Laser Vein Removal

Shorewood spa hosting Botox parties

SHOREWOOD — Injecting a neurotoxin into someone with a syringe might seem like a “CSI” plot, but not in Shorewood.

Nine friends met at an area spa last week for a Botox party, complete with hors d’oeuvres, drinks, good conversation and a physician with a needle. The goal was to have a little fun and look a little younger, all in one after-work soiree.

“I’m doing it more for preventative (reasons),” said Traci, 39, who was the host of the party and asked that only her first name used. “I tried it once, but that was like a little sample. I liked the results.”

Traci said she goes to the Eterna MedSpa and Laser Vein Center in Shorewood for facials and laser removal, but was becoming concerned about wrinkles.

“I’m starting to notice little changes,” she said of her face.

Her first Botox injection was between her eyebrows — an area called the glabella, or “the 11” by those describing the appearance of scowl lines that form there.

“It didn’t kick in until the seventh day then I started seeing the lines smooth away,” she said. “Tonight, I’m getting it around my eyes and a little more in the forehead.”

How Botox works

Botox is a trade name for botulism toxin, the agent secreted by the bacterium clostridium botulinum. In nature, the toxin causes botulism, a quick and deadly food poisoning. But purified, diluted and injected in small quantities just underneath the skin, it has a more controlled effect.

It works by weakening or temporarily paralyzing certain muscles or by blocking nerves. This relaxes targeted muscles and reduces the appearance of wrinkles. It’s most commonly used on the upper portion of the face to smooth crow’s feet at the outside edges of the eyes and lines on the forehead and between the eyebrows.

Botox can also be used to treat excessive underarm sweating, painful neck and shoulder muscle contractions, uncontrollable blinking and misaligned eyes.

Women on the nation’s coasts have been getting the injections for more than a decade, but they have been slower to gain popularity in the Midwest.

Dr. Thomas Heggen administered the Botox injections at Traci’s party. An obstetrician/gynecologist, Heggen works at Eterna and said the team of doctors there are ob/gyns and cardiologists.

Vein DiseaseTreatment - Laser Lipo & Vein Center of St. Louis

Do your legs ache? Are they tired or restless? Do they swell or burn after standing for a period of time? Or maybe you just don’t like how they look? Now is the time to do something about it.

Advances in modern laser technologies and vein therapy have made treatment of varicose and spider veins more effective than ever. Venous insufficiency is a serious medical issue; left untreated can cause significant medical complications. Most insurance companies will pay for treatment of symptomatic vein problems.

Endovenous Laser Treatment is a treatment alternative to surgical stripping of the greater saphenous vein. A small laser fiber is inserted, usually through a needle stick in the skin, into the damaged vein. Pulses of laser light are delivered inside the vein, which causes the vein to collapse and seal shut. The procedure is done in-office under local anesthesia. Following the procedure a bandage or compression hose is placed on the treated leg.

Once the underlying problems are treated in the saphenous vein, the remaining branches below the skin are treated. Deep branches are best treated with sclerotherapy performed with ultrasound guidance. Ultrasound guided sclerotherapy is done with either a liquid or “foamed” sclerosant while Dr. Wright monitors the vein on an ultrasound screen. Ultrasound guided sclerotherapy enables treatment of unseen veins below the surface of the skin otherwise requiring surgical removal. With this procedure, veins can be dealt with at an early stage, helping to prevent further complications.

Sclerotherapy is a treatment using a tiny needle to inject a solution called sclerosant into the veins, irritating the lining of the veins, causing them to close. Sclerotherapy is also used to treat both varicose and spider veins that are seen on the surface of the leg. Problematic larger superficial veins [called varicose veins] are typically “ropey” and visible just below the surface of the skin. Sclerotherapy can help relieve symptoms due to varicose and spider veins. Sclerotherapy of spider and varicose veins is usually done without ultrasound guidance.

The last step is treating the superficial veins in top most layer of the skin, often called “spider veins.” Spider veins are caused by dilations of the most superficial veins in the skin. A vein light is often used for these tiny veins to illuminate hidden vessels that feed the spider veins. This ensures a more complete and accurate treatment. Visual Sclerotherapy of spider veins is generally considered cosmetic. Most insurance will not cover this last type of treatment.

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