What Should Your Medical Spa Post On Facebook

We started with what to do if your medical spa doesn't have any Facebook fans. But 'content' that your patients want is what will drive readership.

Once your medical spa or plastic surgery marketing page is built and you've have a kickoff to get local potential patients aware of you, you should have at least several dozen people on your Facebook and Twitter pages.  The next step? Engaging them.

Always keep in mind the kind of in your face exposure this is going to bring.  When people are your fan or follower, whatever you write is going to appear in their "feed."  When people sign in to Facebook and Twitter, they are presented with a list of posts from everyone they have opted to follow. 

For example, when your made-up cousin Sally logs in to her Facebook account, she sees a post from her college boyfriend, a note from her mom, an invitation to a Tupperware party from her neighbor, and if she is a fan of your practice, your latest post.

If you are posting things that don't interest her, it is extremely easy for her to delete you from her account.  If you are posting things that interest her or add value to her Facebook experience, it is extremely easy for her to recommend you to her friends. If you don't have something good to say, don't bother! 

Facebook is great for embedded multimedia like pictures, video, and links, so simply writing text like "Come in and get Restylane for your lips, everyone is doing it!" is like buying a Ferrari and keeping it in first gear.  Instead, show people why they should come in and get Restylane injections.

An easy to digest mix of entertainment, usable tips, and reality content that shows off what you do best is a winning formula.  For example, over the course of a week, you could compare "The Octomom" Nadya Suleman's "trout pout" lip filler results with your own before/afters, have your aesthetician give ten winter makeup tips, and post a hand-held video (using a FlipHD video camera) that one of your assistants shot of you performing a procedure.

Posting your own reality content can even garner local media attention, just for the novelty that you are performing cosmetic surgery or injecting Botox live on Facebook. 

Any of this content that showcases your expertise in a fun and interesting way provides you with easy exposure.  Keep your website URL and phone number in several places on your fan page, so if someone sees something that sparks their interest, they can get in touch with you.

The biggest follow up question many doctors ask after this is, "How often should I post?"  As it says above, if you don't have something good to say, don't bother. Just posting endless plastic surgery liposuction ads or touting your laser hair removal treatments is a short trip to the off-list. But, if you have quality content, then set up a schedule and figure out what you'll do for the next month. 

Give your patients a feeling that they know you. A post every other day is fine to start and the more personal the content is, the better.

---

Medical Spa MD Members get a Podium patient review marketing account and save $1,257

Protect your reputation. Get new patients. Medical Spa MD Members receive a special, full service Podium account that includes: no setup fee (save $300), a 10% discount forever (save $330/year) and on-demand patient review marketing training for your entire staff ($597 value).  This offer is not available anywhere else.

The Worst Plastic Surgery Billboard Ever.

Wow. This may well be the worst plastic surgery billboard I've ever seen. In fact, it may be the worst plastic surgery ad too.

This is what happens when someone in the clinic thinks they know marketing and advertising.

I've actually seen this billboard. It's along I-15 in Utah and I've driven past it a few times. Each time shaking my head in utter disbelief that anyone describing themselves as an 'aesthetic specialist' could be attached to such bad taste. (And the actual design is worse. Quite obviously the work of a $6 an hour kid that's still in high school.) How could anyone think that this would move a woman to get plastic surgery?

The Gateway Aesthetic Institue & Laser Center is the cosmetic dermatology practice of Dr. Mark Taylor but there's usually a plastic surgeon to be found. I guess now it's 'Dr. Heidi'. According to the Gateway Aesthetic Institue's web site, Dr. Heidi is actually:

Heidi Regenass, M.D., a board certified plastic surgeon who comes to Gateway Aesthetic from Phoenix, Arizona, where she owned her own successful practice.

Dr. Regenass brings an international flair to cosmetic plastic surgery. Dr. Regenass specializes in plastic surgery procedures that rejuvenate the face and body, enhancing one’s natural beauty.

It may well be that this as was designed by Gateway Asesthic Institue and Dr. Regenass didn't have anything to do with it. In that case I feel sorry for her. It's got to be embarrassing to have your name attached to something this crass and trite.

