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♦ FRIDAY, JANUARY 21, 2005
6A
Jtaser Cosmetic Procedures
Available in Perry
Want to look younger with
less facial wrinkles? Want
smoother, vein-free legs? Want
to shave less often without
bumps or irritation? Want all of
this without having to undergo
expensive and complicated cos
metic surgery? It is possible
with the laser cosmetic proce
dures available at the office of
Dr. Horatio Cabasares in Perry.
“Using the Lyra Laser from
Laserscope, the laser-certified
technicians can safely and easily
remove unwanted hair, smooth
fine lines and wrinkles, and treat
unsightly leg and spider veins,”
says Dr. Cabasares, a general
surgeon and member of the
medical staff of Perry Hospital.
“The Lyra Laser is the only
FDA-approved laser for all skin
types. It works especially well
for those individuals with dark
or tan complexions. Prior to this
laser, patients with dark com
plexions could not be treated
with a laser due to the high
absorbency of light in the pig
ment of their skin. You can
achieve outstanding results on
any skin type with the Lyra
Laser while maintaining the
normal appearance of the skin.”
The laser hair removal proce
dure is one of the more popular
procedures offered by Dr.
Cabasares, and is very effective
in reducing or eliminating
Pseudo Folliculitis, more com
monly known as shaving
bumps. Light from the laser is
absorbed by the pigment in
actively growing hair, damaging
the hair follicle, thus impeding
hair re-growth and ultimately
New Ambulatory Surgery Center opens at Houston Medical
Houston Healthcare will celebrate
the grand opening of its new 17,242-
square-foot, multi-specialty Surgery
Center on the campus of Houston
Medical Center Saturday, Jan. 22,
with a ribbon cutting at 10 a.m. fol
lowed by an open house for the entire
community from 11 a.m. until 2 p.m.
The open house event will feature
tours, free health screenings, along
with clowns, balloons and a Teddy
Bear Clinic for children.
“This is a great time for people in
the community to take the opportuni
ty to see the operating rooms and
other ‘behind the scenes’ areas of a
Don't Let the Flu
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treat the flu, colds, fever, sore throats and other flu-like symptoms...
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The Houston Lake Med-Stop and Pavilion Med-Stop are staffed by a physician and registered nurse
at all times. For illnesses like the flu and injuries which do not require a visit to the Emergency Room
or when your family doctor is not available for immediate treatment, visit one of our Med-Stops.
♦ Houston Lake JL Pavilion
Med-Stop 1b Med-Stop
Hwy. 12 7 and Moody Road N. Houston Road at Houston Mall
9884865 923-2843
Open Mon - Sat Open Daily
7 am - 6:30 pm 8 am - 7:30 pm
eliminating the bumps caused
by ingrown hairs. Because only
a portion of a person's hair is in
the active growth phase at any
one time, a series of treatments
is required to achieve the long
term benefits desired. A typical
treatment session for an upper
lip or small bikini area can take
as little as 15 minutes, while
larger areas on the back or legs
may require up to 60 minutes or
longer. Treatments are spaced
approximately four to 12 weeks
apart. The average patient will
see at least a 75 percent reduc
tion in shaving bumps within
two weeks after just one or two
treatments.
“The hair removal procedure
is not actually ‘removing hair,’
but rather stopping growth of
the thick, coarse, black hair that
comes with regular shaving,”
says Terry Stinson, office man
ager and Laserscope-certified
technician for Dr. Cabasares.
“The hair that grows back is a
lighter, finer hair that is not as
noticeably. This treatment
works very well on facial hair,
especially for men with Pseudo
Folliculitis. Within a few treat
ments, the inflammation from
the bumps is gone.”
Another popular laser proce
dure offered by Dr. Cabasares is
enhanced skin rejuvenation, a
revolutionary skin treatment
where multiple laser wave
lengths are used to eliminate and
reduce pigmentation, broken
capillaries, fine lines and wrin
kles, and improve facial toning.
Laser light is absorbed by pig
mented areas on the skin where
surgery center,” said Tracy Erwin,
RN, Director of the Surgery Center.
The $7.5 million facility, designed
with patient friendliness and conven
ience in mind, includes three general
operating and two endoscopy rooms,
providing Houston Medical Center
with the capability to handle an
increasing load of outpatient surgery
volumes. Over the past five years, the
volume of outpatient surgery cases
has increased by more than 43 per
cent. In 2004, nearly 90 percent of all
surgeries performed at Houston
Medical Center were conducted on an
outpatient basis.
