Illumination's medical director is Dr. Jodie Wang. She is a graduate of the University of Saskatchewan College of Medicine.  Graduating with Great Distinction, she also received the Psychiatry Award and the Pediatrics Award at her convocation in 1989.  She completed her Family Medicine Residency from the University of Western Ontario in 1991, and was awarded membership in the Canadian College of Family Physicians the same year. 

Since 1994, Dr. Jodie has been working with Dermatology Associates in Cambridge, Ontario.  She also currently works at Urgent Care and Lutherwood Villiage. She is pleased to provide the region with her expertise and is excited to assist her clients with her extensive experience at Illumination Laser Medical Associates.

Interview with Dr. Jodie, Medical Director Illumination Laser Medical Associates: 

Ever since medical school I have always been intensely interested in Dermatology. The skin is such a mirror of inner health, and is so readily influenced by what is going on in our bodies and spirits. I have worked alongside a Dermatologist for the past 14 years, first with Dr. Norman May and then as a member of Cambridge Dermatology Associates with Dr. Bruce Abbey. It has been an incredible experience working with Bruce, who has just recently retired from his post at Sunnybrook Hospital as a professor. It has enabled me to gain exposure to a wide variety of skin pathology and treatment options.

When the opportunity came along to work with Cutera laser system, I was so excited about the technology that I could not turn it down. However, I am carrying on at Dermatology Associates also.

What about the laser is so exciting? Isn’t this just any laser?

Not at all lasers have been around for a long time, and there are many different kinds of lasers for many different purposes. They are used for dissolving kidney stones, correcting near-sightedness, treating carpal tunnel syndrome, and for playing laser tag! Skin lasers also come in many different varieties and capabilities also. But the Cutera laser system stood apart from all the others for skin rejuevenation and hair removal on dark and tanned skin. 

In what way?

• For hair removal it can treat all skin colors, which many lasers cannot do. The 3D treatments, which combine photo-facial removal of brown and red spots, laser Genesis treatment of fine wrinkles, large pores, and irregular texture, and the Titan procedure, which provides skin tightening, were just so exciting! It is even a great vascular laser. After seeing all the XEO laser could do, I felt I really needed this laser, even if only so I could do all the procedures on myself!!!

Since I first openned Illumination, to expand treatment options for our clients we have added the Cynosure Elite, an Alexandrite laser. The wave length on this laser provides powerful but gentle hair removal for the lightest skin clients. Now we have the best of both worlds.

But there are many lasers available, in a variety of settings, in the KW area. Why set one up in a medical clinic?

Good question. In America, lasers are more tightly regulated and can only be operated by medical professionals. However, in Canada anybody can buy and operate a laser without any medical qualifications at all! I feel very strongly that given the strength of the laser treatments to the skin, they should be performed by medical professionals only. I think that today’s consumers are more literate and informed, and I think that they will feel the same also.

So Illumination offers the clients the extra assurance of medical staff?

Absolutely. I will consult with all patients before treatment, to ensure that the correct treatments are chosen and the safest parameters of the laser are selected. And treatments will all be performed by a Registered Nurse. There are no estheticians or technicians providing facial treatments in our clinic. As I like to say, "After all, you only have one face!"

So our clinic is offering the safety of trained medical professionals.And with that, not only the assurance of competence but of complete confidentiality. And the safety measures that are built right into our equipment second to none.

What about the injectables Botox and Restylane and other fillers? Are they really safe?

Definitely. Botox, which was pioneered by two Canadian physicians, has been in use clinically since the late ‘70s, and there have yet to be any clinical adverse effects documented from it. It is derived from a purified bacterial protein, so is completely natural. There are no animals involved in production so there are no issues of cross-species reactivity.

Restylane is highly purified hyaluronic acid, which is a natural component of tissues. It as well does not cause any side effects. Both are clinically extremely well-tolerated, which explains their huge popularity!

Teosyal is a new product that is now our filler of choice. It recently won best filler of the year for 2008. We love the way it looks and lasts. There is less down time with this product and it lasts about a year. Much longer than with first generation fillers.

But who wants a frozen face? Isn’t that unnatural-looking?

Do you think I am not animated enough? I still have lots of expression!!! I had Botox in my forehead to treat deep static furrows from a life-long habit of raising my eyebrows. The art of botox injection is to relax over-reactive muscles which are causing wrinkles, but not immobilize or freeze the muscles of facial expression. It is art perhaps even more than science.

And so where did you go to learn this art?

Many doctors learn from the drug reps, and I’m sure that their training is very good. I did the full KAPPS training course in Toronto. They are the top clinical trainers in North America, and it was a terrific course. There was lots of study involved and long training days, but they were worth it! As I decided to pursue my passion in cosmetic medicine, It was important for me that I receive the absolute best training available.

Anything else you want to tell us?

Well, many of my patients do already know this, but I am not just a busy doctor, but also a mom of nine (and yes, they are all mine, and yes, they are all my husband’s, and no, I didn’t adopt them, and no, I am not the nanny!) We are a big hockey family too with our oldest six heavily involved, four of them in Rep travel hockey (and to be even more crazy, two of them goalies!!). So I am a fully qualified arena mom too! I am also a sheltie mom, and you may find one or two clues to this in the clinic if you visit!

So how does that allow you any time to concentrate on the beauty industry?

"Beauty" is largely a manufactured concept. Beauty is all around us, in children laughing, in a mom cheering after her daughter scores a goal, in a dad watching from the stands at a 6 am practice. I have yet to have a client who isn’t already beautiful!

So what is there left to do in a cosmetic practice?

We all have things about ourselves we would change if we could, be it spider veins on our legs which prevent us from wearing shorts in the summer, to frown lines on our faces which cause people to ask if we are tired or angry. My goal is to help with those problems, and ensure that our clinic offers the treatments with the highest level of competence and safety possible, and continues to search out new treatments as this exciting area of cosmetic medicine continues to grow. We have already added many new products and services since we openned in October 2006. But my main goal is that I want people to realize that they were beautiful when they walked in my door, not when they left!

Well that’s a good thought to end on. Thank you for sharing your thoughts with us today!