The skin is the largest human organ. It is exposed daily and throughout an entire lifetime to numerous strains and environmental conditions. The human psyche plays an important role in affecting the skin condition, like in: acne, neurodermatitis and many more.

The natural human protective coat (the skin) is not always able to withstand the various influencing factors, environmental, psychological and/or biological.

Consequently, there is a whole range of benign skin alterations that are noticeable. Everyone's skin is afflicted by irregularities in some way or another. The alterations are mostly characteristic or typical of the condition that a diagnosis is straightforward and simple. The benign skin anomalies are usually free of discomforts or pains and may not develop into malignant tissues. Our laser therapy offers a gentle and simple solution for the excision of those anomalies.

The excision may include the following conditions:

• Moles
• pigmented moles
• sunspots, age spots
• and senile warts

Age spots as an example for the administration of laser therapy.

Following a medical assessment and visual inspection of the mole through a dermatoscope (a skin microscope) we then classify the condition according to the ABCD rule of dermatoscopy [index].

Cancer-suspect moles that are identified and discovered through this assessment are removed in the same conventional method, namely: blade surgery. Moles that are, in our professional opinion, within the benign range but appear to the naked eye as the greatly feared malignant type are removed by laser in a gentle and harmless manner.

We take extreme care throughout the treatment so as not to leave any or cause scarring; we are able to safeguard the skin through the superficial treatment which does not indulge in the depths of the skin layers. Therefore, We can avert scarring that may be caused by an injury to the basement membrane. Through this gentle treatment, it is possible that pigments are recarried to the surface of the skin during the regeneration phase. In this case, a repeated treatment is required.

In the same manner, dense surface skin lumps can also be cosmetically removed with optimal results.

Wrinkles in the upper and lower lip and eyelid areas are usually a manifestation of premature aging of the skin by an otherwise flawless, young looking face. In this case, a laser therapy in the form of a skin resurfacing treatment is recommended.

Through the ablation of the surface skin structure, a fine pored, tender and wrinkle-free skin is acquired during the regeneration phase following the treatment. The wrinkle-free skin is attained through the ablation process on the one hand and the heat radiation of the laser which induces collagen shrinking on the other. The long term sustained therapeutic success, an average of 7 to 10 years, of a laser treatment is an absolute advantage.

The above therapy may partly be combined with other treatments like: fat-away injection, Botox or hyaluronic acid; the combined treatments can achieve excellent cosmetic results.

Drooping eyelids are skin folds in the upper lid that bulge over the eyelashes causing vision difficulties for those affected.

Moreover, this cosmetic impairment is of great importance.

Under local anaesthesia, the excess skin in the upper lid is removed. A scar which is barely visible is all that's left behind and that in the natural fold
of the eyelid margin (invisible when eyes are open; inconspicuous when eyes are closed).

Impairment

The lid is usually swollen (often bruised) for a week after the operation. The patient may resume house or office work three days after the operation
while wearing sunglasses (e.g., operation on Friday - resume work on Monday). More physically demanding work may be resumed one week following the operation.

Pointers

The patient must inhibit from the intake of anticoagulant medication, especially those containing acetylsalicylic acid.

Removal of the lacrimal sacs

There are various options for the removal of the lacrimal sacs.

Those are dependent on the condition of the sacs in question.

1. The lacrimal sacs that develop due to mere skin folds are removed under local anaesthesia. The surplus skin is thereby removed. In order not to leave visible scars, the incision is done in the crossover between the lower lid and cheek where the skin is naturally depressed.
2. Lacrimal sacs that are filled with fatty tissue
   • In the case of elastic skin, those may be removed non surgically with the fat away injection
   • In the case of tired skin, a combination of the fat away injection and surgery is employed to attain the most optimal cosmetic results. Should there be rest folds around the lower lid, those may be removed through a second
     treatment session using laser therapy.

For impairments and pointers, please see the same under upper lid surgery.

Xanthelasma are sharply yellowish, plaque-like, tender growths in the eyelids. Small, microscopic fat particles accumulate under the skin when the body absorbs too much fat through the "burning" or digestion process or when the fat is inadequately processed.

Xanthoma, on the other hand, are tender, painless lumps or growths that may appear all over the body. Characteristically, they grow on synovial tendon sheaths, over the elbows, knee joints and buttocks.

Those skin anomalies are benign yet cosmetically perturbing.

Xanthelasma and Xanthoma may be an indication of a high blood-fat level. It is therefore always recommended that the blood-fat level of the patient is examined before an excision is performed due to aesthetic reasons.

Approximately up to 60% of the cases treated surgically are such that a regeneration (recrudescence) of the skin anomalies reoccurs. In comparison, the Erbium-Yak-laser shows good effectiveness in various studies conducted, mild side-effects and low regeneration ratios. Henceforth, we decided to adopt the Erbium-yak-laser as the sole means of removing xanthelasma and xanthoma. The costs incurred are completely refundable by the private medical insurance companies. Government/state insured patients may estimate costs of approximately 150 Euro, depending on the size and number of growths to be removed.

The appearance of a scar is dependent mostly on the kind and extent of the injury that caused it, as well as the personal tendency to develop scars.

We generally distinguish between three kinds of scars. These include: the hypertrophic cicatrisation (scars protruding over the skin surface), colloidal scar (irregular, claw-like growths over the normal skin) and the atrophic scars (depressed scars).

We examine and assess the state of your scar(s) during the first consultation visit and discuss with you the recommended therapy and its process. It may be necessary that several treatments sessions are required in the case of wide-stretching scars. For particular cases, we recommend the combination of shock-wave and laser therapies.

