Monthly Archives: May 2017

JD Laser Toolbox

Sometimes people ask me how I got to JD. I had always worked in Intensive Care Units and Emergency Rooms. I traveled in this setting from California to Florida and I loved my job. So after 7 years of that how the heck did I land in derm? The PDL laser, that’s how.

Dr. Sandy and Dr. Brad had just opened their practice in Fort Smith and Dr. Sandy had a booth at the FSPD health fair to spread the word. Jarrard(my cop husband) stopped by her booth and informed her he was always red but knew she couldn’t help him with that problem. Never tell Dr. Sandy she can’t do something. She very quickly informed him he had Rosacea and she had a laser that would semi-permanently solve his problem. This was life changing. My husband was on the news regularly as the public information officer and people commonly asked him why he was so red. Was he mad, nervous or anxious? He wondered why as well and always felt frustrated to not have answers. It was a nuisance on top of an embarrassment. That’s the thing about the skin, it’s very difficult to hide your condition. He could very easily keep his high blood pressure, high cholesterol and heart stents a secret (if it wasn’t for me being his wife). He could never hide his rosacea. So monthly he went and saw Dr. Sandy for her to personally laser him. She changed his life and attitude with that laser. So much so that he made me go with him to his future treatments so I could see how amazing Dr. Sandy and her laser were in person. I saw what results she achieved and it was much more than the redness on his skin. That’s where my love for Dermatology began. Fast forward 10 years and here we are at JD with 4 laser rooms and 10 devices with a variety of results we can achieve. We have the largest laser center in the River Valley so I asked Dr. Sandy to write a blog about our lasers and here it is…….

 

As the granddaughter of a carpenter and a concrete man, I was taught the importance of having the right tools for the job. They taught that just because you have a hammer, not everything is a nail. As a child, I wanted to enter the family concrete business….I was denied and was told I needed an education. Reflecting on this, I am grateful because I love treating skin so much. Also, it may be that because they let me play with their tools as a child I now like to have so many tools in our armamentarium in our family business of Dermatology. My favorite tools in the clinic are the toys/tools that I and our well trained and physician supervised laser techs get to play with daily.
I love lasers and was fortunate to be trained by experts at UAMS and Harvard. I was honored to use some of the latest technology when I was on faculty at UAMS. I learned to respect lasers and what they can do when I served on the Laser Committee for the Arkansas State Medical Board. These experiences early in my career further enhanced my desires to have a lot of laser tools as well as my desires to provide the highest level of patient outcomes and experiences.

So now at Johnson Dermatology, if you tell us what you would like to enhance, we can tell you if we have a tool or tools for that. As Alice, one of our lasers techs, likes to say…”we have the most comprehensive laser center and the best trained team to use those lasers”.

Acne…we can treat with the Blu light, PDL or sublative

Acne scars…we can treat with PDL, sublative, YAG, IPL or subcision

Red marks, spots, birth marks, facial redness, or broken blood vessels…we can treat with PDL, KTP, IPL

Psoriasis…we can treat with PDL

Excess hair…we can treat with YAG for patients who have very light colored skin to very darkly colored skin. We can also treat with the motif for a more comfortable treatment experience

Loose skin…we can treat with YAG, sublative, PDL or velashape

Stretch marks…we can treat with PDL, YAG, sublative, velashape

Want 32% fat reduction that is permanent and painless…we can do that with velashape and ultrashape power

Unwanted tattoos…we can rid those with PicoSure or ATV

Brown spots…we can treat those with creams, peels, ATV, PicoSure, PDL, IPL
Yes, we have a lot of toys and we have fun playing with them for the benefit of our patients. The PDL and YAG were the first lasers we purchased for Johnson Dermatology in 2006. The V-beam perfecta we use now is the third version of the PDL I have used; and is still my favorite laser of all time. One of my favorite patients of all time was a sweet guy with a tattoo on his arm that he wanted gone before his baby was born. He challenged me and we accomplished his goal with the laser. Together our laser team has more than 40 years of experience and countless stories of these success stories. We are so thankful to every patient who has trusted us for that past 11 years and for every patient who will trust us in the future.

I would like to take this opportunity to offer Congrats to Dr. Bise on his retirement after a very successful plastic surgery career. I also want to thank him for trusting us with his PicoSure and KTP lasers…the latest tools we have added to our laser toolbox. We will do our best to make him and his patients satisfied.
Stay skintastic!

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Skin Tips for Mom

Happy Mothers Day. I dread the day that I don’t have two little girls running around (mine are 2 and 4). Whoever said “the days are long but the years are short” was exactly right. There are some  skin tricks every Mom should know in my opinion. Let me share them with you.