HERE’S TO YOUR HEALTH
it is converted to heat, causing
the pigment to break up. The
laser's heat also stimulates col
lagen growth which fills in fine
lines and wrinkles and improves
skin tone. In broken capillaries
and spider veins, pigment in the
blood absorbs the laser’s energy
causing the unwanted vein to
collapse. The vein later dis
solves within the body. The
laser can also be used to treat
large pores, rosacea, freckles,
and flushing. However, because
the Lyra Laser works beneath
the skin, it is not effective on
surface problems such as acne
scars or stretch marks. The aver
age skin rejuvenating session
takes approximately 30 to 60
minutes.
“The effects are cumulative,”
says Stinson. “After the first
treatment, patients typically see
improvements to broken capil
laries and pigmented areas with
in a few days. Wrinkle reduction
and skin toning may take from
one to three months before
improvements are visible. We
recommend a series of three to
six treatments, spaced two to
four weeks apart.
The third laser procedure
offered by Dr. Cabasares is the
treatment of unwanted leg veins,
spider veins, and broken capil
laries up to 4mm in diameter.
With the advanced technology
of the Lyra Laser, the redness
and bruising normally associat
ed with traditional treatments or
other lasers are minimized or
completely eliminated.
According to Stinson, most
patients see a drastic improve-
“Our operating rooms and
endoscopy suites are currently oper
ating at optimal capacity, and our
Surgery Department is located in an
area within the hospital that cannot be
expanded or reconfigured without
disrupting services,” explained Frank
J. Aaron, CEO of Houston
Healthcare. “After much review, the
Hospital Authority and
Administrative staff determined that
the best alternative to relieving the
strain on the Surgery Department was
to construct an ambulatory surgery
center as the least disruptive
approach towards meeting future
ment after just two treatments.
“Everyone responds different
ly to the treatments with some
needing only one treatment and
others needing a third,” says
Stinson. “Spider vein treatment
is normally done every eight
weeks.” Vein treatments usually
take between 15 to 30 minutes
depending on the size of the area
to be treated.
As with all laser medical pro
cedures, a patient may experi
ence some minor discomfort
during the treatment and have
some temporary reddening of
the skin afterwards.
“It is not a painless proce
dure,” says Stinson. “But the
laser can be adjusted to fit the
patient’s comfort level. The
laser’s wand is chilled and 1 use
a cooling gel on the skin to help
with the heat generated by the
laser. Topical anesthetics can be
prescribed for application
before the treatment and cold
compresses are recommended
afterward.”
According to Dr. Cabasares,
there are no long-term side
effects with these procedures.
“Patients typically see a slight
redness to their skin and experi
ence a sunburned feeling after
wards,” he says. “But this only
lasts a couple of days. The
patient can return to normal
activities immediately following
the procedure. Makeup can even
be applied immediately after the
treatment.”
All of the laser procedures are
performed in Dr. Cabasares’
office by one of two
Laserscope-certified techni
growth and diminishing current
scheduling problems. With the con
tinued growth in our county, we
anticipate our surgery volumes to
continue to increase. We believe that
this center is the best approach to
meeting potential future demand, and
will also be convenient and more
accessible for our patients.”
According to Erwin, the state-of
the-art facility meets the needs of
patients requiring outpatient surgery
who are healthy and do not need to be
admitted to the hospital.
“We offer various types of surgery
from ENT to gynecology, ophthal-
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THE HOUSTON HOME JOURNAL
dans. Interested individuals are
provided a free consultation by
Dr. Cabasares in which he deter
mines if they are suitable for the
selected procedure, if the proce
dure can achieve their desired
results, and the approximate
amount of time needed to com
plete each treatment session.
“Unfortunately, the proce
dures are not covered by insur
ance because they are consid
ered ‘cosmetic’ in nature,” says
Stinson. “As a result, all of the
procedures are performed on a
cash basis with payment
required at the time of service.
We accept cash, checks and
major credit cards.”
For more information on any
of the laser cosmetic procedures
or for a free consultation, call
988-5862.
mology, orthopedics and some gener
al procedures. Patients can expect to
have their surgery, recover for a few
hours and be back on their way
home,” she added.
Erwin and a staff of 28 employees
are working in the new facility which
also includes physician consultation
areas, eight pre-op areas and eight
monitored recovery beds, all
designed to enhance patient privacy
and comfort. The lobby was planned
for both adults and children in mind,
with a special play area specifically
for pediatric patients.