Facial Yoga vs. Botox

This morning, a patient of mine asked me if I had heard of facial yoga as a replacement for Botox.
It turns out that a story about yoga for the face had come out last week in Time magazine.

The story tells of a New York yoga instructor who noticed that a lot of her patients received Botox during their lunch breaks. She came up with several "poses" for the face that would tighten facial muscles and reduce wrinkles- an "all natural" Botox!

The article also talked about how some of these exercises have helped people increase facial muscle tone- especially a few people with facial palsy or motion deficits.

It's a nice article- one thing that they pointed out was that the class was full of laughter and that afterwards, women said that they felt much more relaxed and at ease. Some even notice fewer lines in their face! It sounds like the class is a GREAT way to let off steam and afterwards people feel much more relaxed and at ease. I think that this is the reason they feel and "look" better.

Facial muscle exercises couldn't hurt and may help people relax- but they won't replace Botox any time soon. Botox relaxes muscles and helps prevent the lines in the skin that are caused by these muscles. These yoga exercises STRENGTHEN muscles and could in theory, make these lines more obvious.

My patient agreed that she would try the exercises for fun and as a stress reliever- AND use Botox to help erase the wrinkles she already has.

Great Advice from TMZ.com

A lot has been written about the tragedy with Kanye West's mom- Donda West.
For those who have not heard the story- Mrs. West received outpatient cosmetic surgery last Friday, was found unresponsive the next day and was brought to the hospital, where she was pronounced dead. Dr. Jan Adams has come out and stated that he was the surgeon. An autopsy has been performed and the results are pending.

Since the story broke, TMZ, CNN, ABC, etc have come out with a number of stories about this tragedy and the background of the surgeon. A lot has been talked about and blogged about his qualifications, board certification, etc.

This blog will hopefully clear up some of the confusion...

1. Was the doctor who performed Donda West's surgery board certified in plastic surgery?
No.

2. Can a doctor perform plastic surgery even if he is NOT board certified in plastic surgery?
Unfortunately, yes. In the US, a doctor can perform any surgery that YOU let him/her. It's up to each patient to check the credentials.

3. This doctor was featured on Oprah and had his own show on the Discovery Channel- don't they check for these things?
No. Keep in mind that these shows are only for entertainment- it is up to every patient to do their own homework.

4. What's the big deal about being board certified?
Board Certification by the American Board of Plastic Surgery is a process that takes years to complete. A surgeon must have completed the required years (5-8 yrs!) of training in Plastic Surgery and General Surgery, passed an 8 hr written examination, and then pass an Oral Examination which lasts 3 days. It's a demanding, intensive, and thorough process- the reason why some surgeons aren't able to pass or choose not to go through it.

5. How can I find out if my doctor is board certified?
Don't rely on doctor's websites, TV, etc.
As TMZ pointed out, another aspect of this tragedy is how EASY it is to find out this information. All it takes is a few minutes on the web. Go to the site below, register for free, and enter the name of ANY doctor you want to check. If it does not say that they are board certified in plastic surgery or they are not listed- they aren't.

www.isyourdoctorboardcertified.com