SoCal doctor uses technique to turn back the 'hands' of time

Despite our efforts to turn back the clock on our faces, our hands give away our age. That's because the skin is thinner and shows age spots, wrinkles and veins more clearly.

Now one Southern California doctor is using a minimally-invasive procedure to make hands look much younger.

Ten years after Dr. Gabriel Goren treated unsightly veins on her hands, 68-year-old Judith Fonoraw is still happy with how they look today. "I'm thrilled with the results, " she said.

But "thrilled" is not the way 52-year-old Alyse Aratoon felt about her hands. She said, "As I was aging, I noticed my hands were aging at a faster rate than the rest of me."

Veins start to appear as people age because skin starts to thin. The most popular way to treat it is with fillers, but it has to be done every eight or 10 months. In time, it can get expensive.

Goren said fat transfers are also temporary. "They disappear too. They don't last very much," he said.

Goren has been removing veins for more than 20 years. He's a pioneer in the field.

He starts with tiny entry points about a sixteenth of an inch thick. His tools resemble specialized crochet hooks. "You can see the head is so tiny and small," Goren said, "Segment by segment, you remove the veins completely."

If you're wondering if those veins are necessary, Goren said most blood returns to your heart through deep veins so your body won't miss the ones in your hands.

It's done under local anesthesia and patients can go back to work right away.

So who's a not candidate? Patients who do heavy lifting or physical activity because the veins can come back. Another concern is if you need an IV infusion. It's important to leave visible veins in your arm.

Goren said it's important to evaluate your options with a doctor. "I once had a patient from Palm Springs. She had nothing there, very little," he said to that patient, "I won't touch you."

The cost runs about $3,000 for both hands.

Fonoraw is happy her hands no longer give her age away. "I don't want to retire yet. It agrees with me, " she said.