Author: Ash Dutta

Dr Ash Dutta had the opportunity to travel to Sweden and perform a Transaxillary Breast Augmentation, Dr Ash explains what is involved in this process.

The advantages of a Transaxillary Breast Augmentation are huge however, there are of course some disadvantages too. As a cosmetic surgeon it is important to cater every operation to the individual patient’s needs and wants. In Transaxillary Breast Augmentation the scar is of course in the axillary other known as under the armpit.

The incision is made and within a centimetre we can find the edge of the muscle and then the implant can be inserted relatively easily. However, some patients do not like the implants being inserted as it can be more painful. Further elaborating on the patient’s individual needs being different, for example a model or someone who will show off their body a lot for professional or whatever reason, may not want the scar in the normal position. There has been information given to cosmetic surgeons showing that a Transaxillary Breast Augmentation may carry a slightly larger risk of infection or capsule contraction.

If you would like to book a consultation or talk to somebody at Aesthetic Beauty Centre, feel free to either book online or contact us here.

At Aesthetic Beauty Centre, all patients are offered MLD as part of the treatment process. Dr Ash Dutta explains what MLD is and what is involved in it.

Manual Lymphatic Drainage is a skin stretching light level massage to promote lymph to drain out of a certain area of the body, it is generally a short treatment lasting from 20-45 minutes. It has been shown to improve the aftercare of patients that have received cosmetic surgery. At Aesthetic Beauty Centre, Manual lymphatic drainage is offered to patients prior to any procedures as it has been shown to improve the lymphatic drainage of that area in patients.

How can MLD help in surgery?

1. Toxins and metabolites area cleared out from the area of the procedure with the use of MLD, leading to a clean area to operate on. Some people will be familiar with a Detox, this is essentially the same concept but in a focused area rather than the whole body.
2. An MLD will also reduce the pain from the operation as it can decongest the swollen tissue thus relieving inflammation and pressure in the area of the procedure.
3. The effect of MLD on the brain is also useful post operation, receiving MLD can send calming signals to the area of the brain that usually registers pain. So, any bruising or cuts will be a lot less painful when you are recovering from the procedure.

In the past at Aesthetic Beauty Centre, Dr Ash when performing liposuction or any of the other surgical procedures used to advise the patient to find an MLD specialist outside of Aesthetic Beauty Centre. However, Aesthetic Beauty Centre now has an in-house specialist.

Do I need MLD for a procedure?

Although it is not essential, any procedure a patient now receives they are referred directly to the MLD specialist in Aesthetic Beauty Centre. This allows Dr Ash to offer all the services needed under one roof, this also allows the staff at Aesthetic Beauty Centre to give the patients full care from the very beginning of the consultation all through after the treatments have been completed. The quality of care can also be ensured to be the highest possible as Dr Ash and his colleagues will be the people giving the care rather than the patients going to other places for care. 

Quality control you can trust.

Having the ability to monitor and control all the care regarding the patients, the results of the patients who have received the MLD is also showing an increase rather than without the MLD. The offer of MLD also makes the patients feel like they are looked after better as we have received many compliments regarding the level of care revolving around patients who get treatments at Aesthetic Beauty Centre.  It is important to remember that basic exercise and a lot of water on a regular basis will also be needed to ensure a quicker and more comfortable recovery after your treatment.

If you have any questions regarding the procedure of MLD, please contact Dr Ash Dutta.

Melasma is a skin problem which occurs commonly, it most often shows brown-grey patches on the skin. Dr Ash Dutta explains what causes this and what solutions are offered.

Melasma is a condition where the melanin also known as the colour of the skin, is produced in a larger amount than needed by the skin. There are two types of Melasma that a patient can have, these are epidermal and dermal.

Epidermal Melasma is easier to treat as it is closer to the skins surface. The most common ways of treating this is using chemical peels which are composed of alpha hydroxy acids (AHAs) such as lactic acid, salicylic acid, fruit acids or glycolic acid. Another solution of epidermal Melasma is the use of lasers, such as Fraxel lasers which is a non-invasive laser that uses pinpoint laser beams. Fraxel does not affect the skin all at once unlike most lasers.

Dermal Melasma requires slightly stronger treatment as it is based deeper in the skin, lasers such as Fraxel will not be as affective in comparison to the use of them on epidermal Melasma. A possible treatment of dermal Melasma is the creams available, such as Hydroquinone or Tretinoin. Also, chemicals such as the acids that could be used on epidermal Melasma can be used to not remove but reduce the Melasma.

Melasma can be difficult to treat in ladies as it is oestrogen dependant, this means a lot of the patients who look to have Melasma removed will be female. Also, if Melasma is in areas of a patient’s body that is exposed when on holiday or when the skin is exposed to the sun, the Melasma can get worse.  As the sun has an effect on the amount of Melasma, it means through the winter months you will find less cases of people looking to get treatment for it. Pregnant ladies can also get Melasma as a side effect of the pregnancy, this is called Chloasma.