What the Bad Billboard Project says about Dr. Heidi's boob job billboard:

My business used to be housed in an office a few feet from this billboard. Only it was a different billboard back then. I was driving by, saw this, and felt like I couldn’t pass it up. It is poorly designed, to be sure, but I’m not sure that matters so much, at least as far as getting your attention. Whether it would actually result in increased sales, I’m not sure. Probably, since many people don’t appreciate good design, either consciously or subconsiously. As for me, I’m thoroughly offended and would certainly never let Dr. Heidi get her dirty paws on me.

Why Doesn't Your Medical Spa Have Any Facebook Fans?

Marketing your clinic via social media is a bit different from what many medical spas are used to.. but as more plastic surgeons, dermatologists and medspas add Facebook and Twitter that's going to change.

Taking out a half-page ad in the local paper, buying radio time, or getting a PR placement showing off your latest procedure, are all one-way forms of communication. It goes out, and people will either take action, become aware of you, or do nothing.

Social media sites like Facebook and Twitter, are a two-way form of communication that requires people to opt in. Besides some nominal SEO benefits, they are only as effective as the number of local Fans and Followers you have who are interested in what you do. You are still sending out messages at your discretion, but people can choose to receive it, and even send instant feedback.

If you’re paying someone in your office to log into Facebook every day, post your latest Botox special, and there are only 10 people receiving that message, you are wasting time and money. No one is receiving the message and, no offense, people will not “opt in” to hear about your Botox specials every day. If people wanted to see advertisements constantly, TiVo wouldn’t exist.

The key to social media marketing for your medspa is finding a way to break through the protective barriers that people have. TGI Fridays certainly did.

TGI Fridays is a restaurant chain that in September, started a big social media push. They created a fictional character named Woody, gave him a Facebook fan page, and started an ad campaign: everyone who becomes Woody’s fan on Facebook will get a free burger on October 1st.

They did some advertising, got some press, and most of all, it was an event that gave people reason to tell their friends about it. The oft-used buzzword “viral” applies here… word of the promotion spread like a virus. With social media, it takes about three mouse clicks to tell all of one’s friends about something you found.

Woody garnered about a million fans, and on October 1st, TGI Fridays dutifully gave out the free burgers.

Today, in January, 2010, Woody still has 945,000 fans. Whenever TGI Fridays wants to market to a large number of people who already have a positive impression of them, and have demonstrated that they enjoy eating hamburgers, they have instant exposure.  For example, on November 17, TGI Fridays got massive exposure for a new happy hour promotion.

We’re marketing cosmetic products and treatments, and not hamburgers, but it still applies. Using a giveaway model on the local level can make yourself the talk of the town, and get hundreds of people to “opt in.”  If you are giving away beauty products and treatments, local people will sign in if they are interested in that sort of thing.  After the giveaway, you can market to them however you please.

It clearly doesn’t cost TGI Fridays a lot of money to give away a hamburger; and when people got their hamburgers, they also probably got fries, a drink, and some dessert.  A giveaway winner in your office can potentially get other products and services.

What could your medical spa be giving away?

---

Medical Spa MD Members get a Podium patient review marketing account and save $1,257

Protect your reputation. Get new patients. Medical Spa MD Members receive a special, full service Podium account that includes: no setup fee (save $300), a 10% discount forever (save $330/year) and on-demand patient review marketing training for your entire staff ($597 value).  This offer is not available anywhere else.

Ageless Elane: Markeing your medical spa blog.

Ageless Remedies Medical Skincare & Apothecary has started a blog called Ageless Elane.

'Elane' has left a few comments on Medical Spa MD and she's added a back-link to her blog. That's exactly the right way to begin to build your profile and help your local patients find you on the web.

I'd suggest that Elane enable comments on the blog though. While it's very common to be concerned about unhappy patients ruining your site, spam and flaming is something you have control over and it's much better to have interaction with your patients that your perspective patients can see.

If you're adding carefully thought out comments that add real value, please go ahead and link back to your site if you'd like. While we're a 'spam magnet' and have to constantly remove thousands of spam comments, we're happy to help our Members with a little 'Google Juice'.

Better yet, submit a guest post on Medical Spa MD and realize the good karma and good life that comes along with helping other Medspa MD Members... and the tens of thousands of patients who visit this blog every month.

Medical Spa MD Select Partners

As the world’s #1 physician community around non-surgical cosmetic medicine, Medical Spa MD's Select Partners offer discounted products and services as well as special customer service to our more than 4000 physician members worldwide.

