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When Are Pain Pumps Useful Following Plastic Surgery?

About ten years ago plastic surgery had a nice little advance- the advent of the disposable pain pump. Breakthroughs in medicine are far fewer than advertising copy would have you believe, but this one is real. Unfortunately some practices use them like a marketing ploy in all cases and really don’t spend the time to make them work well or minimize their risk. Others don’t see the benefit and don’t use them at all.

Pain pumps are quite useful in some cases when used correctly. Plastic surgery is a technical specialty and some surgeons are more adept at making things work than others. There are risks with them and cases in which the benefit is harder to measure.

How Does a Pain Pump Work? Read more »

*This blog post was originally published at Truth in Cosmetic Surgery*

Husband Disapproves Of Wife’s Decision To Get Breast Reduction Surgery

Jeanette’s story:

For as long as I can remember my nickname has been ‘Jen Big Boobs’. Friends joke that the first thing they see when I walk through the door is my chest. I know they mean no harm – just as ­­I know that my husband, Steve, adores them ­­– but it’s reached the point where they have ­­got to go. They simply dominate my life. Whether I’m trying to get comfy in bed or walking down the street I can’t forget them for a moment. They are always there, getting in the way of everything I do. In primary school I was the first in class to wear a bra. So when my pals changed in the classroom for PE, I’d change in the loos. Big boobs weren’t a huge surprise – they ­run in my family. But it was embarrassing and ­I didn’t like being different. They’ve singled me out for loads of attention. Buying bras has always been and still is a nightmare. I have to order specially-made ones that are ugly and cost up to £50. By the time I was 20 I’d already gone to see ­my GP about a reduction operation. He was ­sympathetic but said I was too young for ­surgery.

Steve’s story:

I love my wife’s big boobs and don’t want them reduced. I don’t mind admitting that Read more »

*This blog post was originally published at Truth in Cosmetic Surgery*

DIY Plastic Surgery Is Becoming Popular: Is It Ever A Good Idea?

It seems that DIY plastic surgery as a theme is becoming popular. A month or so ago I was contacted by a producer in the UK about submitting images of some DIY plastic surgery types who found their way into my office. Assuming, like much of my mainstream entertainment bits, that they don’t end up on the cutting room floor, they should be featured in a show sometime in the future.

Now the OC Register’s “In Your Face” blog is reporting on some new reality television shows looking for some fresh DIY plastic surgery talent…meaning you. A pretty scary post for Halloween.

This topic begs the question (scariness aside) as to whether or not there is ever any safe DIY plastic surgery?

The answer, of course, is conditional like most things in life: Read more »

*This blog post was originally published at Truth in Cosmetic Surgery*

Plastic Surgeon Outlines Ten Things You Should Know About Tummy Tucks

Tummy Tuck surgery is almost invariably greatly appreciated by the proper patient. These top ten facts might help you figure if you are such a person. ;)

(1) Tummy Tuck surgery is one of the largest scale operations a plastic surgeon can offer a patient.

(2) Patients who have lost a good deal of weight or completed child bearing involving large weight gain and loss are the most common candidates. Patients do not lose much weight from the operation itself in most cases….maybe a few pounds on average.

(3) Post-operative pain used to make it necessary to admit the patient to a hospital for narcotics.

(4) Pain pumps when properly utilized can Read more »

*This blog post was originally published at Truth in Cosmetic Surgery*

Will A Tax On Breast Implants In The UK Drive People Away?

The British HM Revenue and Customs is planning to impose a tax on cosmetic surgeries by slapping VAT on any artificial enhancements and procedures. According to the new guidelines by the department responsible for collecting UK’s taxes, doctors performing more invasive procedures will have to register for VAT and pass the charge on to their patients. The guidelines suggest that patients having such cosmetic procedures will have to pay the tax unless they can persuade the doctor that the operation is being carried out for “therapeutic” reasons. Although the move is being considered to help plug the deficit in Britain’s public finances, but Fazel Fatah, president of the British Association of Aesthetic Plastic Surgeons (BAAPS), said that this could harm many patients.
Source: dnaindia.com/lifestyle/report_boob-tax-to-increase-cost-of-cosmetic-surgery-by-20-per-cent_1599777

The government in the UK seeks to hasten the movement of cosmetic surgery business out of the country it seems. That will likely be the effect of the planned extension of the VAT tax to cosmetic surgery. It is already less expensive for British citizens to leave the country for their cosmetic surgery. The care in most cases is not equivalent. The reason to consider it just got 20% more persuasive however. That is a huge tax!

Here in the US, Read more »

*This blog post was originally published at Truth in Cosmetic Surgery*

Latest Interviews

IDEA Labs: Medical Students Take The Lead In Healthcare Innovation

It’s no secret that doctors are disappointed with the way that the U.S. healthcare system is evolving. Most feel helpless about improving their work conditions or solving technical problems in patient care. Fortunately one young medical student was undeterred by the mountain of disappointment carried by his senior clinician mentors…

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How To Be A Successful Patient: Young Doctors Offer Some Advice

I am proud to be a part of the American Resident Project an initiative that promotes the writing of medical students residents and new physicians as they explore ideas for transforming American health care delivery. I recently had the opportunity to interview three of the writing fellows about how to…

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Latest Book Reviews

Book Review: Is Empathy Learned By Faking It Till It’s Real?

I m often asked to do book reviews on my blog and I rarely agree to them. This is because it takes me a long time to read a book and then if I don t enjoy it I figure the author would rather me remain silent than publish my…

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The Spirit Of The Place: Samuel Shem’s New Book May Depress You

When I was in medical school I read Samuel Shem s House Of God as a right of passage. At the time I found it to be a cynical yet eerily accurate portrayal of the underbelly of academic medicine. I gained comfort from its gallows humor and it made me…

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Eat To Save Your Life: Another Half-True Diet Book

I am hesitant to review diet books because they are so often a tangled mess of fact and fiction. Teasing out their truth from falsehood is about as exhausting as delousing a long-haired elementary school student. However after being approached by the authors’ PR agency with the promise of a…

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