Laser Skin Welding the Suture of Future for Surgery
from New York Daily News
Doctors of the future may be able to trade their needle and thread for high-tech laser "skin welding." Scientists at Tel Aviv University are testing use of laser beams to seal surgical incisions, allowing skin and internal tissue to heal more quickly after operations and accidents. More

Dry Skin? Don't Let Winter Win
from Washington Post
Dry winter air can cause your skin to crack, chafe, itch and develop dry patches, but there are a number of things you can do to protect your skin, says Jeff Moore, an instructor of pharmaceutics at the University of the Sciences in Philadelphia. More

Miracle Surgery Has Joyous Sound for Boy
from Star Bulletin
As a toddler, Nicholas Soma noticed his ears were different. While looking in the mirror, Nicholas told his father, "I want ears just like you." At birth the boy was diagnosed with bilateral atresia and microtia - that is, with malformed ears and no ear canals, which impaired his hearing. Thanks to doctors at the California Ear Institute, Nicholas now has new fully shaped ears and can hear without assistance. More

Combination Treatment May Provide Better Dermal Remodeling Than Laser Therapy Alone
from Cosmetic Surgery Times
It's one thing to see surface changes to post-laser treatment skin; it's quite another to examine it the cellular and molecular level. And recent research looking at this very level may have meaningful implications for the effectiveness of future treatments. More

Greek Noses Unappreciated in Greece
from Balkan Travellers
If various facial features were to be associated with particular countries, Greece would surely get the nose. But – despite having given the name to one of the most popular nose shapes, many Greeks seem to dislike their own. Over 15,000 plastic surgeries are performed each year in Greece, with nose jobs being the most popular type of cosmetic intervention in the country, the Focus News Agency wrote, citing a News In publication. More

Israelis Develop Software to Improve Your Looks
from Reuters
Want to optimize your looks without radically altering them? An Israeli team of computer scientists may have the answer. They have developed a computer software model based on the innate preferences that studies show we have for human faces. More

Artefill Staff Fired, Ends Distribution to Doctors
from Real Beauty News
A year ago we predicted tough times for Artes Medical, maker of the controversial permanent wrinkle filler ArteFill. Friday the company cut all employees and appears to be headed into liquidation through bankruptcy. The sudden halt in distribution of ArteFill may have left an unknown number of patients in the lurch. ArteFill can be administered in stages, and a partially treated patient could encounter a situation where their doctor runs out of Artefill vials. More

Is There a Cure for Werewolf Syndrome? Scientists Say They Found One
from eFluxMedia
Pruthviraj Patil, 11, is one of the 50 people who suffer from a rare genetic disorder commonly known as “werewolf syndrome” – which causes hair to grow on nearly all the skin of the human body except palms of hands and feet. In medical practice, werewolf syndrome, also known as hypertrichosis, is most often considered a variation of normal, primarily resulting from genetic factors. Scientists at the Columbia University in New York believe they have found a cure for hypertrichosis: by injecting patients with testosterone, scientists say they can stunt hair growth in patients with werewolf syndrome. The same hormonal treatment is used to prevent boldness. More