June 8th, 2009 The Maas Clinic Staff
I am truly amazed at how effective the new product by Allergan, Latisse is at growing longer, darker and thicker eyelashes. On a daily basis, even without mascara, I am being asked if my eyelashes are false. My eyelashes false? Wow — this is a comment I never thought I would hear, but thanks to Latisse, I gladly except the consistent compliments on how beautiful my eyes look. I must say my eyes are now my best feature. So many compliments and so easy to achieve. One quick swipe applied directly to the lash line, using the provided applicator, is all it takes. I have used the product for 12 weeks and now only use Latisse 3 times per week to maintain my amazing results. This product is cost effective as I have only used a little over a bottle and a half of Latisse. At $90 a bottle or 3 bottles for $265, Latisse is a beauty “must have” from The Maas Clinic in San Francisco and Tahoe, Dr. Corey Maas. Latisse does require a prescription and at The Maas Clinic we offer complimentary consultations! Call the office, or even better, stop by and be greeted by one of our friendly staff — you can’t miss us because we are the ones with the mesmerizing, long, dark and thick eyelashes!
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March 5th, 2009 The Maas Clinic Staff
Jennifer Aniston’s recent comments as quoted in the San Francisco Daily Dish regarding Botox reflect both an infrequent side effect of Botox treatments — the feeling of heaviness in the forehead and the common misconception that Botox treated patients are easily identified. Unfortunately, far too many doctors, under the influence of early published articles and lectures, have used far too high of doses in the forehead region in particular, giving an unnatural flattened forehead and droopy eyebrows. Dr. Maas has written a number of papers on this topic and when Botox treatments are performed with prudence, skill and precision the effects on appearance are quite the opposite of Ms. Aniston’s experience. Much clinical and sociologic research has shown that softening the angry furrows between the eyebrows in particular, and lifting the eyebrow depressor muscles soften facial features removing tired, worried or angry expressions as well as aging changes. Ms. Aniston should make a quick trip to The Maas Clinic in San Francisco and see Dr. Corey S. Maas.
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December 8th, 2008 Dr. Maas
You are at “that” point in your life when you’re considering having a little “work” done. However, you are not sure what you should do, what you want to do and who you should ask to do it.
First of all, what you may think you want, may be different from what you need. So if you are at “that” point, first consider what stage of life you’re in and get a little help from a board certified facial plastic surgeon who can take you from one stage to the next.
It you are in your 30’s, chances are you have minimal wrinkles such as crows feet and the beginnings of laugh lines around the mouth. Facial fillers like Restylane, Juvederm and Prevelle Silk in combination with Botox can easily remedy and smooth out those areas. In addition, you spent your 20’s enjoying the sun’s rays – Intense Pulse Light (IPL), or Fractional Laser treatments like Active and Deep FX can help to soften fine lines and undo much of the damage caused by too much sun.
In your 40’s, the “laugh lines” or “parentheses around your mouth” start to set in and your face starts to deflate, giving you the appearance of weight loss, although you haven’t lost a pound. You can still use a combination of facial fillers like Radiesse or Evolence and Botox to combat these problems, or perhaps you can consider having the bags removed from under your eyes, or removing the excess skin above the eyes with a minimally invasive office procedure. A mini-facelift can also help to restore a youthful appearance. Still at this stage, only a handful of days needed to recover at most.
By the mid-50s, the skin on the neck may be loose and crepey and the skin around the face starts to hang over the jawline creating bumps commonly called jowls. At this point you might opt for a more extensive combination of procedures: a lower facelift and browlift to rejuvenate the face. These procedures may take a little more time for recovery, maybe 10-14 days and results will be long lasting.
Once you’re in your 60s and quickly approaching the 70’s, the loss of facial fat will cause the skin to just plain sag and there will be a “hollowness” to your appearance which can make you look older than you feel. At this point, a facelift and or browlift with some volume enhancement, like fat transfer, would probably be the wisest option if you want to tighten the excess skin and replace some of the volume to the face so as to present a smoother more youthful face.
If you are at “that” point, you now see there are a multitude of options from which to choose. A consultation at The Maas Clinic can help you decide the best option for you!
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December 2nd, 2008 The Maas Clinic Staff
I am an employee at The Maas Clinic in San Francisco and often get compliments, actually almost daily, that my skin looks really nice. But these compliments almost always come with this caveat…”that my skin must look nice, only because I have everyday access to the newest facial fillers like Evolence and Prevelle Silk, or that I must have had one of the most technologically advanced cosmetic treatments like Active/Deep FX Fractional Laser Resurfacing, or that I must get IPL treatments every 3 weeks, or last but not least, I must have had something surgically corrected”.