Medical Spa MD Select Partners display this badge.

IPL & laser technology companies, service providers, publications, content providers and other businesses that sell to cosmetic medical practices and medical spas are partnering with Medical Spa MD to gain access to the tremendous buying power of our physician community. And our Members get special pricing and the trust that comes from the fact that Medical Spa MD stands behind every Select Member.

What makes a Medical Spa MD Select Partner?

• Amazing Products & Services our Members want: To be included as a Medical Spa MD Select Partner, there has to be real value available to our world-wide community.
• Exclusive Member Pricing: All Select Partners offer reduced, exclusive pricing to Members. In some cases our Select Members will build out entire new websites to keep this pricing from their existing clients.
• Fantastic Customer Service: Select Partners must provide exceptional customer service to Members. Medical Spa MD is an active community and Members can complain directly to us.
• Transparency: While we consider our Select Partners as just that, partners, our reputation comes first. When our Members buy from a Select Partner they know that we're standing behind that business.

Become a Medical Spa MD Select Partner.

If you meet the above criteria, let Medical Spa MD help you make the most of your marketing efforts. Consider joining the Medical Spa MD Select Partner Program — a way for you to access our incredible physician community. Or propose your own creative plan for partnering with Medical Spa MD. Apply here.

Medical Spa MD: New Partners & Services in 2010.

We've had some significant growth over the last while and that's enabled (and motiviated) us to look at how we can provide the most opportunity to our physician community.

We're currently buiding out relationships and adding additional offerings that include: strategic partnerships with other content providers, SEO +SEM, marketing & advertising outsourcing, training products, IPL & cosmetic laser classifieds, additional medspa MD guest post authors and more. The power behind this is the strength of our independant physician community aggregated in one place. Because we have so many physicians, we can harness the buying power of the entire group and businesses can provide pricing and services that they just can't afford when selling individually.

I'll be posting on these individually but here's an overview of some of the partnerships and additional services in the works.

Medical Spa MD Select Partners

We have a number of relationships with other cosmetic medical resources that we're working that include websites, magazines, and other vendors that meet our criteria for inclusion as a Medical Spa MD Partner. What's the criteria to be a Select Partner?

Medspa MDs Select Partners must offer significant value exclusivley to Medical Spa MD Members as a group and provide fantastic service and responsiveness to Members.

If you're a business you can apply to become a Medical Spa Select Partner here.

A New Site For Medical Marketing & Outsourcing

This new site will be all about outsourcing for cosmetic medical practices. Outsource your marketing, your advertising, your SEM (Search Engine Marketing), article writing, direct mail and postcards... all that stuff.

• Outsourcing
• SEO & SEM: Directoy submissions, local search, backlinking.
• Marketing & Advertising
• Article Writing & Submission
• Direct Mail: Postcards & Mailers

You'll be able to get whatever you need oursourced at a fraction of the time and expense that you'd be expending to source and and manage it. We'll probably start out fairly small and focus on a couple of services that we can already deliver exceptionally well and use ourselves.

Medical Spa Writers + Guest Posts

One of the easiest ways for you to get some exposure for your practice or company is simply to write a guest post here on Medspa MD. We're actively looking for physicians and providers who can offer real value to our community. You'll recieve a valuable link to your practice or business and some welcom traffic.

Submit a guest post onMedical Spa MD.

Medical Spa Products

The Advanced IPL & Laser Training Manual and Advanced Medical Spa Aesthetics Training Manual & Study Course are fantastic resources to train and educate your existing staff, and new hires. Paula's done an absolutely amazing job of getting everything your staff needs in one place. I only wish I had this way back when. If you'r training process consists of having new hires follow you around... your life just got a lot easier.

Used IPL & Laser Classified Ads

Looking to sell your cosmetic laser or IPL? Looking to get a killer deal on one? Medical Spa MDs classified listings are where you'll want to start. (It's anticdotal but I think we've passed the $1m mark.)

Teeth Whitening

We were approched by a company providing custom teeth whitening services for companies and organizations as fund-raisers and asked if we'd allow them to sell whosale teeth whitening kits, pens and services to our Members. We've tentatively said yes and are trying out their services ourselves to see what we think.

