Laser Surgery Just Got Easier...

Posted Thursday, September 13, 2007 to PROFILES > Obstetrics and Gynecology

Posted by The Original Anti-Aging & Cosmetic Surgery Magazine

Ob/gyns no longer just treat reproductive problems or pregnancy. Now, a new breed of ob/gyns is emerging which offers a wide range of health services for women. Anita Catalano reports.

Jill's pregnancy was tough. She suffered morning sickness the entire time and when it came to her legs - they were disastrous. Halfway through the pregnancy Jill started to notice ugly veins appearing on her well toned calves, not to mention the extra hair growth on her body.

Following the birth of her little girl, Jill discovered she could have her veins fixed and hair removed by her ob/gyn instead of seeking the services of outside specialists.

Welcome to the new ob/gyn practice - where laser technology, doctors' needs arid patient demands have all come together, In a big shift towards providing one-stop health care for women, ob/gyns are offering a wide range of services to cater for the vast needs of their patients, According to a survey conducted by the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, nearly a quarter of all participants at a recent San Francisco ob/gyn conference already used lasers to treat leg veins, spider veins, stretch marks, scars from C-sections, as well as remove unwanted hair.

The reason there has been such an enormous interest among the profession to seek out non-reproductive medicine is simple. Some outspoken doctors within the profession claim that managed care and insurance companies are putting the financial squeeze on traditional ob/gyn practices. In response, ob/gyns have been adding fee-for-service aesthetic laser procedures to their traditional health care services. And, in doing so, they have recorded an increase in patient satisfaction.

Obstetricians and gynecologists have realized that women prefer to undergo laser treatment for hair or vein removal in a familiar environment.

Dr Thomas J. Berengeur, Director of the women's Health Care of Tidewater, Norfolk, Virginia, supports the claim. "Patients more readily seek these services from doctors, with whom they already have a high level of confidence and trust," Dr Berengeur said. "Of course the best test of a treatment is results and we've been using lasers to treat leg veins and hair removal. "And for a gynecological practice, we are also getting a fair number of husbands and other male referrals."

Up until a few years ago hospitals, research institutions and large clinics were the only organizations to use lasers because they were too large and expensive for gynecologists to purchase.

But capitalizing on a gap in the market, specialists in the laser technology field, Candela Corporation, began to develop smaller, faster and less expensive lasers. Candela's President, Gerard E. Puorro said that in the not too distant future, doctors would be able to buy lasers on the Internet.

"You're going to see tabletop lasers that are literally the size of a laptop and are quite affordable," he said.

Now, the latest aesthetic lasers, unlike the older cut-and-burn lasers, are so gentle that treatment is virtually painless and leaves the skin unbroken so no bandages are needed following treatment.

One of the growing numbers of ob/gyns now branching out into laser technology is Dr Mark Akin, a partner in a practice in Austin, Texas. Dr Akin and his partners decided four years ago to provide a wider array of women's health services.

He said a lot of patients who were being treated for pregnancy or reproductive problems, sought advice on how to remove unwanted hair or treat spider veins. Unsure of the quality of service offered by local specialists, Dr Akin and his partners decided to offer the services themselves. But despite the growing popularity of expanding traditional services offered by ob/gyns, a number of the profession find it difficult to modernize their practices. "It's a foreign thing for most physicians to contemplate going out of mainstream medicine," Dr Akin said. "I'm not a cosmetologist, I'm an ob/gyn physician, so it's a bit of an emotional step to do something else."

More than a year after introducing the lasers, the practice is now offering a range of services and is proving popular with both male and female patients.

Dr Akin said many patients felt more comfortable undergoing laser treatment with their ob/gyns. "Usually patients are very excited when they hear about the service because they know us, they have confidence in our group, and they know we are going to provide a quality service whether it's medical or cosmetic."

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