Earl S. Minuk, MD

I'm a very satisfied customer after getting a lip enhancement done by Dr. Minuk. Dr. Minuk is very knowledgeable and friendly informing me step by step how the procedure was going to happen. The staff themselves are very caring and genuine. I felt like a family member NOT a patient. I would recommend Dr. Minuk's dermatology to all my friends and family. Will defiantly be going back for more in the near future. I've never had so many complements on my lips before.

Sat Sept 7/13
My doctor and his assistant talked me out of the fractional CO2 that I originally wanted. They explained that this was a better route to take as there are fewer risks/complications etc. What changed my mind was the consultant said she'd had both ablative and non ablative peels. She said I should spare myself the pain an bother and do the fractional. The reason I wanted the more aggressive treatment was, obviously, I wanted more dramatic results. Specifically around my eyes (wrinkles). My chin had also developed (hard to describe) a sort of crepiness, despite the fact that the skin wasn't lax.

I've taken photos - I really should have taken better and more 'befores'. My bad. I have to say that at this point, I'm really excited. I know that part of what I'm seeing is my bloated tomato head has smoothed out lots of the lines that bothered me. I am praying that the smoothness I'm seeing now is going to last. Will update as recovery progresses.

Details:
Lidocaine cream applied one hour prior.
Valium and Percocet - at my request. No idea the dosage.
Eye guards with numbing drops - also at my request. So my doctor could get very close to the lash line.
1927 - two passes over entire face, including eyes.
1550 - four passes over entire face, including eyes.
I'm not sure if either or both of these laser frequencies have adjustable settings. I will ask my doctor and update.
The procedure itself was easy and comfortable except for the 1550. That hurt.

After:
By the time I was getting in a cab home, I could feel the swelling. Face was VERY hot, and very red. Iced frequently, lots of Aquaphore. Tried to sleep elevated. Lots of broken capillaries under eyes, and a texture that looks like milia. That said, it also looks like mini blisters in the grid pattern you see in so many after photos.

Updated on 11 Sep 2013:
Day 5, first follow-up appointment. Doctor said that I’ve tolerated everything well, and recovery seemed to be progressing nicely. It's now day 6. Only about a third of my face has peeled. My forehead and cheeks have yet to slough off. The parts of my face that are smooth - nose, upper lip and chin - feel really soft. That said, the texture around my chin looked a little bumpy. I was disappointed b/c this was an area that I was so keen to have improved. I thought the acid test would be to put some makeup on, and really get a better idea.

Applying a little make up:
We all know that the parts of our skin we don't love can look worse WITH make up (flakiness, rough texture, etc). I'm so glad that I conducted my little experiment. It allowed me to see that there really had been some improvement. I also know that the improvement should continue in the coming weeks. When I applied the make up, there was still a film of Aquaphore on my face. Rather than try to buff foundation onto my still rough cheeks, I blended a little zinc ointment (thick, white diaper rash cream) onto them first. It helped conceal the redness, sooth the irritation, and smooth the surface texture. (Think of it the same way you would a milky, ridge-filling base coat for your nails.) I then added a tiny bit of full coverage foundation. I didn't put any make up on my forehead because other than the rough surface texture, it looks nice and bronzed, and not too red.

Thoughts on Aquaphore:
I learned about Aquaphore on these forums. I thought the idea of putting what is essentially vaseline on my face was nuts. I thought that it would be way too heavy, and would exacerbate the milia everyone talks about. That said, I bought it and put it on as soon as I got home. I'm SO glad I listened to everybody. Having that heavy barrier is so soothing. You really do need something that rich, and totally inert, with no fragrance or color.

My discovery of zinc ointment:
Years ago after using a hotel facecloth, I woke up the next morning with red, itchy, irritated eyelids. I think it was the bleach and detergent residue. I don’t know what inspired me to think of zinc ointment, but glad I did, It’s been a go-to since. It’s instantly healing and soothing, really gentle, and a great barrier. I’m going to use it a lot over the next few weeks because it will provide essential sun protection, and help conceal redness. I’ll use a slightly darker foundation to compensate for it’s white color.

Recovery:
Around day three, I attempted to switch from the Aquaphore to my usual, VERY rich, moisturizer. Fail. My skin was still too parched and tight. Sticking with the Aquaphore as long as I need it. Like everyone, I have it on my face all the time. I also found it really helpful with applying ice. I would apply a layer followed by cold-water soaked gauze strips, Halloween mummy style. Then applied baggies of frozen peas wrapped in a thin dishtowel. The cold gauze feels wonderful, and adheres to the ointment. This means that there will be no friction of irritation from the ice packs. Think about it - your skin has just taken a beating, and unless you wrap your frozen peas in a silk scarf, those ice packs will feel like they are wrapped in sandpaper. Around day three I also took a few Aleve, that helped shrink my moon-face. All in all, pretty happy so far.

While I was on HRT as part of my transgender transition (MtF), one of my medications caused my face and neck hair to grow much more quickly, thickly, and over a larger area than ever before, with half of it coming in white. I had wanted to remove my facial hair anyhow, and the large amount of white that was coming in was a reminder that I needed to act before I aged sufficiently that laser would no longer be practical.

I investigated my local options and found a reputable clinic that was also convenient to home, and which was running a discount offer. I negotiated a little with them, and was able to start removal the same morning.

My hair to be removed was dark brown. I already knew that my white hairs would not be affected by the process. Interestingly, though, the white did seem to thin out as well over time; possibly the hair roots had not fully aged to white by the time I started.

My package deal included 8 sessions. The first session was the longest; sessions after that never lasted longer than 15 minutes of removal (plus some time to settle and to clean up.) Many of the sessions I ended up asking, "That's it? That's all?", as I mentally expected a lot more pain than it turned out to be. The most painful session was, I think, the 5th one (about 7 months in).

For me, the parts that hurt the most were the upper lip, followed by the underside of the jaw bone. One of the therapists indicated that many people find the underside of the jawbone to be worse than the upper lip.

I never needed any kind of numbing medication, neither before or after the sessions. They did recommend ice after the fore-mentioned 5th (most painful) session, but as the day happened to be well below freezing outside, just going outside was quite sufficient.

The most I ever needed in terms of pain relief was a pause of about 6 seconds during some close zaps on my lower lip. Most of the time, a pause of about 3 seconds was more than sufficient for me. Anywhere on my neck or cheeks, I never needed a pause at all. There were a couple of sessions in which my largest problem by far was "brain freeze" from the cooling air.

I achieved a good reduction in dark hairs, and what little is left grows notably slower than it did before. The 8 sessions were not, however, quite enough to eliminate all the dark hairs close to the left side of my mouth: some locations are tougher than others and it was no fault of the treatment that not everything succeeded. Additional treatments in that area would have been useful, but were not worth the additional cost for me. (Perhaps if I manage to catch a group discount someday.)

For me, as part of my transition, the money was well spent. It was too costly to do "at whim", but it was worth it for what it did for me.

I had a c02 procedure done with Dr. Minuk for my acne scars. Cost was about $3000 for one procedure. He did the procedure in 10-15minutes for my whole face. Before the treatment i asked him how long the procedure usually takes, he responded "around 30 minutes". I felt it was rushed and he even missed my right temple. Fast forward a couple months, the procedure did nothing. Looking at his price list now (Before it wasn't posted), i see that he ripped me off. Feels good.

I'm indian and my skin tone is olive kind of.I have some ice pick acne scars and i went to a dermatologist in my area where the doctor told me to do fraxel but as i have darker skin tome the laser might damage my skin.Now what should i do?