  1. Laser hair reduction. I’m a pretty hairy chick. By the time I got done shaving my bikini line, legs, abdomen, underarms and feet(yes, I might be from the shire) in the shower my kids had enough time to destroy at least two rooms, maybe three. Laser hair reduction is once monthly for 3-5 months and boom daily time saved approximately 20 minutes.
  2. Sleep deprivation. It’s part of motherhood. First they don’t sleep through the night, then they are scared of the dark, then they just don’t want to be alone, then they have first love problems, it just goes on and on and you never sleep again. Keep those eyes looking fresh with Botox cosmetic for crows feet and to lift the brows and upper lids. I also love sublative for around the eyes. It’s radiofrequency that tightens the skin. Try keeping your under eye cream in the fridge. The cold will decrease swelling that accumulated while you slept and the moisture will create a smoothing effect.
  3. For the kiddos. Keep over the counter hydrocortisone handy. Use it on bug bites, sunburns(no judgement, just job security) and “poison ivy”. Keep Vaseline for cuts and scrapes to prevent infection.
  4. Use sun protective clothing on you and the kiddos. Who has time to grease down an entire wiggly 2 year old with sunscreen every two hours while outdoors? Long sleeve swim shirts, pants and wide brim hats. Cut the sunscreen to only areas of the body that can’t be covered with clothes and you’ll get better sun protection and save those precious minutes moms live for, you know when you get to pee alone.
  5. Basic skincare. All you really need is a sunscreen every morning and a retinol every night. The other stuff is extra. Use sunscreen to prevent damage to your skin and retinol to reverse any damage your skin might receive. Keep it simple for you because keeping up with your kids’ schedules is complicated enough.

May is skin cancer awareness month and we are celebrating with a sunscreen special. In the month of May, if you buy a brush on block you get a free refill. That’s a $17 value. The BOB is everyone’s favorite sunscreen for reapplication because it’s a clear powder that goes on invisible and dry. If you haven’t tried it, now is the time.

 

See you at the clinic this week, stay Skintastic Moms!

Xoxo, Nina

Fort Smith

Doesn’t it feel good to get home after a vacation? There is something about sleeping in your own bed that can’t be explained. Or your own shower. You sure do get used to your own shower head, don’t you? If you follow us on snapchat (jdermatology) then you saw some of my beach vacation. I am relaxed, recharged and ready to make my mark on Fort Smith. I personally chose Fort Smith as my home. After being born, raised and educated in Fayetteville it wasn’t a far leap from home but sure felt like a different planet when I moved here in 2006. I absolutely love my life here. Good food, great boutiques, booming downtown and the best people around. Dr.Sandy has chosen Fort Smith as her hometown too. We both were encouraged by our husbands to chose Fort Smith but I admire how she has made her own mark on The River Valley. We enjoy being a part of Fort Smith and serving all your skin needs. Listen to what Dr. Sandy had to say in a recent journal article she wrote about Fort Smith.

Life is worth living in Fort Smith.  This was the motto of our former mayor Ray Baker.  I believe it.   I also believes what goes around comes around.  After all, 1980’s hair and clothing are hip again.  Anyway, in the very distant past, Fort Smith was the mecca for health care. But then, corporate America took hold of health care and that changed….for the worse.  Doctors left Fort Smith in record numbers. We don’t need to harp on that era.  It was during this dreary period however that my husband wanted to move back home and open a Dermatology practice together.  My husband loves his hometown and he was unaware of the downturn in the medical community when he insisted we move to Fort Smith (Greenwood actually) to open our Dermatology practice after his derm surgery fellowship in 2006.  After all, he insisted, if there are not many doctors we should be busy.  (I love him and how he always look at the bright side.) He was right.  Even though Fort Smith was not my hometown, it is now.  I love it here.  I love the community.  I love that it is family oriented and is a great place to raise our children.  I love it so much that I love to give back to our community.  I love being a part of Leadership Fort Smith, the local Chambers of Commerce and various committees.  Life is worth living in Fort Smith (and Greenwood).

 

Fast forward to present day and Fort Smith is thriving again.  Many physicians are moving here and enjoying it.  Our Chamber of Commerce even started a New Physician reception a few years ago.  In fact, even we were able to recruit a wonderful Dermatologist who joined us last year.  For those of you interested, we (Johnson Dermatology) are still recruiting as are the hospitals and other groups in town…for all specialties.  There seems to be a new Mercy clinic with new primary care physicians opening every month.   There is actually a lot of collaboration occurring between the local hospitals…at least in my opinion.   We have an impressive Good Samaritan Clinic.  The UAMS West AHEC wins many awards.  The residents who rotate at our clinic from UAMS West are the best and brightest.  IM Well clinics started in Fort Smith about 10 years ago with forward thinking physicians and has grown tremendously with far reaching benefits for employers, employees and communities.  Health and Wellness programs are thriving.  We are fighting the good fight and we are winning.

 

The first class of medical students will start in a few months at our new medical school.  I was overwhelmed by the facility, technology, faculty and campus of the Arkansas College of Osteopathic Medicine.  I was told there were thousands of applications for the about 100 positions and the average MCAT score was 3 points higher than the national average.  The people behind the medical school are working with other community leaders and have big plans to help our health care system and health care education in many ways to help our community for years to come.  I think this collaboration is an important part to the improved health and health care situation of our community.  Don’t get me wrong, there are still naysayers and people who belittle and don’t play well in the sandbox.  But in general, the situation continues to improve.  Our trails continue to lengthen.  We have had a marathon for 3 years.  We have impressive bike races.  Our economy is steadily growing.  Physicians are serving on multiple organizations.  Our university, UAFS, is thriving in athletics and acadmeics. Health care, education, family values, quality of life—what else does one want or need?

 

In summary, life is worth living in Fort Smith.  If you don’t believe me or would like me to show you, let me know.  You can reach me by phone, email, website, Facebook, Instagram, twitter, Snapchat, or even snail mail….we have all of those in Fort Smith.  Even if you do not make it to Fort Smith, I hope your life is worth living wherever you are.

Stay Skintastic.  Dr. Sandy

We have so many exciting things coming to Johnson Dermatology. Hope you guys make it out to see us soon! Have a great rest of your week! Nina