Beauty Through Science Aesthetic Conference (Stockholm, Sweden)
“Stockholm (don’t) Let Me Go Home…”
-Jason Isbell from Southeastern 2015
I recently had the privilege of attending the annual Beauty Through Science Aesthetic Conference held in Stockholm, Sweden. Stockholm, the capital of Sweden, is located on the Baltic Sea and the city is an archipelago of eleven separate islands. Stockholm is remarkable for it’s natural beauty, outstanding architecture, and the fact it boasts over 70 museums.
I attended the Stockholm meeting to broaden my perspectives on aesthetic surgery from our European colleagues. Our colleagues in Europe take very different approaches to the same aesthetic problems and it is important to appreciate these different techniques and approaches.
I was pleased to see many of my American colleagues take the podium to deliver outstanding lectures on topics such as face lifting and body contouring.
Some interesting concepts that emerged from the conference included the concept of Late Inflammatory Response Syndrome (LIRS) — the development of nodules after treatments with fillers. LIRS is believed to result from contamination by skin flora, or bacteria, due to inadequate skin preparation prior to administration of an injectable. At the Reddy Aesthetic Institute, we have always practiced meticulous skin preparation with alcohol-based agents prior to any injectable treatment. Incidentally, the latest version of the CDC guidelines for prevention of Surgical Site Infections (SSI) recommends alcohol-based skin preparations.
Yet another important concept that received attention was that of Biofilms in implantable materials including fillers. Yes – technically speaking, all fillers are implantable medical devices. Biofilms are represented by a community of co-operative bacteria inhabiting the surface of an implanted device with the potential to create a host of medical problems. Therefore, the correct handling of any implantable material as well as the recognition of Biofilms is extremely important.
The topic of Occlusions with the (mis)application of fillers was widely discussed by our non-surgical colleagues. An Occlusion Event is the interruption of blood flow to a region of facial skin resulting in necrosis (dead skin) and is a devastating complication. In extremely rare cases, blindness has been the reported outcome of an Occlusive Event. Although rare, the possibility of Occlusion with the application of fillers is one that clients should be well aware of when selecting an injectable treatment.
The topic of ALCL-BL associated with breast implants was presented and discussed in detail. This rare white blood cell cancer is associated with textured breast implants and completely curable when properly diagnosed. There continues to be debate as to the incidence of breast implant associated ALCL-BL with estimates ranging from 1 in 30,000 to 1 in 4,000. At the present time, the position of the FDA is that breast implants continue to be safe. If you are considering breast surgery, whether reconstructive or cosmetic, please be aware of ALCL-BL.
I hope readers find this brief summary of the 2017 Beauty Through Science Meeting to be informative. My attendance of this meeting reflects one of the many steps by which the Reddy Aesthetic Institute continues to offer our clients the highest standard of care in Plastic & Reconstructive Surgery.
P. Pravin Reddy, MD is a Board Certified Plastic & Reconstructive Surgeon and a member of the American Society of Plastic Surgeons.