October 20th, 2011 by John Di Saia, M.D. in Opinion
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In years gone by, I spent far too much time removing small skin bumps in the office. At the time, I was sharing space with another doctor who was profiting by any service I provided. His staff scheduled me with tons of things that simply made me no money. [Meanwhile his stuff diverted some of my better business into his schedule as opposed to mine.]
The facts of life are that medicine is a business and when I am paying a huge chunk of change to overhead, I need to make that back or I operate at a loss.
Patients frequently don’t understand why I cannot remove their moles for what their insurance pays and make a profit. Well, Read more »
*This blog post was originally published at Truth in Cosmetic Surgery*
October 20th, 2011 by GarySchwitzer in News, Opinion
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MSNBC commits an egregious example of disease-mongering in a piece they headlined:
“Plastic surgeon wants to fix your ‘runner’s face’. “
What is so egregious? Let us count the ways:
• They pass along a plastic surgeon’s news release about his treatment for a condition he calls “runner’s face”.
• So it is a promotion for his treatment for a condition he has named. This is what is called “advertising” – not “journalism.”
• They provide no data.
• They describe Read more »
*This blog post was originally published at Gary Schwitzer's HealthNewsReview Blog*
October 19th, 2011 by Iltifat Husain, M.D. in News
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Researchers at Worcester Polytechnic Institute have developed a smartphone app that uses a camera to measure key vital signs. The type of technology used by the Worcester researchers is far and above more useful than a simple heart rate monitor, such as the Instant Heart Rate app.
Recently, the Instant Heart app makers received millions in funding – I hope it wasn’t based solely on the heart rate monitor app they have developed. Having a a patient’s heart rate alone isn’t that useful for a clinician, and it’s extremely easy to measure your heart rate on your own, just put your fingers to your wrist or neck.
But the work by Worcester researchers is completely different, exciting, and unlike the Instant Heart Rate app, Read more »
*This blog post was originally published at iMedicalApps*
October 14th, 2011 by John Di Saia, M.D. in Health Tips, Opinion
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Breast Lift surgery (Mastopexy) is obviously surgery to lift the breast. There are variations of this operation – quite a few variations. Breast lift operations are usually discussed relative to the “full breast lift” which has also been called the anchor lift. This operation leaves scars around the areola, under the breast and vertically between the two. The shape of the scar configuration resembles an anchor, hence the name. The potential for scars is one of the major concerns potential patients have with the surgery. This version of the operation also has the greatest potential to change the shape of the breast.
Reduced scar breast lifts came into creation to limit the potential for scarring. The important compromise, however, is that these modified breast lifts “lift” less. Reduced scar lifts can involve any portion of the full lift scar pattern. The modified lift with an incision above the areola only is called a “Crescent lift.” It provides only Read more »
*This blog post was originally published at Truth in Cosmetic Surgery*
October 8th, 2011 by RamonaBatesMD in Opinion, Research
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A study on this topic was presented at the recent American Society of Plastic Surgeons (ASPS) annual conference in Denver. The article is also in the October issue of the Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery journal (reference #2 below).
The article notes that more than 220,000 bariatric procedures are done annually in the United States. This number (IMHO) is likely to increase as these procedures have become an major tool in the treatment of obesity which now affects a third of adults in this country.
Massive weight loss, regardless of whether by bariatric procedure or by diet/exercise, will often leave the individual with excess skin. This excess skin can be both a cosmetic and functional issue for the individual.
Jason Spector, MD and colleagues designed their study to “explore demographic features and patient education regarding body contouring procedures in the bariatric surgery population.”
Their study consisted of Read more »
*This blog post was originally published at Suture for a Living*
