COMING

FYNE NEW FILLERS

Galderma's recently approved Restylane® Refyne and Restylane® Defyne are here, and many of us have already begun using these next generation hyalourinic acid fillers in practice. Both are approved for the treatment of nasolabial folds. (Defyne is injected deeper than Refyne.) The main difference between these and other available hyaluronic acid fillers is their inherent flexibility, which is due to XpresHAn Technology. They flex as you smile, frown, or scowl for a more natural ‘not-done' look and feel. Results may last up to 12 months. Restylane Refyne and Defyne have been used in Europe under the name Emervel since 2010.

The fact that there are more than 25 fillers already on the US market with fistfuls more coming down the pike begs the question: Do we really need more? And the answer is...Yes! Think of Crayola crayons. At first, there were just eight crayons representing the primary colors, but soon even more hues were discovered (120 at last count). Why use blue when perriwinkle is so much more apropos for the sky? Why go with green when tropical rain forest resonates so much more? The wealth of filler choices simply allows us to offer a more personalized a la carte approach to facial rejuvenation and better meet patient expectations. Just like with crayons, however, some choices will always be more useful and popular than others.

GOING

ACA (YES, OBAMACARE)

Things are not looking up for the Affordable Care Act also known as ObamaCare. Republicans in the House and Senate are stealthily working on dismantling the plan and have been making inroads. The Dems are not taking this sitting down. In fact, they are standing up and rallying across the country, buoyed by a new Congressional Budget Office report stating that repealing major Obamacare provisions without a replacement plan in place would quickly strip 18 million Americans of their insurance and cause premiums to skyrocket. But fear not, POTUS Donald Trump has a plan. In a nutshell? “Insurance for everybody,” he said at a press conference. Media reports do suggest that Republican senators are planning to offer a replacement proposal shortly. As the 2016 Presidential election taught us all, anything is possible. Stay tuned.