If you would like to book a consultation or talk to somebody at Aesthetic Beauty Centre, feel free to either book online or contact us here.

Dr Ash Dutta explains the differences in chin augmentations available at Aesthetic Beauty centre whether you are looking for the surgical or non-surgical methods.

Chin Augmentation can be carried out both surgically and non-surgically with minimal invasive procedures. Traditionally Chin augmentation was done with the use of implants such as silicon implants. Aesthetic Beauty Centre have also seen people looking for a chin reduction especially if they feel they have prominent chins or if they are going through transgender operations; men who are going through the process to being a woman want their chin to be more reduced meaning the chin needs to be shaped.

Chin augmentation primarily means augmenting the chin or increasing the volume of the chin. When a Chin augmentation is carried out using fillers such as Radiesse which is composed of Calcium Hydroxylapatite (CaHa) or hyaluronic acid, it is a temporary treatment with a lifespan of around 9-14 months.

The main points of the chin needed to be looked at are, the two more prominent points of the chin are the prejowl sulcus and the sides of the chin can be filled in to make look slightly more round and it is important to also take into account whether you are looking for chin projection or chin volumization. Chin Volumization is done all around the chin but particularly at the lower point,

Chin projection focuses on putting fillers or whichever material you use into the point of the chin which will make it look slightly more projected. Adding on the chin projection, it can also make the neck, the cervical mental angle and the prejowl sulcus look much better by tightening the jaw line.

Some men who visit Aesthetic Beauty Centre look to getting a much more prominent chin and more masculine looking. For the patients looking for this kind of treatment we can not only offer chin augmentation but can also add volume to the angle of the mandible to make them look squarer. There are many techniques that can be applied to the chin to either make it look more feminine or more masculine, depending on what you are looking for.

For any further information regarding Chin augmentation or Aesthetic Beauty Centre, please contact us either online or by phone. Contact us here.

Having breast augmentation surgery is a major life decision and you need to consider all the factors carefully before deciding if it’s right for you. In this blog, Dr Ash Dutta, cosmetic surgeon at Aesthetic Beauty Centre, explains some of the most important things to consider before undergoing breast augmentation.

• Consider your reasons

Think carefully about why you want to have a breast augmentation. The most common reasons revolve around boosting self-confidence, perhaps after breasts have changed shape following child birth, or perhaps for a lift with age related changes. Many people simply want to improve the way they look cosmetically.

No matter your reasons, make sure you have given it plenty of thought.

• Commit to educate yourself

It’s important that you fully understand the procedure yourself – what it will involve, and what it will be like to live with afterwards. There is a lot of information out there and it can seem overwhelming, but don’t be deterred. Find beginner’s guides, speak to people, look for testimonials, and speak to your surgeon.

• Make sure your surgeon gives you appropriate counsel

Any surgeon should be happy to talk through all of the options with you, and they should never be giving you a hard sell. If you ever feel uncomfortable or that you are being pressured, just walk away – there are other, more responsible surgeons available!

The price can also vary greatly, especially depending on size and product used, so bear that in mind and don’t over-stretch yourself financially.

• Ask about guarantees

You need to consider guarantees that relate to both the surgery and also the product involved. Different products come with different guarantees, so make sure you ask which one is right for you.

• Remember there will be downtime

You will need to allow time for the preparation, the surgery and then the recovery. Ask your surgeon for an honest appraisal and prognosis – and make sure you can fit it into your lifestyle.

• Consider the pros and cons

It’s not all good – especially the recovery period – and don’t trust a surgeon who tells you otherwise. You will normally make a full recovery, but make sure you get an honest description of how long it will take before you are back to normal life.

• Go at your own pace – don’t be rushed

Make a decision in your own time. Don’t respond to a hard sell, and only do what’s right for you.

In the meantime, to discuss any of the above or to have an informal chat about your options for any of our surgeries or treatments, you can contact us here.

This is a difficult answer but I will try and answer it in a simple way.

When you do a facelift or any other procedure you are trying to make the patient look fresher and possibly a bit younger. Everyones ageing process is progressing at a very different rate. We have seen this even with twins.

Its all about making the patient look fresher and younger off his or her age that means making a 60 year old look a younger looking 60 year old rather than taking ten years off and making the patient look 5o.

At the Aesthetic Beauty Centre, the treatments that we do fall under mainly three categories, the laser clinic delivers most of the light based therapies and then we have the non surgical and the surgical treatments.

Today we are going to concentrate on the laser clinic and the various laser treatments that we do at the centre. The main groups in the laser treatments are ablative which is the CO2 lasers and fraction lasers where we do very controlled damage to the surface of the skin and let it resurface and that way we achieve the results.

In the non ablative group we have the IPL which is the intense pulsed light and the light therapies that come into the category.

I’m going to take you through some of the processes in the laser room so follow me.

