Sayonara Summer, Hello Fall!

It is officially Fall today, and what a welcome day it is. The muggy days of summer are over and the cooler weather is a breath of fresh air. There couldn't be a better time to start thinking ahead to holiday travel plans, spending quality time with friends and family, and making sure you show your freshest face and tightest bod' to loved ones after a long year.

Dr. Hotchandani and staff can help you with that. For the price of a nice dinner including a good bottle of wine, you could have softer wrinkles with Botox Cosmetic (it should last through the new year), or instead of that little black dress you use once, you could have your facial folds filled with Radiesse. Better yet, lock in some of those stock market gains and sign up to buy one breast implant and get one free.

Some of you may have seen the fanfare and press coverage our "BOGO" (Buy One Get One) billboard recently received. If you didn't catch it on CNN.com, you may have seen the joke Conan O'Brien made about it on his Tonight Show...note that we highly recommend you not put the free one on your forehead as he suggested! We would like to thank Fox 11 for spending the time to report on the story.

That said, we did discontinue our lighthearted ad early due to concerns voiced around teenagers seeing the message and that some in Wisconsin thought it was too racy. We would welcome pointers on how those parents shelter their children from mainstream media containing much worse, but we were sensitive to the reactions and did not want to take part in the problem.

In other news, Dr. Hotchandani recently attended a conference during which learned about gluteal augmentation when paired with liposuction. Fat tissue that is removed during liposuction can now be safely injected into another body area where you would like a little extra to grab. The procedure is wildly popular on the coasts, and Hotchandani Laser, Vein and Cosmetic Surgery is now offering it at our world class surgery center in Green Bay!

Hurry in to take advantage of the September Specials, which will likely be the best deals we offer through next year if not ever. Please call (920) 497-9996, email info@hotchlaser.com, or visit hotchlaser.com to book your appointment today!

Hotchandani Laser & Vein Center is now Hotchandani Laser, Vein, and Cosmetic Surgery

We are excited to announce that our Company's name is now Hotchandani Laser, Vein, and Cosmetic Surgery. As the cosmetic surgery portion of our business grows in importance in how we spend our time, we thought it would be best to include "Cosmetic Surgery" in the name.

To take a stroll down memory lane, our name started by describing our medical director's vascular and general surgery solo practice, G. Hotchandani, M.D., P.C., which was founded in 1991. Dr. Hotchandani had forged his reputation in Iron Mountain and Kingsford as Chief of Surgery at the Veteran's Administration hospital for close to a decade, and took to the entrepreneurial route by setting up private practice.

The first push into aesthetic medicine took place with the purchase of a laser unit in 1997, the name of the Company evolved to Hotchandani Aesthetic Center. Everyone who has been following the brand for some time will remember the unforgettable jingle that is based on this name (Hotch-an-daaahni Aesthetic Cen-ter.....duh-da)!

With the addition of breakthrough treatments for veins such as VNUS closure technique and the latest version, Endovenous Laser Ablation, as well as more emphasis on Sclerotherapy and Laser Spider Vein treatments the name was changed to include emphasis on veins. Our previous name, Hotchandani Laser & Vein Center achieved this goal while preserving our non-spa medical focus.

This latest name change emphasizes the effort we have put into building a world class outpatient surgery center where hundreds of patients have come in, had their surgery and gone home the same day. Our staff is highly trained, caring, courteous and professional with the highest attention paid to each patient's needs. The body areas we primarily provide enhancements on are breasts, tummies, arms and underneath the chin. We use the latest techniques to achieve the best results with minimum downtime, and have even recently brought Smartlipo MPX to Green Bay.

Smartlipo MPX is used to tighten tissue in combination with a tumescent liposuction (lipo that only requires local anesthesia and considered the gold standard procedure). The laser energy produced by the Smartlipo MPX helps to melt away fat and also allow some of the energy to tighten up surrounding tissue. It's no wonder that many stars in Hollywood have done it, but it's not just for stars price wise.

