Laser Hair Removal
May 30, 2011
Unlike electrolysis, laser hair removal can treat large areas, making this method quicker and more cost-effective. The laser hair-removal technique works by sending a low-energy light beam through the skin to be absorbed by the dark pigment residing in the shafts of hair follicles. Those with dark hair and fair skin are the best candidates for laser hair removal because the contrast makes it easy for the laser to target the pigment. Lasers with longer wavelengths, such as the Nd:YAG lasers, have the ability to treat darker skin types, including African-American skin. In any case, because hair grows in cycles, repeated treatments are likely needed in order to destroy about 80 percent of the hairs.
P.S. Intense pulsed light (IPL) systems are also used for hair removal.
The Future of Burn Treatment?
May 23, 2011
Technology developed by the Armed Forces Institute of Regenerative Medicine promises to completely transform the treatment of burn victims. The “spray-on skin gun” was developed to treat burn victims in the U.S. military. Until recently, burn victims had been treated with skin grafts that could take weeks or even months to take hold, with agonizing pain and the risk of infection ever present. Enter the spray-on skin gun, which can reduce recovery time to days or even hours. This remarkable device works by culturing the burn victim’s healthy skin stem cells and then spraying them on burned parts of the patient’s body. When the device is fully developed, it will represent a revolutionary breakthrough.
P.S. From the development of penicillin to treat infections to advances in plastic surgery to treat serious wounds, wartime has presented doctors with opportunities to make advancements they ordinarily would not have made.
The Villages Office