Well, with all that being said, I must admit that I do feel fortunate to have a “heads up” and easy access to the latest and the greatest procedures, products and treatments. In addition, I have been known to more than dabble in botox injections and I can’t seem to resist the “party pout” that results from a syringe of Juvederm or Restylane injected into my lips.
However, my skin… well, I am currently 40 years old and not quite ready for surgery, just yet, and although I have had a few IPL treatments, I credit my “good looking” skin to, yes in part, to my everyday access to the best available treatments, but more to my EVERYDAY use of The Maas Clinic Skin Care line formulated by Dr. Maas.
I do not hit the sheets, no matter how exhausted from along day of work or a day spent chasing two boys under the age of 7, without cleansing my face and applying my Maas Clinic creams — now that makes for a “good nights” sleep and some really “good looking” skin.
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October 21st, 2008 Dr. Maas
Many patients are seeking very small, but aesthetically significant changes to the shape of their nose.
Formal rhinoplasty is the traditional and certainly longest lasting option for correction of drooping nasal tips, bumps or depressions on the bridge of the nose or twisted crooked noses. Treating these, and in particular, correcting noses with deformities after previous nose surgery, revision rhinoplasty, is a large part of my facial plastic surgery practice.
With the new hyaluronic acid fillers (like Juvederm, Restylane and Perlane) and Radiesse available and shown to be very safe and effective, I have been very pleased with the success we have achieved in doing minor rhinoplasty in a 15 minute procedure in the office using these fillers.
Benefits of The Lunch Time Nose Job
The procedure is done with minimal discomfort using topical and sometimes a little local anesthesia. We can address droopy tips, weak or depressed bridges of the noses and minor twisting or deformities to nose seen after some rhinoplasty.
Most patients walk out looking totally normal. No noticeable swelling, little or no bruising and very happy.
I have included an example of a patient who was in and out in 15 minutes and achieved her desire for elevating the tip of the nose, and building a stronger bridge, a concern we see in many of our Asian and African American patients as well as those who have had previous rhinoplasty procedures.
The treatment doesn’t last forever and many patients may elect to move to rhinoplasty in the future, but for those who want immediate improvement with low risk and down time, the lunch time rhinoplasty might be the best option.
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October 13th, 2008 Dr. Maas
Although winter is quickly approaching and many of us have put our bathing suits away, there are still many reasons to want smooth skin.
In fact, we all want that smooth firm skin, but as we age many of us struggle with the unsightly appearance of cellulite on our thighs, arms, buttocks and abdomen.
The main factors responsible for cellulite are a lack of exercise, excess consumption of saturated fats, poor hydration and imbalances in hormonal function. More than 80% of all women are affected by cellulite. Maintaining and restoring the smoothness to our skin is something we can help you achieve at The Appearance Care Center at The Maas Clinic through the power of the VelaShape/VelaSmooth technology.
Methods of Cellulite Reduction in San Francisco
The VelaShape/VelaSmooth system is powered by revolutionary elôs™ technology and uses mechanical bi-polar rollers and vacuum. It is the first and leading FDA cleared non-invasive medical solution for circumferential reduction* and the first FDA class II cleared platform for cellulite reduction.
VelaShape/VelaSmooth is a revolutionary aesthetic device that combines the energies of bi-polar Radio Frequency and infrared light for a safe, painless cellulite smoothing treatment without needles or recovery time. Tissue mobilization safely and effectively re-contours the skin surface. The synergy of these three components makes VelaShape/VelaSmooth currently the best cellulite solution for hips, thighs, tummy, arms, buttocks and love handles. For the men out there, love handles are definitely a common problem area.
VelaShape/VelaSmooth is a successful treatment when combined with a good diet, excise and hydration. In out practice we have had seen visible results in 4-6 treatments and recommend maintenance treatments.
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September 30th, 2008 Dr. Maas
Hair loss is predominantly caused by a combination of aging, hormonal changes, and a family history of baldness. Most of the time, the earlier hair loss begins, the more excessive the baldness will become.
Hair Loss – Truths and Myths
Baldness is often blamed on poor scalp circulation, vitamin deficiencies, excessive hat-wearing and even dandruff. All of these theories have been disproved. It is also untrue that hair loss can be determined by looking at your mother’s grandfather, or that if you are over 40 and haven’t lost your hair, that you will never lose it.
In male-pattern baldness, hair loss typically results in a receding hairline and baldness on the top of the head. Many women have hair thinning with age and may develop female-pattern baldness. In this form of hair loss, the hair can become thin over the entire scalp. Other causes of baldness include hormone disorders like hypothyroidism, the patchy baldness of alopecia areata, or baldness associated with scars. The later I see commonly in patients referred after face and browlift surgery, where micrografts have proven spectacular for this unfortunately too often seen side effect.