These are exacly the same services that dentists offer and include taking impressions, making custom whitening trays and delivering them back to the clinic. Clinics would buy these wholesale. The markup would be in the 100%-300% range I'm guessing.

This could be a fantasic add-on since the #1 cosmetic service that people want is actually teeth whitening.

Laser Repair, Parts, & Service

Another interesting deal that I'm not at liberty to discuss quite yet but we're looking to take on some reilable partners to provide IPL & laser repair services for Members. If you've every had an IPL hand peice rebuilt by the manufacturer you'll know what I mean here. (Of course we'd love to have good technology providers as a partner too.)

Anyway, that's just a few of the directions we're moving in. I'll update this post as we get some of these services up and running. If you want to make sure you're aware of your options and our Partners offerings, make sure you're a Medical Spa MD Member.

Treating Hyperhydrosis of the hands with Botox.

Treating Hyperhydrosis of the hands with Botox.

John L. Abraham, MD

With the palms of the hand being particularly sensitive and with administering multiple injections I apply a topical anesthetic and leave it on for about 20 minutes. This does a decent job numbing the area.

Your other option is doing a nerve block of the medial, ulnar and radial nerve. Another helpful technique to help minimize discomfort is have a patient hold a vibrating object in their hand, the thought process behind this is the gate theory of pain control much like pinching an area of injection before actually injecting. If anyone has a Vibraderm microdermabrasion machine this works well especially if you use the paddle that helps deliver medications and serums. This added modality isn't a must but does help.

I do not use the betadine starch kit with the palms as I have not found it to be as much of an indicator as I have with the axilla. You will get some reaction but I don't feel it gives an adequate representation of areas to treat. I go ahead and inject in a grid pattern with a spacing of 1-2 cm apart and I use roughly 2 units per injection.

Make sure you don't use a needle larger than 30 gauge otherwise you will have more of a problem with Botox following the needle track out. Your results should last anywhere from 4-6 months.

If you're thinking about using Dysport watch for the possibility of hand weakness. You can get this with either Botox or Dysport but it seems to be more common with Dysport. This side effect is obviously transient and does resolve.

I have picked up many of these techniques from basic and advanced courses. Our clinic may start doing some training courses in aesthetic procedures as well as LipoLite. Good luck. If you have any other questions please let me know.

John L. Abraham, MD is the Medical Director at  DermaHealth Laser Clinic

Submit a guest post on Medical Spa MD and be heard.

Skintology NY?

For some reason when new medical spas find this site their first reaction it to post a bunch of spam comments. Skintology in NY is one of these. Someone there just left a bunch of spam comments on the site. (Of course I've added a 'nofollow' tag to that link so there's no Google Juice going their way.)

This happens when someone doesn't understand how the web actually works and thinks that comment spamming will drive traffic to their site.

In reality all it does is irritate those of us who have to deal with it.

Of course, there is a way to get lots of Google Juice and traffic headed to your clinic. Submit a guest post on Medical Spa MD and not only will we link to your site, readers that are going there will actually think highly of you.

Medical Spa Estheticians: Learning how to perform laser hair removal

It's the number 1 laser procedure performed by aestheticians in medical spas across the U.S. - Laser Hair Removal. If you're old schooled, 10 to 1 no one ever taught you about laser hair removal procedures.

With facial and chemical peel services on the downfall these days, I've received many emails from aestheticians wondering where to get trained in laser hair reduction so they can secure a position within a medical spa, or just advance their career. Aestheticians are lucky in my area, they have a wonderful beauty academy right at their fingertips where they can get an advanced education in aesthetic services (if they want to go back to school). Their training manual is the Medical Spa Advanced IPL & Training Course, available through Medical Spa MD.

In the Laser Hair Reduction Chapter, you will learn about the anatomy and growth phases of a hair follicle from the anagen phase to the telogen phase and what the significance is of those stages during treatments. You will also learn the differences between and Nd:YAG, Alexandrite, IPL and diode lasers for hair reduction. Other important pearls are skin typing, ethnicity responses to therapy, topical anesthetics and using them safely, patch testing, and information about how various body areas respond to treatment.

If you're looking for a way to get the theory behind laser treatments, then take a look at the Medical Spa Advanced IPL & Training Course.

