SURGERY WITHOUT SURGERY?

SURGERY WITHOUT SURGERY?

By Ana Carmela G. Ledesma

(as published in ZEN Health August-October 2009 issue)

Who wouldn’t want a surgical facelift that would leave nothing but a puncture for a wound?

Despite the grueling image of a seven-strand braided wire, attached to straight Keith Needles on both ends, and pierced into the skin, SurgiWire is slowly but surely catching worldwide attention because of its “natural filler”, “no-incision”, “cheaper”, and “less-downtime” factors.

Too much worry and metro hype have caused you to age faster than your nephews and nieces, line after line; day after day. You cannot help but sigh at the sight of that line-infested person in the mirror.

Kiss those lines goodbye with this 30-minute semi-invasive facelift.

WIRE AT WORK

Basically done for laugh lines, gaps in the chin, marionette folds and also folds between the eyebrows, SurgiWire uses a thin patented surgical wire attached to Keith Needles that cuts underneath the skin which, in turn, releases deep folds, wrinkles and scars.

What exactly cuts through the skin is the wire in an oscillating motion. So, instead of having a scalpel glide through you, the oscillating wire does it cutting.

“The basic principle there is to insert the wires in the area, for example the laugh lines, then it elevates the skin away from the subcutaneous tissue to produce scarring underneath it,” explains Dr. Raul Guazon of the Dr. Raul B. Guanzon Cosmetic Surgery and Laser Center.

One of the best things about SurgiWire is the natural filler the body produces after the separation of the skin and the subcutaneous tissue.

“You release the skin away from the subcutaneous tissue,” explains Dr. Guanzon. “When there’s a gap there’s a wound. And automatically, the body responds to it by producing a scar which will produce the filler.”

You produce your own collagen scar tissue and it acts as your filler which allows complete subcision, or the leveling of deep lines, folds, depressions, and scars with the rest of the skin area, according to his presentation titled: “SurgiWire: An Exciting New Concept in Facial Rejuvenation”.

WIRE WONDERS

SurgiWire is perfect for those who do not want to undergo the classical facelift which involves surgical incisions. Talk about being spared from months and month’s worth of pain and swelling!

Costing around PhP 40,000, this procedure is way cheaper than the usual surgical facelift. Plus, you get to experience less downtime, meaning, bye bye to a month’s worth of recuperation and no-more-social-life-for-now-because-my-face-is-swollen days; you can even go back to work immediately after the procedure. Dr. Guanzon adds that it has minimal after-effects such as swelling, tenderness and bruising. Beat that!

A promising new tool for minimally invasive procedure, SurgiWire has been practiced in the United States for almost five years already before it was brought to the Philippines some years back. Providentially, Dr. Guazon, President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo’s cosmetic surgeon, is among the doctors who were the first to be taught the SurgiWire procedure.

SURGERY FOR EVERYBODY?

Although it may seem hopeful, the SurgiWire procedure is not recommended for all ages.

“It’s not ideal for patients who are 60 and above when there’s so much loose skin because it will not improve of course,” explains Dr. Guanzon. “It’s very ideal for people between the ages 40 to 50 when you just have to correct the lines.”