Anaesthesia (numbness) is only necessary throughout the treatment of wide-stretching scars. We also administer anaesthetic cremes or local anaesthetic injections for patients who are highly pain-sensitive and undergoing minor scar treatments.

We offer the following cicatrices therapies:

• Acne scar removal (acne crater, acne scars all over the body and face)
• Breast scar treatment
• Scar treatment (post-operative scars, burns and other injuries)

Hair growth on facial or other body parts where hair does not normally grow, reflects not merely a cosmetic problem but rather often a physiological disorder.

Laser treatment targets the root of the problem and therefore the only permanent solution for it.

Through laser treatment, regulated light impulses penetrate the upper skin layer and are then transported by the hair's melanin to the follicle. Light energy is transformed in the process into heat, thereby permanently cauterising the hair follicle including its root. The cauterisation of the hair root is especially important for the inhibition of further hair growth. A cauterised hair root can no longer produce hair.

Approximately, 4 to 6 sessions at four to ten week intervals are usually required (depending on the area of the body) to achieve a permanent solution. A repeat treatment is necessary because only 20% of hair in the body grows simultaneously and only the hair which is in the growth process may be permanently eliminated. Our lasers epilate hair effectively yet gently on the skin to achieve the desired long-lasting results. They are administered on larger body surfaces like: back, shoulders or legs and may also be applied on smaller surfaces of the body like: facial, armpit and bikini regions. With our two depilation lasers, we are specialised in permanently removing hair in regions that aggravate you.

The treatment lasts for a few minutes after which the patient may go back to normal daily activities. Redness of the skin caused by the cooling process after the treatment subsides within 5 to 10 minutes.

People have been getting tattooed since over 5000 years for reasons that vary from traditional customs and conventions to mere decorative purposes. Similarly, and since over 5000 years people have probably also wanted to remove tattoos they no longer liked.

The high energy laser we use has been especially developed to remove tattoos in a manner which combines the highest possible efficiency with maximum skin protection. It is capable of removing a lot of tattoo pigments and is especially effective in removing blue, red and black colorants.

Just like the natural sun light which is made up of multicoloured light wavelengths, the laser instrument is one that is devised to generate one or several light wavelengths.

Lasers work by producing specific, short pulses of intense light wavelengths that pass harmlessly through the top layers of the skin to be selectively absorbed by the tattoo pigment. This laser energy causes the tattoo pigment to fragment into smaller particles that are then removed by the body's immune system.

The laser we use generates light in very short, yet extremely intensive pulses. The administration of the combination of wave lengths and quick pulsating light allows for minimal skin damage while achieving maximum colorant removal.

During a laser therapy, the laser light interacts mainly with the red blood cells. The blood coagulates and the capillaries dry out through heat generation. The surrounding skin layers are hardly affected due to the high precision of the administered laser equiment. Laser therapy is therefore highly recommended for the tratment of dialated veins due to its gentle, protective side effects on the rest of the skin.

We categorically differentiate between the following forms of vascular treatments, whereby two different lasers are used for each of the forms.

Couperose

This skin disorder is easy to recognize and is characterized by the visible presence of capillaries, bright red in color, winding delicately through the tissues around the nose, on the cheeks and sometimes the neck and décolleté areas.

Couperose is the dialation of the delicate capillaries of the skin that may be caused by various factors. It is very aggrevating for those afflicted by it. A lot of patients feel it necessary to cover up the affected areas daily with make-up. Many are not aware that laser therapy offers a permanent remedy for those capillaries; the vessels get reclosed through therapy and hence, become invisible. In on our experience, one may expect approximately 3-4 treatment sessions before a permanent result is achieved. There are numerous forms of capillary dialation.

The following are the capillary diation forms we treat in our centre:

• Spider Naevi
• Port-wine stain
• Hemangioma (also called strawberry mark)
• Stork bite

Spider veins & varicose veins

The medical condition Varicose Veins, otherwise called varices, is a very common condition: every second person suffers from it and every fifth will have to undergo surgery because of it. Varices therapy or surgery is sometimes necessary not for cosmetic purposes, but rather as a solution for a serious medical and health risk. Blood can build up in the veins such that a vascular obliteration may occur through thrombus or even pulmonary embolism. Consequently, it is recommended that this hotspot be permanently removed as early as possible.

One can try to imagine the vein system as a giant network of interconnected small and large blood vessels. The condition is referred to as varicose veins when the large veins are affected, and spider veins when the small blood vessels are dialated. Therefore, the large blood vessels must be attended to first when damage is detected. Treatment of the small veins prior to the large veins has little prospect of success.

We apply the gentle laser therapy treatment in combination with other therapies for the treatment of varicose and spider veins; the results are generally very satisfactory.

Our dependency therapies for weight-loss and smoker dehabituation follow in the steps of the "Nogier" school of medicine. The French doctor Nogier became world renowned for his auriculotherapy (ear acupuncture) treatment for dependency.

We administer laser at the ear to prepare an acupuncture channel. Laser is used here instead of the inconvenient needle administered in the conventional auriculotherapy. A placeholder, in the form of an ear stud, is placed in this channel for approximately 14 days; it serves to stimulate the acupuncture point. The stud is then removed and replaced by a silver pin or creole. In acupuncture, silver is used for its sedative effect which in turn helps depress the addiction.

The craving for food or nicotine diminishes. Moving the ear pin through the acupuncture channel helps enhance the decreased craving effect.

There is a second, more important advantage for deploying this method. The compensatory, increased food intake with its resulting weight gain due to the absence of cigarettes is not only minimised but even dramatically reduced. 80% of the patients treated are extremely satisfied with the success attained.