DEAR DR. DONOHUE: This past year, the aging process caught up with me. I’ve developed wrinkles and lines on my face. What can be done about them? – K.Y.

DEAR DR. DONOHUE: What do you think of Botox injections for cosmetic purposes? Are they safe? – T.K.

ANSWER: Television has demonstrated how skillfully doctors can rejuvenate sagging, wrinkled and blemished skin. I can’t mention every available technique, but I can give you a few examples. A dermatologist or plastic surgeon can suggest which procedure is best-suited to an individual’s needs.

Retin-A cream, gel or liquid promotes sloughing off of dead skin cells and exposes more youthful-appearing ones. It also stimulates the production of collagen, the protein that lies beneath the skin and supports it. Retin-A is an acne medicine, but it can improve fine facial wrinkles. Chemical peels with glycolic or trichloroacetic acid remove deeper skin layers and effect a greater change but leave the face red for some time. Frown lines or other deep facial lines can be filled in with collagen or with a synthetic collagen material, and the effect lasts six or more months.

Botox injections relax facial muscles and erase facial creases. Their greatest use is for forehead lines. Botox is safe. Complications are possible, as with any procedure, and include such things as a droopy eyelid. That isn’t permanent, nor is the disappearance of facial creases. Injections have to be repeated.

Surgical face-lifts are the ultimate treatment for restoration of a more youthful-looking face. Not only is redundant skin removed, but the underlying tissues are tightened to provide support to the skin. Surgery provides the most dramatic results, but it is also the most expensive procedure.

I’ve only touched on some of the techniques now available. A word of caution to all contemplating any remake is to check the qualifications of the doctor who is doing the procedure.

DEAR DR. DONOHUE: I have endometriosis, which I don’t understand all that well. The suggested treatment I understand even less well. The doctor says he’s going to make me artificially pregnant. What does that mean? – T.R.

ANSWER: The endometrium is the lining of the uterus. Every month it grows in preparation for housing a fertilized egg. When no egg is fertilized, the endometrium is shed during the menstrual period.

Endometriosis is pieces of the uterine lining in places far distant from the uterus. The pelvic cavity is the usual spot for transplanted endometrium, and it can take hold on many pelvic structures, like the ovaries. It responds to the surge of monthly female hormones just as the endometrium in the uterus does. It cannot be shed, however, and that explains some of the symptoms of endometriosis: pelvic pain during monthly periods, painful sexual relations, abnormal vaginal bleeding and sometimes the inability to become pregnant.

One method for treating endometriosis is to create a hormone state similar to that of pregnancy, because pregnancy often causes a withering of displaced endometrial tissue. This can be done by having a woman take low-dose birth-control pills for six to nine months.

Endometriosis and its treatment are discussed in the booklet on that topic. Readers can obtain a copy by writing: Dr. Donohue – No. 1105, Box 536475, Orlando, FL 32853-6475. Enclose a check or money order (no cash) for $4.75 U.S./$6.75 Can. with the recipient’s printed name and address. Please allow four weeks for delivery.

DEAR DR. DONOHUE: I have had two procedures to reduce the size of an enlarged prostate gland. I am 78, and I asked the doctor to remove my testicles, since I no longer can have children. But he wouldn’t agree to it. Why not? I am told prostate cancer starts in the testicles. – A.N.

ANSWER: Testosterone, which is made in the testicles, promotes the growth of the prostate gland and enhances the growth of prostate-cancer cells. Testosterone production wanes with age but doesn’t disappear. Even in old age, testosterone serves useful purposes, like maintaining muscle strength. When situations call for negating testosterone, medicines can block its effects on the prostate. Most men and doctors choose that route when such action is needed.

Dr. Donohue regrets that he is unable to answer individual letters, but he will incorporate them in his column whenever possible. Readers may write him or request an order form of available health newsletters at P.O. Box 536475, Orlando, FL 32853-6475. Readers may also order health newsletters from www.rbmamall.com.