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May/June 2009
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Volume 2, Issue 3
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Special points of interest:  New Procedure to melt your fat away A Description of the Zerona™ Procedure Zerona™ Procedure Featured on CBS's "The Doctors"Finding Hidden Health Solutions - Part 2 |
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 Recently a young man came to me with a neurological condition called Bell's Palsy, also known as Facial Paralysis. The entire right side of his face was paralyzed, which as you can imagine created a tremendous amount of concern with him. He had already gone to a medical facility and spent $300 just on the recommended medication, which did absolutely nothing to correct or relieve his condition which began suddenly 10 days before visiting me.Bell's Palsy results when the Facial Nerve, also known as Cranial Nerve VII, becomes swollen, inflamed, or compressed resulting in temporary facial weakness or paralysis. The most common symptoms that are noticeable in addition to weakness or paralysis include twitching, drooping of the eyelid and corner of the mouth, drooling, dryness of the eye or mouth, impairment of taste, and excessive tearing in one eye. Most authorities believe that it could be caused by an inflammatory process, a herpes virus, trauma to the nerve from a skull fracture or facial injury, or possibly a tick bite (Lymes Disease). Bell's Palsy affects approximately 40,000 Americans annually and about 1 person in 65 during a lifetime. Diabetics are 4 times more likely to develop Bell's Palsy than the general population. It also is found disproportionately in pregnant women and people with upper respiratory viral infections. Some famous people who have had Bell's Palsy include actors George Clooney and Pierce Brosnan, film critic Roger Ebert, composer Andrew Lloyd Webber, consumer advocate Ralph Nader, golfer Curtis Strange, and Canadian Prime Minister Jean Chretien. The prognosis for people with Bell's Palsy is normally very good. Depending on the extent of nerve damage, improvement is gradual and your chances for a full recovery are better as long as your symptoms start to improve within 3 weeks of developing it. About 2 out of 3 people with Bell's Palsy recover completely mostly in 3 to 6 months and some upwards of a year or more. The rest have ongoing weakness that ranges from partial to complete paralysis, which may never completely disappear. Instead of hoping that he would not become one of those 33% that do not fully recover from Bell's Palsy, my patient decided to do something about it and I assured him that I would do my best to assist him. A couple simple tests including inability to smile or squint on one side confirmed his condition. I then did a spinal and cranial analysis and found his right jaw and a bone in the back of his skull displaced, as well as the top vertebral segment in his neck. I then adjusted his neck, jaw, and cranial bone. I then did a specific cold laser treatment to the Facial Nerve at the base of the skull and the right side of the face. I also prescribed for him the amino acid l-lysine for his immune system and Vitamin B6 to accelerate nerve healing. He returned 2 days later to receive a follow-up laser treatment and was very excited because he noticed return of movement to the right side of his face the day after his first treatment! Four days later he received another laser treatment and we could see less drooping of his mouth and eye plus he was very encouraged that he was able to give a speech that day without any trouble. Just 9 days after his first visit he returned for another laser treatment and remarked that he was 75% better! His mouth basically looked normal and his right eye was slightly more open than his left. At just under 2 weeks after we began care he was at 80% improvement and able to smile and squint without any noticeable difficulty! This has been another example of helping someone not only get relief for his condition, but more importantly restoring normal function toward the ultimate goal of peak performance. The next issue will include another interesting success story for you to enjoy! New Procedure Can Melt Your Fat Away Safely Without Surgery! I am very excited to introduce a new technology now available at our office. As you know, I use cold laser technology for various body conditions including pain, inflammation, weakness, muscle tension, and skin disorders. We now have a new cold laser called the Zerona™ which does the first non-invasive body contouring procedure to effectively remove excess fat. The Zerona™ offers a non-surgical and non-drug alternative to other effective fat-removing procedures such as liposuction and mesoderm injections or creams. In fact, its predecessor the LipoLaser™ was used as a pre-operation aid to liposuction surgery making it easier for plastic and cosmetic surgeons to remove the fat since it was in a liquefied form as opposed to a solid form. Erchonia, the manufacturer of the Zerona™ and LipoLaser,™ actually got an FDA market clearance in 2004 for laser-assisted liposuction. The Zerona™ is in the process of receiving FDA market clearance for non-invasive body sculpting which is imminent in the very near future making it the first technology of its kind to achieve this status! In case you're wondering how this could possibly work, I would like to give you a simplified explanation of this process. Just under your skin you have stored fat called subcutaneous fat. Obviously some of us have much more than others. When the laser is shined on them, the membranes surrounding the fat cells open up and form pores allowing liquefied (emulsified) fat to escape. Then after a relatively short period of time, the membranes collapse and allow all of the emulsified fat to escape which is then available to be picked up by the body's eliminative systems (lymph, blood, then intestines) where it can be safely and naturally removed. *See how this occurs in the electron microscope images below.  This is not a quick weight loss program - we are targeting the fat tissue and are not taking off excess water weight. We are removing the excess fat to successfully shape the body for a more desirable outcome and appearance. Just remember that excess, unwanted subcutaneous fat not only affects appearance - it can affect your health - which is why we are now offering this service. In some cases, the excess fat can put additional strain on areas of your spine and in other cases it can put pressure on internal organs. You now have an alternative to a shapelier figure and healthier body without having to endure the fear and often painful process of a surgical procedure. A Description of the Zerona™ Procedure 
The first step of the Zerona™ procedure is determining whether or not you are a qualified candidate for it after filling out a health history form and receiving a consultation. If you are qualified, the 1-3 areas you would like to target for fat reduction are determined which may include your abdomen, hips, thighs, chest, arms, neck, and/or chin. In addition, we will determine whether you will do 6 treatments or 12 treatments.You will receive an examination which will include tape measurements of the targeted body areas, your height and weight, and blood pressure if you have a history of high blood pressure. You will also receive a body composition analysis which will determine your body fat %, if your body is properly hydrated, and an exact reading of the rate of your metabolism. These tests will be re-run after every 3rd visit and at the end of your program. Pictures will also be taken for before and after comparisons. Drinking plenty of water and taking specific nutritional supplements are also vital components of this program. The exact content of each will be determined during your initial visit and may be adjusted if necessary during your program. Getting some daily exercise and eating healthy is also highly recommend, but not mandatory during the course of your treatment. On each visit you will lie down face up for 20 minutes and then face down for 20 minutes in comfortable clothing (preferably a bathing suit) while receiving the laser treatment. During this time you will not feel anything while relaxing comfortably since the laser being administered is a low level laser that does not produce heat. It is also recommended that you wear protective eyewear even though there have been no recorded side effects. We will also incorporate some simple to do steps before and after the laser treatment to stimulate circulation and lymphatic drainage. For more information on this exciting new procedure, please call our office for more details, go to www.zeronatampabay.com, and plan on attending one of our free workshops on Zerona™. You can also call our office to set up a free Zerona™ consultation so that you can have all of your questions answered and find out if you qualify to do this procedure. Zerona™ Procedure Featured on CBS's "The Doctors" The revolutionary body contouring treatment using the Zerona™ laser was featured on CBS's hit show "The Doctors" which originally aired on April 27th and then again on August 10th. It included the story of a woman who struggled for years to lose weight, but was not ready to commit to an invasive plastic surgery procedure. The amazing before and after story showed how after just 6 treatments with the Zerona™ laser, she lost an amazing 5 inches from her waist, 1.5 inches from her hips, and 2 inches from each thigh and a total of 10 pounds! If you were unable to see this episode live, you can see it on www.zeronatampabay.com.  Back to Newsletter Library
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