Author: Paula D. Young RN runs internal operations and training at Young Medical Spa and is the author of the Medical Spa Aesthetics Course, Study Guide, and Advanced IPL & Laser Training course for medical estheticians and laser technicians.

Submit a guest post and be heard.

Offer custom teeth whitening at your medical spa.

We were approched by a company providing custom teeth whitening trays for companies and organizations as fund-raisers and asked if we'd allow them to sell wholesale teeth whitening kits to our Members as a Medical Spa MD Select Partner.

This would allow you to provide a custom teeth whitening service directly from your laser clinic or dermatology practice and be able to levergage the buying power of the entire Medical Spa MD physician community.

We've tentatively said yes.

The process would be straightforward and simple. You'd offer custom teeth whitening as a service to your existing clientielle. Your staff would take a mold of a clients teeth, send it off pre-paid, and in around 72 hours a custom tray and tooth whitening kit would be returned to your clinc. Your patient could come back in to pick this up, or for an additional fee you could send it directly to their home.

The cost is still being worked on but it should be viable at about 1/3 the cost that dentists are currently charging for this service. What you charge for this would be up to you but since this is a customized service I would expect it to be at least as profitable as an average clinics skin care sales.

If you're a medspa or cosmetic practice interested in getting a test run of this service, please contact us. We're looking to test this service before rolling it out and will offer a limited number of kits to medical practices at cost to get the kinks out of our processes.

Medical Spas are still growing.

Spa trends as reported by the International Spa Associations Members show that Medical Spas are still growing.

Medical spas: Is there a doctor in the spa? The number of medical spas continues to grow at the fastest rate of all the spa types, according to ISPA. The figure is 85 percent growth since July 2007.

While most people aren't going for a pedicure, people are using them for Botox, filler treatments and even a prescription for the new eyelash-lengthening drug, Ellis said.

Eyelash lengthing drug?

Laser Clinic Tatoo Removal

One of Medical Spa MDs eaders sent me this story on job hunters going to tatoo removal laser clinics in an effort to make them more employable.

The multi-billion dollar business of tattoo removal is enjoying some recession-proof growth — with one LA-based clinic even planning on going public next year to help fund a national expansion plan.

“More than 40 million people have tattoos and about seven million, or 17 percent, are in the process of figuring out how to get rid of them,” said John Keefe, the CEO of Dr. Tatoff, a California tattoo removal clinic, who hopes to use the proceeds from a 2010 initial public offering to grow to a 10-location chain.

“More than 66 percent of those tattooed are between the ages of 25 and 45 and what was cool to them at 18 is an eyesore now that they are a mother with kids,” says Keefe. The executive said revenue per client is about $1,600 — which comes out to $40 per square inch, per laser treatment  with an average of 10 treatments required. The average tattoo is four square inches, he said.

“It costs 10 times more to remove a tattoo than to put one on and it takes one year for safe and effective removal,” says Keefe.

The national market is currently fragmented, with dermatologists operating on a one-off basis and usually not dedicating their entire practice to tattoos removal.

The growing unemployment rate is also helping the company ink new business as job hunters feel the need to be competitive. Of course, many look to get rid of their tattoos because of personal taste — they may have simply fallen out of love with their tattoos or out of love with the name of the person indelibly inked on their arm.

I personaly never saw the attraction of getting into laser tatoo removal, but our patient population wasn't really inked-up either.

Is anyome meeting with real success with their tatoo laser removal services? Is tatoo removal cost effective? Is it dependant upon a certain inked demographic? What cosmetic lasers are being used to remove tatoos?

Plastic Surgery Trends For 2010

The Consumer Guide to Plastic Surgery thinks they know what’s in store for cosmetic medicine in 2010, from how the newly proposed “Botax” could affect your self-improvement plans to which new products will come to market. Here's what you might see in 2010:

Even More Botox-Like Products Will Come to Market
First there was Botox Cosmetic; then 2009 brought the Botox alternative Dysport. In 2010, expect to see a few more Botox rivals, including a topical form of the popular wrinkle relaxer and at least one more injectable. A couple of injectable Botox cousins are in development, but PurTox will likely be the next to get a nod from the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). The main difference in these injectables seems to be how long the results last and how quickly the products start to work on your crow’s feet.

