By Kathleen Schiop
Science and beauty don’t always have much in common with one another. However, at the Vein & Cosmetic Center of Tampa Bay, Dr. Jeffrey Hunt, D.O., R.V.S., has combined the two — and is proud to have been achieving amazing results for his patients throughout the Tampa Bay area — since 1991.
Today, with 18 different laser and Intense Pulsed Light (IPL) therapies to choose from, the Vein & Cosmetic Center treatseverything from leg veins, spots and vessels to facial creases, wrinkles and freckles, utilizing everything from Acoustic Wave Therapy and Fractional Laser Treatments to Photorejuvination, Botox®, CoolSculpting®, and too many more to name, really. Dr. Hunt is the Tampa Bay area’s most experienced leg vein specialist and he and his professional, friendly staff are dedicated to providing technologically advanced, non-invasive cosmetic care for your legs, face and body that can be custom-designed to suit any budget and beauty treatment need.
Established as a medical facility dedicated to treating varicose veins, spider veins, and other venous disorders, the Vein & Cosmetic Center has been providing the most comprehensive, proven, and effective vein treatments and non-invasive cosmetic enhancement procedures for more than two decades. In fact, Dr. Hunt was making men and women living in the New Tampa and Wesley Chapel area look and feel better for many years before there were cosmetic surgeons or Med-Spas with offices in our area.
Dr. Hunt, who is Board-certified by the American Osteopathic Board of Family Physicians and is a Diplomate of the Osteopathic National Boards & Flex Exam, earned his Doctor of Osteopathic (D.O.) degree from the West Virginia School of Osteopathic Medicine. His post-doctoral training included a three-year family practice residency at Cuyahoga Falls General Hospital in Cuyahoga Falls, OH. He then developed and maintained a successful family and vein sclerotherapy practice in Akron, OH, for seven years before relocating with his family to Tampa.
His extensive post-graduate training includes working with the founder of the American College of Phlebology. Since then, Dr. Hunt has performed more than 115,000 nonsurgical vein sclerotherapy treatments and more than 50,000 spider vein treatments. He has perfected the advanced method of ultrasound-guided foam sclerotherapy and CoolTouch Endolaser™ for the treatment of varicose veins. He is a pioneer in the treatment of venous disease and is among the first physicians in the nation to earn a new certification from the American Board of Phlebology (ABPh).
“Our treatment is more comprehensive than other clinics, because most of them do not do follow ups,” Dr. Hunt says. “And, because we do so many of them, our prices are usually better than you’ll find anywhere else.” Dr. Hunt also conducted FDA clinical trials to bring IPL treatments to the United States. His commitment to research and always keeping up with the newest medical technology, while offering only the most effective and safest treatments possible, ensures that patients at the Vein & Cosmetic Center receive outstanding care.
One patient, Lisa from Lutz, raves about the leg treatments she received from Dr. Hunt: “I just wanted to thank Dr. Hunt and his staff for the great care I received for my varicose veins; I am currently 6 months pregnant and have had NO issues like I did with my first pregnancy in terms of swelling, pain etc. in my legs and feet. I am so happy I had this done and will be back around in the spring to take care of some new spider/ small varicose veins that have surfaced due to this pregnancy, but overall my legs are 110-percent better this pregnancy than before! Thanks so much!”
Non-Invasive Treatments For Face & Body
Dr. Hunt is an avid believer in non-invasive cosmetic treatments for not only legs, but also for your face and body, all without surgery or the need for anesthesia.
“We have so many ways of helping people look better, with little or no down time,” he says, and the Vein & Cosmetic Center’s website (VeinCenterTampa.com) offers a complete list of these face and body treatments. The non-invasive treatments often come in packages custom-designed by Dr. Hunt to provide the most immediate and longest-lasting results possible.
“People who come in here want to look better as quickly as possible,” he says. “With some treatments, it can take several visits over several months time to see real results, so we focus on those that provide the best possible results in the shortest number of visits.”
