Birthmark Removal in Salvador BR
Birthmarks are stains on your skin that appear at birth or shortly afterwards. Sometimes they are small and remain unnoticed, but sometimes they can be conspicuous and large. In the latter case you may feel uncomftable with your look and have a low self-esteem.
There are few kinds of bithmarks: Pigmented birthmarks also called congenital nevi or moles which may have some precancerous potential; Mongolian spots which are blue-green spots usually found in children and disappear as they grow older; and Coffee-cream spots which caused by to many pigment and usually pose only cosmetic problems. Macular stains, also called salmon patches, usually appear on babies and disappear later in life, except those found on the neck. Abnormal blood vessels create stains which are called Port wine stains. Those do not disappear during life and are especially concerning when appearing around the eyes. Hemangiomas are vascular tumors of many tiny blood vessels, which grow early in life around the head and neck. Many of them disappear after a few months but others may take years to disappear.
There are few methods by which a birthmark is removed. That depends largely on their size, type and location.
Laser therapy is one of the methods used, especially for superficial skin lesions. Laser energy targeted at a specific location causes the skin to fade and become lighter. In a case of port wine stain the laser makes it smaller and prevents from growing further. Laser treatments can be performed at any age, but sometimes several treatments are required.
Surgery is another method used for birthmarks, which cannot be removed by using laser. One example is hemangioma which is too large.
Laser treatment may take from several minutes to an hour, depending on the size of birthmarks. There is very little pain associated with the laser procedure. You may feel a mild burning sensation. Small children, or people sensitive to pain, may receive anesthetics. After the procedure has been completed, the skin is dark purple, and should improve after 7-10 days. Complete healing takes up to 6 weeks, during which you should avoid rubbing the place and exposing it to direct sun.
Every procedure has its risks. This one include pigmentation changes, resulting in areas of dark skin with bright patches. Such can be treated by additional laser treatments. Scar formation may also occur, where it can be treated by skin grafting. Other complications, such as bleeding or infection, are relatively rare.
More Salvador info...
Salvador Restaurants
The outlying districts have a good selection of restaurants; Chinese joints seem especially plentiful in Barra.
Yemanj?, Av. Ot?vio Mangabeira 9292, Pitub? (231-5570). A widely-recommended typical Bahian restaurant. [edit] -
Salvador History
Founded in 1549, Salvador was the capital in the heyday of the slave trade. The legacy remains today in its large black population, and the resulting culture in many ways outshines the rest of Brazil -- in music, many of the greatest names from the mid-20th century to the present hail from here, such as Dorival Caymmi, Gilberto Gil, and Caetano Veloso. In literature, the late Jorge Amado was also from the region. It's a vibrant, exciting city, and its people are quite friendly.
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Plastic Surgery News...
- Starting nicotine replacement therapy (NRT) as a transdermal patch before the target quit date doubles success rates according to a meta-analysis, although only four studies of varied design were eligible for analysis.
The authors of the analysis note that starting NRT before the quit date might improve smoking cessation rates by acclimatising users and separating nicotine intake from smoking. This approach has been most studied using transdermal patches, however trials have varied in size and duration. The aim of this analysis was to determine from the trial data whether a clear benefit had been shown. The authors searched for randomised controlled trials in which the effects of pre-quit treatment were compared directly with treatment starting on the target quit day. Eligible studies recruited smokers who were interested in quitting (rather than reduction), where all participants received NRT from the target quit date, where participants were randomised to receive pre-quit NRT or control (placebo or no NRT), and where cessation was verified 4 to 6 weeks later by biochemical analysis. Primary end-point for the analysis was continuous abstinence for at least 28 days assessed at 6 weeks following quit day, or the nearest reported outcome where this was not available; outcomes at six months were examined as secondary endpoints.
Four trials (n=755) were available and eligible for analysis, all involving nicotine patches: two trials involving nicotine gum were also located, however one was ineligible as a different pre-quit dose was used, and the second had not yet completed. The trials had different designs and durations, and two (n=176) also included treatment with mecamylamine (a nicotinic antagonist). Three studies originated from the same research team.
Analysis found that pre-quit treatment approximately doubled the quit rate at six weeks compared to starting NRT on the quit day (odds ratio 1.91; 95% CI, 1.31 to 2.93). A similar pattern was seen with results at six months (OR 2.17; 95% CI, 1.46 to 3.22). Co-administration of mecamylamine seemed to make no significant difference to the results. There was no evidence that one study was significantly influencing the pooled result - exclusion of each from analysis made little difference to the overall result.
Based on their analysis, the authors conclude that starting NRT patch therapy before the target quit date roughly doubles the chance of success, both in the short-term and up to six months. Although the studies differed widely in their design, the authors consider that the analysis suggests a consistent effect. They note that where the information was collected, there was spontaneous pre-quit reduction in smoking by subjects in the pre-quit group although none were instructed to do this. They discuss possible mechanisms for the effect including pharmacodynamic effects, effects on learned associations involved in smoking, and on extinction of smoking reinforcement.
[Editor's comment: an interesting analysis that appears to have been carefully done, but some cautions remain: the number of participants was relatively small, and it is a slight concern that most of the data came from one research team. This technique would not be covered by current NICE guidance on smoking cessation, and it is uncertain whether it would fit with the current product licences for NRT patches.]
- For the first time, scientists have described the transition of the flat, disc-shaped heart field into the primary linear heart tube. The investigations on zebrafish embryos were made by Stefan Rohr and Cécile Otten, members of the research group of Dr. Salim Abdelilah-Seyfried of the Max Delbrück Center for Molecular Medicine (MDC) Berlin-Buch, Germany.