Fat Injections to the Breast Will Be Used Cosmetically
After being condemned by plastic surgery associations, fat injections to the breast were deemed OK for "touch-ups" after breast reconstruction in 2008. But these once controversial injections may soon play a role in cosmetic breast augmentation. Taking fat from a part of the body where there is too much (your thighs or butt, for example) and injecting it into your breasts where there is too little, may replace the need for breast implants when done in conjunction with a breast lift. Some kinks still need to be worked out, but fat injections to the breast are likely here to stay.

Surgeons Will Invent – and Perfect – Body Contouring Surgeries to Follow Massive Weight Loss
More and more people are undergoing bariatric surgery to lose weight, only to be left with hanging fat and flab in highly visible areas. As plastic surgeons put on their thinking caps to better address these issues, expect to hear about many new procedures, including the corset trunkplasty. This new surgery targets above-the-belly-button flab, to recreate an hourglass silhouette in formerly obese women and get rid of love handles in men who have lost massive amounts of weight. This area has been ignored by many traditional body contouring procedures that target the lower abs, buttocks and/or thighs. We will hear more about corset trunkplasty and other innovative body contouring procedures in 2010.

Fat Freezing Heats Up in 2010
Fat freezing (or cryolipolysis) may give liposuction a run for its money in the coming years. This technology works by freezing fat cells and breaking them down. Zeltiq is in clinical trials now, and results look promising. Stay tuned.

Cohesive Gel Breast Implants Receive FDA Approval
These so-called "gummy bear implants" have been making their way down the pike for some time, and they just may get the long-awaited FDA nod in 2010. Filled with cohesive silicone gel, these leak-resistant implants – used in Europe and Brazil – are being studied in the United States. Gummy bear implants have the positive attributes of silicone gel, but the gel doesn't migrate. This is a good thing, because if the shell should fail, the gel wouldn’t leak into surrounding tissue.

Lipodissolve Study Results Stun Skeptics
Lipodissolve, an experimental "fat-melting" technology, is being billed as a non-surgical alternative to liposuction. Also called mesotherapy, lipodissolve is performed via injection of a cocktail of chemicals into muffin tops, saddlebags, love handles and other trouble spots to dissolve fat cells. Critics were outspoken, which is why the American Society for Aesthetic Plastic Surgery started a rigorous scientific study of lipodissolve, using standardized ingredients. And while even the trialists were skeptical at first, and the final results have not been tallied, it works. The study results – to be released in 2010 – may encourage many doctors to offer lipodissolve. Still, lipodissolve is only for small areas of localized fat and will never replace liposuction.

“Botax” Will Raise Eyebrows
A health care reform bill will be passed in 2010, and it just may include a five percent tax on all cosmetic surgery procedures (except those deemed medically necessary). Let’s say that breast augmentation with implants costs $10,000 in 2008; add a five percent levy, and the total becomes $10,500 in 2010. With business already down, most plastic surgeons are up in arms about the Botax. There is also fear that taxing cosmetic surgery in the U.S. will encourage many to seek out services abroad or through unskilled providers who offer procedures at cut rates in America, compromising their safety.

Surgery-Free Tummy Tucks Trim Waistlines
Non-invasive body contouring procedures such as Thermage, VelaShape, UltraShape, LipoSonix and Zerona will continue to grow in popularity in 2010. Once reserved for the face,

Thermage also uses radio waves to lift and firm skin on your stomach, knees, arms, legs, hands or butt. VelaShape employs bipolar radiofrequency energy to reduce the size of the fat cells, along with infrared heat to tighten the skin. And Zerona uses a “cold” laser to painlessly zap the fat cells beneath your skin. These technologies (and more) may give tummy tucks and lower body lifts a run for their money in 2010.

Face Transplants Face Upsurge
Face transplant surgery was once nothing more than fodder for sci-fi thrillers like the movie Face/Off, but they are now becoming a reality. Eight have been performed so far in the United States and abroad, but there will likely be many more as reconstructive facial surgeons further hone their skills and work toward perfecting their highly complicated techniques.

Minimally Invasive Cosmetic Procedures Experience Rebirth
As our economy starts to show signs of life again, more people may opt for cosmetic surgery procedures, reversing the steep decline of the last two years. Don't expect the numbers to reach their record highs anytime soon, though. There will likely be a slight increase in plastic surgery procedures – especially minimally invasive ones such as injectables that allow people to put off more invasive (and expensive) procedures like face lifts until they really need them (and can better afford them).