Thank you for allowing us to share a little bit of our history with you, and we hope to see you in one of the Hotchandani Laser, Vein, and Cosmetic Surgery locations soon!

Dr. Hotchandani's Son Returns to Wall Street

After a stint helping to streamline the operations of Hotchandani Laser & Vein Center, Dr. Hotchandani's eldest son has returned to Wall Street to link back up with former Lehman Brothers colleagues at a new firm to participate in the global economic recovery. Having brought some analytical firepower, creativity and energy to the pioneers in aesthetic medicine in Green Bay and Appleton, Wisconsin, the timing of the financial crises could not have been better for this family business.

The collapse of Lehman Brothers was a news headline for many in Wisconsin, but for Hotchandani Laser & Vein Center, it hit very close to home. When the firm collapsed, the financial markets spiraled out of control and the group that Dr. Hotchandani's son Tim was in was dismantled. He found himself in a short term holding pattern back in the Global Healthcare group, a business that was acquired by Barclays Capital; however, it was only a matter of time until he was unceremoniously jettisoned from Barclays.

With the bright Barclays blue lights of 745 Seventh Avenue behind him, Tim dove into the medical aesthetic business. In only six months there was a new website, numerous underutilized and legacy technology lasers had been sold, inventory and working capital was reduced, the marketing message was elevated, and an asset-light approach to bringing on new technology was undertaken. The client centric culture that built Hotchandani Laser & Vein Center's reputation over the past decade had not been explicitly articulated, but now it has been such that clients are at the center of everything we do.

One key moment early on came when Tim reached out to his former professor, a renowned member of the University of Wisconsin-Madison faculty and Academic Director of the Nicholas Center for Corporate Finance and Investment Banking, Professor James K. Seward. Thankfully, Professor Seward entertained the idea of completing a live consulting project and by the end of the conversation a team of MBA and IBC undergraduate students were slated to complete a comprehensive business analysis on Hotchandani Laser & Vein Center. Hard looks at capacity utilization, operating systems, marketing messaging and other topics were on the agenda.

Having approached the project from a Private Equity perspective, the talented students completed painstaking due diligence, industry research and ultimately made fearless and provocative recommendations. They recommended that the Michigan clinics be closed due to significantly underutilized overhead in those locations, that a uniform marketing message be formulated to properly communicate the differentiated pioneering market position, and operational systems be piloted and rolled out over time. Every recommendation that the Nicolas Center team made was considered and subsequently implemented.

Without the Nicolas Center's acceptance of the project and astute observations, the Hotchandani Laser & Vein Center may not have been around to continue to be pioneers in aesthetic medicine today. With the company back on solid footing, it was time for Tim to resume his career on Wall Street, but given Hotchandani Laser & Vein Center remains a family business, he will continue to be involved in significant strategic conversations as Vice President, Finance & Operations.

To all of our clients, employees and members of the community who continue to support us and who put up with Tim's New York-paced cadence to get things done, thank you. We would not be here today if it weren't for you. Special thanks to Jim Seward, Chad Heyda, David Nied, Deanna Olson, Sean Grossberg and Jason Schroeder who tirelessly applied themselves to our project.

Dr. Hotchandani Performs First Smartlipo MPX™ in Green Bay

We are happy to announce that Dr. Hotchandani has performed the first Smartlipo MPX™ procedure in Green Bay! Furthering our pioneering tradition of bringing the latest in aesthetic medicine and cosmetic surgery to the Fox Valley and Green Bay, we are excited to offer a new minimally invasive way to "tone up" with little downtime.

Smartlipo™, from Cynosure is a state of the art technology that literally melts away fat in trouble areas. There are now a few different devices that are approved for laser assisted lipolysis, but Smartlipo has been around longest and has the most scientific research evidence supporting its safety and efficacy. You may have seen Smartlipo™ featured on television shows including Living in Syle, Good Morning America, VH1, E!, Access Hollywood, and has been featured in People Magazine, Star, Elle Magazine and many others, which all rave about its fat melting and tightening technology.

