed to meet the needs of individuals who want and need non-invasive cosmetic procedures but are unwilling to travel to a medical spa facility for a variety of personal reasons."

Only in Orange County. Does the dog come too?

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Tampa Breast Implant Bandit Arrested During A Stolen Massage

A Bradenton woman was arrested during a massage at the PGA National Resort and Spa in Palm Beach Gardens, after police detectives traced transactions on a stolen credit card to the spa.

Turns out Julianne Marie Johnson, 44, had been using stolen credit cards for champagne, flowers, hotel rooms, and cosmetic medical services all over Florida.

She is also accused of charging more than $5600 to another man's stolen credit card at Florida Coastal Plastic Surgery and the Manatee Surgical Center for breast implants, where she had previously written a handful of bad checks.

The Manatee County sheriff's report notes that Johnson is facing charges of grand theft, uttering worthless checks, fraudulent use of a credit card and identity theft. She is currently being held in Manatee County Jail on $105,000 bond.

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Italy Moves Toward Banning Breast Implants For Teens

Teenage girls in Italy may soon be prohibited from having breast implants except in special circumstances.

A representative from Italy's health ministry recently explained to reporters that the legislation is meant to protect young women who may not be physically ready to accomodate breast implants, because of the risks associated with the mammary gland being not fully developed.

Bloomberg reports that 14 percent of 16- and 17-year-old Italian women said they would undergo breast augmentation surgery, and 30 percent reported feeling unsatisfied with their bodies.

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Aquamid Might Be The Wrinkle Filler To Fill ArteFill's Void

New York dermatologist Rhonda S. Narins, MD reports from her participation in a study of Aquamid that the 30 patients she has injected so far have experienced no problems and that they "liked it."

The trial is comparing Aquamid to the very popular Restylane in the "smile lines," or nasolabial folds. Dr. Narins also points out that "in a European study conducted by Contura followed patients for up to five years and showed patient and physician satisfaction rates above 90 percent."

Contura, the company submitting an application for Aquamid to the FDA, is a Danish medical technology company that develops and commercializes wrinkle fillers.

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San Francisco Plastic Surgeon Surrenders Medical License

As his case moves beyond the arraignment phase, the San Francisco plastic surgeon accused of sexual misconduct is forfeiting his medical license.

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Who Will Pay For Octo-Mom's Tummy Tuck?

Widespread speculation about Nadya Suleman's changes in appearance has led to the inevitable question: will she seek a tummy tuck next?

TMZ's shocking photos of Suleman just eight days before giving birth make it painfully clear that she won't be bouncing back to her pre-baby body without some help from a plastic surgeon.

Life & Style magazine has outlined Suleman's "creepy" similarities to Angelina Jolie and many have questioned how she could have possibly had the money to have expensive manicures, lip augmentation, and a nose job while her children are receiving public assistance.

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LASIK Giant LCA Vision Posts Staggering 4th Quarter Losses

Cincinnati-based LCA vision - a nationwide LASIK laser vision correction provider - posted a loss of over 8 million dollars in the last quarter of 2008.

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Wrinkles Making An Unwanted Comeback

Allergan's most recent earnings report announced a 3 percent drop in Botox sales, and an 8.8 percent drop in sales of the dermal filler Juvederm, compared with the same quarter in 2007. Allergan executives theorize that economic fear has regular Botox patients waiting longer between treatments and therefore spending less.

New York Times reporter Natasha Singer aptly dubbed the Allergan stock statistics "the Botox index," explaining that "analysts view the company as the bellwether of the cosmetic medical market."