Consumer Guide to Plastic Surgery is published by Ceatus Media Group LLC, an online provider of health information and physician directories. Consumer Guide to Plastic Surgery is a registered trademark of Ceatus Media Group LLC. http://www.yourplasticsurgeryguide.com

Nu U Medical Spas Sued By Illinois State Attorney General

Attorney General Lisa Madigan has filed a lawsuit against the Chicago-area medical spas, Nu U Med Spas, for performing unapproved procedures without a physician's supervision and luring patients through deceptive marketing.

This looks like it started with an expose by local Chicago television news.

The seven NuU Medspas in the Chicago area aggressively promote Lipodissolve, a series of injections that supposedly will melt your fat away.

The ads talk about reduced inches with no knives, no tubes, and no pain -- a deceptive ad, patients say.

NuU does not tell clients that Lipodissolve is not approved by the Food and Drug Administration.

"There is no study out there that shows clearly whether it works and what specifically are the risks of it," said Northwestern Memorial Hospital's Dr. Michael Lee.

That's not a problem, said NuU district supervisor Laura Rowsey, formerly a modeling school sales manager.

"This is a soy-based mineral with amino acids," Rowsey said. "Bruising and swelling is like your worst case scenario with this treatment."

But doctors have seen a number of Lipodissolve complications.

Cynthia Sacramento, who went to the Lincoln Park spa, suffered painful scar tissue buildup around her injection site that will require surgery.

Dr. David Song of University of Chicago Hospital said the entire injection area will have to be excised.

Sacramento said she's devastated.

Even proponents say Lipodissolve is for treating pockets of fat, not for bigger weight problems.

NuU in Lincoln Park signed another former client, who preferred to remain anonymous, up for $2,400 in treatments on his belly.

"I think it's a big scam, a waste of money," he said. "The only thing that got thin on me was my wallet."

NuU sales people are pressured to meet sales goals and arrange for many clients to finance their treatments. The money is collected up front and NuU claims it's not refundable.

"Our goal was to get $15,000 a day," said former NuU spa manager Patti Feinstein.

Feinstein recalled how Rowsey scolded her for turning away a skin cancer patient saying, "You are not going to make quota if you don't sell," Feinstein said.

Records show her spa sold made more than $200,000 a month.

Ouch. You have to love how a reporter makes a point of stating that the Nu U spokesperson was fromerly a sales manager for a modeling school. Looks like another slap-down for Nu U Medspas. Madigan's complaint claims that Nu U Med Spas try to lure customers into buying "Lipodissolve, which is an injected therapy used to dissolve fat cells." Here's the full press release:

MADIGAN FILES LAWSUIT AGAINST CHICAGO AREA Nu U MEDICAL SPAS

Attorney General Alleges Nu U Performed Unapproved Procedures Without Physician Supervision And Used Deceptive Marketing to Lure Patients

Chicago — Attorney General Lisa Madigan today filed a lawsuit in Cook County Circuit Court against Nu U Med Spas for deceptively marketing and performing unapproved, unsupervised cosmetic treatments that caused some patients to experience extreme pain and lasting injuries.

“These procedures have yet to be thoroughly researched and sanctioned by the proper medical authorities,” Madigan said. “Despite lacking concrete scientific evidence, Nu U purposefully misleads consumers into believing that their medical spa treatments are safe and effective. I’m very concerned that the health and safety of Illinois consumers who visit Nu U Med Spas are at risk.”

The Chicago-based medical spa chain allegedly uses high-pressure sales tactics based on deceptive marketing claims to induce consumers into purchasing a series of medical and beauty treatments, including Lipodissolve, which is an injected therapy used to dissolve fat cells, according to Madigan’s complaint. Nu U allegedly claims its treatments will “liquefy fat quicker” and can “rid your system of that life long battle of the bulge,” but Nu U fails to inform consumers that its treatments haven’t been approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) as safe and effective treatments. Both the American Society for Aesthetic Plastic Surgery and the American Society of Plastic Surgeons do not recommend using Lipodissolve for fat reduction due to the lack of research that shows its effectiveness.