Basically, the way it works is a tiny laser fiber is inserted into the body which enables the delivery of laser energy directly to fat cell walls heating them to a temperature at which they cannot survive. Surrounding tissue including the skin and the facia below the fat layer also gets a little warmer (similar to the way Thermage™ and SkinTyte™ work) and giving the secondary, but important benefit of tightening the tissue around the treated area. So not only does Smartlipo™ melt away fat, but it also tightens the skin leaving a very natural tighter, toned look!

Local anesthesia is used to block all pain so patients remain awake and comfortable, and when combined with tumescent liposuction (it usually is on larger areas with bigger desired impact) downtime is typically less than a week with most people returning to their desk jobs within 3-5 days. Swelling and bruising dissipate over the next month or so, and full results set in over a matter of the next few weeks.

With Dr. Hotchandani's wealth of experience and unparalleled expertise developed using medical lasers over the past decade, you will enjoy great results in the safest possible manner. The latest Continuing Medical Education workshop Dr. Hotchandani attended was in New York city with a small group of physicians from around the country on the latest techniques in laser assisted liposuction. We invite you to schedule a complimentary no-obligation consultation, and we are very excited to introduce this new technology to the Fox Cities and Green Bay.

To request a consultation please click here

Bioform Going Out of Business? We don't think so.

The other day, we were on a conference call with one of our dermal filler vendors, and they raised an unsettling question by saying, “we aren’t sure how long Bioform will be in business to sell Radiesse.” Dr. Hotchandani loves using Radiesse to smooth nasolabial folds (smile lines) and provide other "liquid lift" results so losing it would be bad.

For those who do not already know, Radiesse is popular dermal filler that instantly corrects facial wrinkles and folds for results that we have seen last close to a year or longer. Radiesse’s tagline “The magic ingredient is you” refers to its differentiated benefit of stimulating the body’s own natural production of collagen.

This was not the first time we have heard of the possibility of Bioform going the way of Artes Medical (the makers of Artefill, which was recently reorganized after filing for Chapter 7), but it seemed like it could be legit, so we decided to take a look. The following is what we learned by parsing public filings and equity research.

• Research analysts unanimously agree that Bioform has at least 2-3 years of running room based on three key facts: 1) Cash balance is $41 million at the end of March 2009 and debt of less than $500,000, 2) Negative free cash flow (cash burn) will be around $10 million over the next 12 months leaving approximately $30 million in cash at March 2010, 3) Management has the flexibility to further reduce capital expenditures, slow sales force growth and put R&D projects on hold to get to cash flow breakeven within two years
• The timing of Bioform’s initial public offering (“IPO”) was fortunate. In November 2007, the Company succeeded in raising $83 million in cash by selling shares to the public. Had they waited for the possibility of a better market, the deal may not have gotten done given Bear Stearns melted down in mid-March 2008 and the equity capital markets virtually shut to new offerings
• Revenue has declined this year due to the slow economy, but Radiesse volumes are declining at a slower rate than dermal fillers overall. In fact, Radiesse was the only dermal filler to have a volume increase in 2008 with a 3% jump according to The American Society for Aesthetic Plastic Surgery. Bioform has been very competitive on price, and with the introduction of 0.8 cc syringes (in addition to their larger 1.5 cc syringe) seeks to throw its hat in the ring with other majors at the 0.8 cc size

All of this taken together, we would be very surprised if Bioform went out of business anytime soon. Hotchandani Laser & Vein Center will continue to monitor the situation closely and post any new developments in line with our unwavering commitment to bring the latest and greatest in aesthetic medicine to our clients. As a final note, since Bioform provides jobs in Wisconsin at its manufacturing facility in Franksville, which is just south of Milwaukee, we are pulling for them!