We have got the Q switch which is the laser that helps remove the tattoos. This is the medlight C3 which has two wavelengths that deals very effectively with the red and blue tattoos. When we talk about the green tattoos which are slightly more difficult we use the ruby laser.

As we mentioned before we deal with the ablative lasers. This is accupulse which is a C)2 laser which can be used to rejuvenate the face and also we have been using for vaginal resurfacing which changes the lining of the vagina following menopausal changes.

This is the 755 which can be used for superficial damages and birthmarks but by and large they are used for hair removal for Caucasian skin and also Mediterranean skins. For the darker skin including Asian and south African we use a lower power laser.

Each and every laser can be changed with various filters to give different types of treatment including blemishes, thread veins and even rosacea.

This is the fraxel laser and we were the first user of this machine in the UK and have been for over 10 years. For this treatment we need to put local anaesthetic on the face for 20 minutes so the patient does not feel any pain or discomfort.

We have got some other treatments which is RF which is non ablative where we can tighten the skin and treat stretch marks.

This is the smartxide laser which is a fractional C)2 laser used to treat the lines and wrinkles of the face. The dots can be controlled in a very nice way to treat the areas of the skin that we want to replace. This needs to be repeated 3 times sometimes more.

This is a cooling machine that we use to cool the skin. This is the zimmer cooler which helps us to deliver the treatment in a nicer more comfortable way.

What factors influence the results of the image session?

A number of factors contribute to the actual scores generated by the VISIA complexion analysis algorithms, including the condition of the skin (cleaned vs. fresh make-up, old make-up, time-of-day), head registration within the booth, facial expression (particularly for wrinkles), stray hair, glare areas resulting from oily skin, etc. Note that the percentile scores were generated for subjects with cleaned skin prior to their imaging session, so results may vary if make-up is not removed prior to a patient’s VISIA session.

What is the definition for each of the three types of skin conditions? How does VISIA use this information?

´Clean´ is defined as skin that has been recently cleansed and without make-up or skin conditioners applied. ´Fresh Make-up´ is defined as make-up recently applied (roughly within the past hour); ´Other´ covers all other cases. No change is made in terms of either taking the photo or in the analysis process based upon the skin condition selected.

This information is recorded in the patient’s file for each session and allows scores to be properly interpreted if images were captured under different conditions session-to-session.

Should the patient’s eyes be open or closed when the picture is taken?

It is strongly recommended that the eyes be closed for the UV photos given the intensity of the UV flashes. For standard photos, the eyes can be either open or closed, although more aesthetically pleasing images are achieved with the eyes open. Because the mask is created using the standard photo (in which the patient’s eyes are typically open), there is no need to be concerned that eyelashes will be included inadvertently in UV analysis, even though the patient’s eyes are closed.

What are the definitions of the various skin features and how are the features detected?

Spots: Spots are typically brown or red skin lesions including freckles, acne scars, hyper-pigmentation and vascular lesions. Spots are distinguishable by their distinct colour and contrast from the background skin tone. Spots vary in size and generally have a circular shape.

Pores: Pores are the circular surface openings of sweat gland ducts. Due to shadowing, pores appear darker than the surrounding skin tone and are identified by their darker colour and circular shape. The VISIA system distinguishes pores from spots based on size; by definition, the area of a pore is much smaller than a spot.

Wrinkles: Wrinkles are furrows, folds or creases in the skin, which increase in occurrence as a result of sun exposure, and are associated with decreasing skin elasticity. This skin feature has the greatest variability from image to image as it is highly dependent upon the facial expression of the client. Wrinkles are identified by their characteristic long, narrow shape.

Texture: Texture is primarily an analysis of skin smoothness. Texture measures skin colour and smoothness by identifying gradations in colour from the surrounding skin tone, as well as peaks (shown in yellow) and valleys (shown in blue) on the skin surface that indicate variations in the surface texture.

Porphyrins: Porphyrins are bacterial excretions that can become lodged in pores and lead to acne. Porphyrins fluoresce in UV light and exhibit circular purple spot characteristics.

UV Spots: UV spots occur when melanin collects below the skin surface as a result of sun damage. UV spots are generally invisible under normal lighting conditions. The selective absorption of the UV light by the epidermal melanin enhances its display and detection by VISIA.

Red Areas: Red Areas represent a potential variety of conditions, such as acne, inflammation, Rosacea or spider veins. Blood vessels and haemoglobin contained in the papillary dermis, a sub-layer of skin, give these structures their red colour, which is detected by the RBX Technology in VISIA. Acne spots and inflammation vary in size but are generally round in shape. Rosacea is usually larger and diffuse compared to acne, and spider veins usually are short, thin and can be interconnected in a dense network.

Brown Spots: Brown Spots are lesions on the skin such as hyper-pigmentation, freckles, lentigines, and melasma. Brown Spots occur from an excess of Melanin. Melanin is produced by melanocytes in the bottom layer of the epidermis. Brown Spots produce an uneven appearance to the skin, and are detected in VISIA by RBX.