There may be more than one option for treating your condition. Lumiere Physicians can discuss these options with you, and help you choose the treatment that is best for you.

I'd like treatment for...

Sun spots/Age spots/Brown spots:

Freckles are cute when you're younger, but when they become age spots they are anything but cute! These are caused by the sun and environmental damage to the skin. The uneven pigmentation is caused by years of exposure. There are a munber of treatments currently available.

Intense pulsed light (IPL) treatments are simple, less costly, and relatively comfortable. The treatments consist of a quick flash of light over the skin. The darker spots will absorb more of the light energy and this will result in eventual lightening of the spots. Some people will have some darkening of the spots initially, followed by fading 10-14 days later. While most people will not have any down time from this, some will have significant darkening that will be noticeable until it flakes off.

For some, IPL treatments may have less effectiveness than desired. Pigmentation can also be addressed wih fractional laser treatments or with alexandrite laser treatments.

Daily creams can also be added to the treatment regimen, to reduce the spotting and to help prevent more sotting from occurring.

Spider Veins:

These small viens on the legs and face can become particularly unsightly. Traditionally, they have been treated with both lasers and with injections. The red color is from blood inside these small superficial vessels. An effective treatment causes the vessels to collapse and the walls of the vessels to stick together so that blood no longer passes through the small vessels. Both treatements are available at Lumiere.

Wrinkles:

With age and wear the skin starts to lose its elasticity and sag. Wrinkles develop slowly and become deeper with time. Wrinkles can be treated with a number of different methods and may be treated differently in different areas.

Some wrinkles are caused by repeated folding of the skin by facial muscles, such as the wrinkles that form between your eyebrows when you squint. These lines are best treated by paralyzing the muscle with Botox.

Some wrinkles, such as the deep folds that extend from your nose down around your mouth (nasolabial folds) are not caused by muscles, but by the effects of gravity on the face. Injectable fillers are very effective at improving the appearance of theses lines. Products such as Radiesse and Juvederm can provide long lasting improvement at a reasonable price.

Fine lines around the mouth can be treated with collagen injections.

There are laser and light based treatments also available. Infrared skin tightening can improve the fine crepe paper wrinkles on the skin. While this is a common request for faces and necks, it can also be used to improve body areas like the inner arms and the abdomen.

Excessive Sweating:

Too much sweating, hyperhidrosis, is a common complaint and can be very distressing. Many different types of treatments have been tried, with different results.

Botox has been used more recently, and with very good results. Injections need to be performed every 6 to 8 months to maintain the results.

There are also strong antiperspirants that are easy to apply, but they can cause skin irritation and need to be repeated more frequently.

Oral medications have been given, but these can have some significant side effects.

Iontophoresis can be effective, but is not permanent and is very time consuming.

In some instances, surgery may be performed. Insurance coverage is sometimes available, but this is dependant on the insurance carrier.

Acne:

Acne is one of the most frustrating and common skin conditions. Lesions can be painful as well as unsightly, and can leave significant scarring on the skin. Active acne can be treated in many different ways.

Traditionally, antibiotics and topical washes have been effective.

IPL treatments have also been shown to reduce the amount of bacteria on the skin and lessen the amount of breakouts for about 4-6 months after a treatment session.

IPL can be combined with antibiotics and topical washes.

We also carry makeup which will not only cover the blemishes, but also help to reduce the number of lesions.

Microdermabrasion can also help to remove the superficial debris on the skin to help reduce breakouts.

Accutane is not prescribed in our office.

Acne Scarring:

The pock-marks and craters left in the skin after severe cases of acne can be permanent. This scarring is difficult to cover with makeup and will often cover large areas on the face.

Recent improvements in laser technology have been effective in reducing the prominence of this scarring.

In some cases, the small deep scars can be excised to give a smoother appearance.

Crater scars can also be filled with collagen to smooth the skin.

Migraines:

There are many different causes of migraines. In some cases, the migraine results from over-contracture of the muscles around the eyebrows.

Paralysis of these muscles can give relief when this is the cause of the migraine. Botox has been used effectively.

Some patients will also elect a small surgical procedure to have these muscles permanently removed.

Pilonidal cyst:

A pilonidal cyst is a painful lesion that grows from the skin in the area of the tail bone. It is thought that hair growth in this area can lead to the formation of these annoying and embarrassing lesions. Surgical treatment is usually required to remove a cyst once it has formed. Laser hair reduction of the area has been shown to reduce the recurrence of pilonidal cysts.

Vericose Veins:

Varicose veins are the visible symptoms of lower extremity venous insufficiency. The associated leg pain can become a limiting factor to every day activities.

In the past, the typical treatment has been painful "ligation and stripping" surgery. But now, endovenous laser treatment, (EVLT) a minimally-invasive alternative, is available.

Lumiere Medispa provides state-of-the-art Diomed laser treatment of varicose veins. EVLT is an outpatient procedure that typically takes 45 minutes, and allows patients to return to their everyday lives immediately.

EVLT can be covered by health insurance in most cases.