Further, because Lipodissolve is an injected treatment, it requires a physician’s order, but Nu U allegedly administers the fat-reducing treatment without a doctor’s order. In fact, despite its outward claims, Nu U allegedly fails altogether to monitor and evaluate patients by licensed physicians at all seven of its Chicago area locations.

Madigan’s complaint further alleges that the Nu U personnel rush consumers into signing contracts, medical consent forms and financing documentation for treatments but fail to review the documents with consumers. The defendants allegedly pressure consumers to sign up for health care financing but fail to inform consumers that by signing the financial documentation they are authorizing an automatic credit card charge. Nu U allegedly refuses to provide refunds when requested, even in the event that a consumer has not received all of the contracted treatments.

Madigan’s lawsuit charges Nu U with violating the Illinois Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act, the Illinois Medical Practice Act and the Illinois Consumer Fraud and Deceptive Business Practices Act. It asks the court to permanently enjoin the defendants from owning or operating medical or beauty clinics in Illinois and to order the company to pay civil penalties of $50,000, an additional $50,000 penalty for each violation committed with the intent to defraud, an additional $10,000 penalty for each violation committed against a senior citizen 65 years of age or older, and the costs associated with the investigation and prosecution of the lawsuit.

To be honest, this looks like some grandstanding on the part of the Attorney General. Lipodissolve is used in perhaps thousands of medical spas and cosmetic practices around the country without 'painfull scar tissue build up' and complications.

And what does it actually mean when. "Dr. David Song of University of Chicago Hospital said the entire injection area will have to be excised."? An entire treatment area excised from needle sticks? Seems fishy to me. Might well be something of a hatchet-job.

Anyone have thoughts on this?

Discount Medspa Do-it-yourself-Botox website shut down.

When we first discovered the videos promoting do-it-yourself Botox and filler injections being promoted on Youtube, I posted this article on Fake Botox or not, Discount Medspa is going to jail. Since then the websites have been shut down and the womant in the video's been charged with illegally offering prescription drugs without a license.

Via the Examiner

Even before a December 2009 ABC 20/20 report on self-injectable facial drugs including Botox, Restylin and Dysport, the company Discount Medspa had been shut down for selling these types of products to consumers without prescriptions for them.

Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott charged Laurie D’Alleva of Tarrant County, TX of illegally offering prescription drugs without a license on November 24, 2009 and gained a temporary restraining order barring her company from continuing to sell the drugs online. She is also charged with fraudulently claiming membership in Texas Medical Council, which doesn't even exist, and using this claim as a basis to say she can legitimately sell these products online.

The real surprise is not that this was shut down, it was the number of coments (98) from individuals proporting to be Discount Medspa patients who were defending the site and Ms D'Alleva. Shocking in some cases. Here are some of the comments.

"If smoking dope is okay with the moron than leave our botox self injection alone, no one is having a problem with it except the money grubbing doctors and pharmacys that sell the stuff. Bug off!"

"Funny we can inject ourselves with insulin and yet because of the greed of physicians, someone like Laurie is put out of business because why? She put the choices into the hands of the people."

"The FDA does not regulate how doctors use it. They go through a 3 hours class to inject it. What is the best way to learn?(DO IT YOURSELF)"

"I did purchase from Discount MedSpa and injected myself with Freeze (crows feet and forehead). I am extremely happy with the results. I will definatley do it again. I also have a college education and run my own business, so don't call me stupid."

"I have used the Freeze product from Discount Medspa with great results. The over priced Doc I received injections from did not do any better job than I did myself. It took 10 minutes and study on facial muscles. If the product is pure I see no problem with being able to inject at home."

"If I want to Freeze my face then let me and stay out of my business. It's not like I am harming anyone else. It's not like I am unfamiliar of the risks. It's not like I am jumping off a bridge and acting irritational, it's Cosmetic!"

"all these other money hungry Doctors thinks $320 every 4 to 6 months is reasonable thats crazy!!! I was purchasing 100 units of Freeze for $149.00 and was doing it myself do you think I am going to spend $320.00 for 40 units and have someone else do it,"

"Once I did the injections I realized how much of the "you will hurt yourself" is hype. This is the mantra that will brainwash us into being dependent and financially strapped to our medical treatments,"

"Yes, it is crazy...I have done it myself, I had great results with the fillers but always wondered what was really in them, what was I injecting into my face?"

You can read the entire thread here.