We have also seen excellent results in eyebrow and eyelash transplantation.
Hair Replacement Techniques
Hair replacement techniques use your existing hair, therefore candidates must have healthy hair growth at the back and sides of the head to serve as donor areas.
There are a number of techniques that have used in hair replacement surgery. Transplant techniques, such as punch grafts, mini-grafts, micro-grafts, slit grafts, strip grafts, flaps, scalp reduction and tissue expansion are procedures that we rarely perform any longer, as we can achieve predictable permanent and natural results with our follicular unit micrografting techniques. These techniques will be discussed during our consultations.
Our “standard session” patients come into the office in the morning, are relaxed with oral medications and walk out in the afternoon with a hat on and typically very little swelling, or signs of any surgery.
The Maas Clinic has expanded to include The San Francisco Rejuvenation Center, an accredited state of the art hair restoration center. Hair replacement is one of the most rewarding procedures I perform with very high patient satisfaction.
view our full plastic surgery photo gallery
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September 26th, 2008 Dr. Maas
The American Academy of Facial Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery’s Annual Meeting was held in Chicago last weekend. Surgeons from all over the world attended the meeting and I was asked to participate on a number of panels concerning injectable filler materials, Botox and minimally invasive procedures such as mini facelifts and browlifts using the much less invasive techniques employing the new Bioglue. A hot topic of interest is the new advancement in fractionated resurfacing which has moved well ahead of the older Fraxel device – the Active and Deep FX fractionated device by Lumenis
Employing a special computer generated scanning pattern and a high powered CO2 (carbon dioxide) laser, patients are able to dramatic results with skin tightening, improvement in spots and blemishes on the skin in face, neck, hands and chest. This new technology in our experience is giving patients the same or better results in one treatment that I have seen in photographs taking 4-6 Fraxel treatments. That is with only 3-5 days of “downtime” = redness, mild to moderate swelling and no pain!
The procedure is done in office with a topical anesthetic applied to the skin surface and our cool air device the Zimmer cooler.
Patients walk out with a special new cream Biofine from Johnson and Johnson that has really brought the healing time for most to under 5 days.
We are excited about this new technology and so are the patients who are searching for long term results with fine lines around the lips, eyelids and neck but don’t want the long down time of deep chemical peels or standard laser skin resurfacing. The treatment options available with this device include a laser minipeel, regional Active and Deep FX (for deeper lines) and full face, neck and other areas that can be performed in less than an hour in the office.
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September 22nd, 2008 Dr. Maas
Injectable Fillers – Not just for the lips and folds!
San Francisco Non-Invasive Revision Rhinoplasty with Restylane, Juvederm and Radiesse
Revision rhinoplasty is considered one of the most challenging procedures in facial plastic surgery. The need for a revision result when imperfections occur after rhinoplasty surgery, or when
there is an obstruction of breathing patterns.
Most often even small imperfections are corrected by another surgery. However, now with the newer, longer-lasting facial filler materials, (Restylane, Juvederm, Radiesse) we can now improve imperfections in the office by injecting the filler material to fill in the area of concern with almost no downtime. The filler is not permanent, but results can last for a year and sometimes longer.
This technique has been successful and is an excellent option for revision rhinoplasty, especially in patients who do not want to undergo another surgical procedure.
Patients who choose revision surgery for permanent correction, the concept of facial aesthetics and beauty is highly subjective. However, an understanding of aesthetic facial proportions serves as a guide when evaluating patients.
As a board certified facial plastic surgeon, my training, experience and expertise with regard to the facial structure helps with interpreting surgical goals and concerns that improves my ability to correct deformities.
The shape and size of the nose has a significant impact on the overall balance and symmetry of the face.
A nose that “in the beholder’s eye” is inconsistent with the rest of the face, may sometimes result in a lack of confidence and dissatisfaction with one’s appearance.
Surgery of the nose requires exceptional anatomical knowledge and surgical skill, as well as the eye of an artist taking into consideration, ethnicity, gender, and even height.
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September 17th, 2008 Dr. Maas
I have been fortunate to be one of the early adopters and have experience injecting Prevelle Silk in several patients.
Prevelle-Silk is the first hyaluronic acid filler with lidocaine. The product name aptly describes the product as the product flows very smoothly. The smooth flow may be due to the lower concentration of hyularonic acid, therefore in my practice; we inject it into the dermal layers for the treatment of fine lines, much like we use cosmaderm, the collagen product.
Prevelle-Silk does not require skin testing, which is an obvious advantage over cosmaderm but its expected duration of 3 to 4 months is the same. In my opinion, currently Prevelle-Silk is the only hyaluronic acid available to adequately treat fine lines and as an added benefit the lidocaine delivers an anesthetic effect, making dental blocks unnecessary for some patients.
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