Acupuncture

How long have you been injecting Botox in Modesto?

I got this question today via social media.

The quick answer as of today (11/5/18) is about 12 years.

I guess it’s a question regarding my experience. I now see about 200+ patients per month for Botox injections in my Modesto office: Surgical Artistry.

Here’s sort of a timeline for my life in Modesto.

2001: Interviewed in Modesto and accepted job with the McHenry Medical Group as trauma and general surgeon

2003: Started my surgery career in Modesto. I actually had my first job Modesto as a surgeon was with the Sutter-Gould Medical Group affiliated with Memorial Hospital. I worked there for a few weeks to help fill in for a surgeon who had to leave suddenly for his military duties.

2003: Started with the McHenry Medical Group as trauma and general surgeon

2006: Started Surgical Artistry with Dr. Tammy Wu, Plastic Surgeon. Went to obtain more education in Acupuncture. Plastic Surgery was our big focus for Surgical Artistry.

2006: Started practicing acupuncture and started doing Botox. I had a slow start. It seemed to be about 1-3 patients per week even for Botox and acupuncture. I continued doing General Surgery till about the year 2010. But starting in 2006, I started assisting in the world of pain pumps and stimulator spine implants which I still do today.

2013: Reached platinum level for Botox injections and Filler injections with the Allergan company. This is based on amount of Botox purchased from Allergan.

2014: Reached platinum plus level for Botox and Filler injections.

2015: Selected as one of the first surgeon injectors of Kybella – a injectable product to help dissolve the double chin.

2016: Reached Diamond level for Botox and Filler injections. At the time, this seemed to be the highest level there was for Botox purchased from Allergan in the USA.

2017: I was honored by being awarded the Top 25 most loved injectors in the USA by RealSelf.com. I got a featured advertisement in Glamour magazine.

2017: Reached the Top 500 level for Botox injections / Filler implantations. This was a level that I didn’t know existed till I got the award. It comes with certain benefits like a priority customer service telephone number.

2018: Started doing thread-lifting which I also call Suture-Lifting.

2018: Maintained Top 500 level for Botox injections (and other Allergan products). At this point, I realize that I started by seeing about 4 Botox patients per month in 2006 and now I have the privilege of seeing over 200 Botox patients per month.

I still have much more to improve regarding my skills, communication, and results. Thank you everyone for trusting me with your injections.

Calvin Lee, MD

What cosmetic services do you offer, Dr. Lee?

I got this question today on Yelp and perhaps this post will help others.

I am interested in hearing about the services you offer and setting up a consultation.

Mr. Bear wearing my name tag and he is with acupuncture needles in his head.

Here’s my brief answer:

Thank you for your inquiry via a message on Yelp. We are closed for the weekend. But Feel free to call (209)-551-1888 on Monday- Friday 8am-5pm for more information about what we offer at Surgical Artistry. The Botox / Filler consultation with me (Dr. Calvin Lee) is free so you can hear more about what I may be able to do and customize information and treatment for you. Heres a brief listing of what I do:

Threadlifts

Threadlifts for building collagen and lifting. These are dissolving PDO threads. Sometimes I call this Suture-Lifting

I do Botox

I do Botox for wrinkles, headaches, jaw pain, gummy smile, shrinking pores, sweat reduction, trigger points.

Juvederm Fillers

I do fillers for lips and wrinkles, acne scars. I really enjoy working on lips and tear troughs as some of my favorite things to do. I also sometimes use Radiesse and Restylane. I do hand rejuvenation fillers and also tear trough off label fillers under the eyes. I am fond of working with a cannula for cheek augmentation and for tear trough. I also regularly do chin augmentation with fillers and jaw augmentation, temple filling (by the forehead), ear lobe wrinkle filling, nipple projection for inverted nipples. I also fill various indentations in muscles or the body from various trauma/scar or from steroid injections. I see fillers as a surgical implantation which needs to be done with surgical care.

Dermapen – Microneedling

I do dermapen microneedling to help with acne scars, and wrinkle reduction / prevention, and to help grow collagen.

Kybella

Kybella injections for double chin. Permanent fat reduction in the FDA approved neck area. Visit my Kybella website for more information. I’ve done some off label Kybella for bra roll and knee area.

Chemical Peels

To help with collagen growth, brightening the skin, tightening, and wrinkle prevention. I do the Obagi blue peel radiance and the blue peel chemical peel – both these peels are by Obagi.

I do acupuncture for back pain, fertility, stress, and many other issues. There is a branch of acupuncture known as cosmetic acupuncture. Actually threadlifts and dermapen are just extension of cosmetic acupuncture.

Vein procedures

I laser veins on the face, chest, and legs. I have a laser and I also do cosmetic sclerotherapy – which are injections into the small veins. On the face, the laser is my favorite modality, but on the legs, the injections of sclerotherapy is my favorite vein treatment method. I also do ultra sound examinations of the greater saphenous vein and lesser saphenous veins to assess reflux.

Mole removal

I do cosmetic mole removal from various parts of the body using surgical excision, and I try for the smallest and least obvious scar. I feel that surgical excision is usually best – rather than burning off a mole.

Trigger point deactivation

Trigger points are tender points in the muscle. I can do dry needling, acupuncture ah-shi, lidocaine/marcine injections

Steroid injections into over-active scars

Some scars are overactive with redness, itching, and have a raised character. I can inject a steroid solution into the scars to make them less “angry.”

I actually do more items than what is listed on here, but this is a short description of what I can do.

How many sessions of acupuncture?

I wrote this email in October 2018 to my Botox / Acupuncture office staff regarding “How many sessions of Acupuncture is necesssary”

Hi Office,

This is one of my most common questions that we get.

How often and how many acupuncture sessions?

How often?

once or twice a week.

How many?

Usually takes 8-12 sessions of acupuncture (once or twice a week) to maximize the treatment results. After that some sort of maintenance needs to be done whether it is different habits like stretching or perhaps acupuncture sessions once a month.

How do I know if acupuncture is worth it?

Dr. Lee has a 4 session test of acupuncture. If there is no improvement at all after 4 sessions of acupuncture, then it is probably not worth it to go to 8-12 sessions of acupuncture.

Thank you for rebooking the patients for acupuncture. For acupuncture to work, it depends on rebooking appointments for our treatments to have lasting effect – I guess that goes for Botox as well.

Take home items from this email:

1. When does the patient come back? As soon as 2 days from now to 2 weeks from now is ok (that sorta is 1-2 times per week – although I prefer in general within 1 week).

2. How many acupuncture sessions does one need? It’s a patient preference, but most will need 8-12 sessions and then after that to change their habits (more sleep, more stretching, more vegetables, less TV, etc).

3. Can a patient stop after 4 sessions of acupuncture? Yes, if they are completely cured of their problem, but most patients use the 4 sessions as a test of worthiness of acupuncture and they usually do 8-12 sessions of acupuncture.

4. How many sessions do I need if I am a new back pain patient? Most likely 8-12 sessions of acupuncture with the sessions about 1-2 times per week. Use the first 4 sessions as a test to see if acupuncture is working.

Like Botox, a disciplined, habitual approach to rescheduling (rebooking) helps more than just one “mega-botox” or “mega-acupuncture” session.

Thanks!

Category: Acupuncture