A patient named Maureen writes, “I first visited Dr. Hunt for my rosacea. I had tried green undertones in my foundation, but people kept asking me what I was upset about, or what was I angry about. My face was always so red. Dr. Hunt treated my face with Photofacial™ and those upsetting comments stopped. Just recently, he treated me with the Alma Lasers™. On my recent visit home, my brother and his wife were amazed when they saw me. They actually said I looked ten years younger. I’ve recommended Dr. Hunt to friends and will continue to do so. Lasers are one thing, but Dr. Hunt’s skill and dedication while using them are extraordinary.”
Committed to research and the newest technology, Dr. Hunt conducted a recent study of a new process that dissipates fat from legs, love handles and abdomen as well as the much more invasive liposuction. Dr. Hunt’s research showed that when CoolSculpting™ body treatments are immediately followed by Acoustic Wave Therapy (AWT) treatments each week for four consecutive weeks, “the fat absorption rate is twice as fast when compared with results from CoolSculpting™ treatments alone,” he says. “This means you should see the results in half the time. What used to take six months now only takes three, and with no down time and patients are losing 50 to 60 percent of their body fat in the areas that concern us the most, the trunk area.”
The results of his clinical study have been released in Europe and Asia and Dr. Hunt says manufacturers there already are using the study to sell their products. His study of increased fat reduction results is an exciting breakthrough for patients and his research on this subject is in the process of being published and is already being implemented by other prominent doctors in the field.
An Even Newer Way To ‘Vanquish’ Fat
And, the innovations don’t stop there. “One of the newest treatment devices in the field is called Vanquish, which promises even more breakthrough results in non-invasive fat reduction with no down time,” says Dr. Hunt, adding that the Vein & Cosmetic Center will be getting this new technology sooner than expected. “I was supposed to be way down the list to get one of these,” he says. “In fact, there were 53 offices ahead of ours, but I am going to participate in a Fox-TV news study, and I told them if they would send it, I would use UltraSound to measure the thickness of the fat patients lost, so we can determine what the optimal time protocol for (Vanquish) retreatments would be. We will be only the second office in Florida to have this technology.”
Vanquish is a Czech-made device which requires the patient to simply lay flat under the machine while the sensors read his or her body fat to determine the energy level needed to dissipate the fat. Then, a focused-field radio frequency heats the skin to 101 degrees and the underlying fat to 120 degrees to eliminate fat cells. “There are four panels on it, and they never touch your skin,” he says, “and, unlike CoolSculpting, there is no suction with it.”
Vanquish covers larger areas of the body and the panels can be adjusted to cover the patient’s entire abdomen and flanks at the same time. Since the technology is still so new, Dr. Hunt believes that the machine may also be used to dissipate fat in the thighs and arms but, “we don’t even have a protocol for that right now.”
“New You magazine will be featuring an article on Vanquish in their September issue, and Allure magazine recently had a short write up — a teaser, if you will — about the device,” Dr. Hunt says,
And So Much More
In addition to all of the new, cutting edge technology, the Vein & Cosmetic Center also features the tried and true.
“I believe we are the number one facility for Botox® injections in Tampa Bay,” says Dr. Hunt. “Our rep says we are first in the Tampa Bay area for Restylane® injections and either number one or two for Juvéderm XC® treatments in this area,” he says. Dr. Hunt adds that he keeps his prices low to be affordable, and offers very competitive pricing for the variety of treatments he offers. The office’s comprehensive website describes the treatments offered. He adds that his office hours are convenient for most appointments, with the cosmetic side of the business open 50 hours a week.
Dr. Hunt says that although he doesn’t perform surgical cosmetic procedures at the Vein & Cosmetic Center, “When we get requests for rhinoplasty, facial surgery or breast augmentations, we refer our patients to some of the outstanding cosmetic surgeons in the area.”
For someone who has accomplished so much in the Tampa Bay community, Dr. Hunt also says he feels it is very important to give back to the community he serves. He and his staff are involved in numerous charitable efforts, but he modestly mentioned one. “We were offering Photofacials in December for $99, but anyone who wanted one had to bring a toy,” he says. “We filled an 8-foot truck with toys, and they had to come back for a second pickup.” The toys were donated to the Joshua House children’s home for Christmas.
The Vein & Cosmetic Center of Tampa Bay is located at 3001 N. Rocky Point Dr E., Suite 125. For appointments and more information, call (888) 434-9192 or visit VeinCenterTampa.com.
