July 7th, 2011 by RamonaBatesMD in Health Tips, Opinion, Research
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I read the LA Times article by Shari Roan, Study urges more individual mammogram guidelines, with interest. As Roan notes, guidelines to date have mainly focused on a woman’s age and not her other risks factors.
The American Cancer Society recommends that healthy women undergo screening mammograms every one to two years beginning at age 40 regardless of risk factors. In 2009, the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force recommended a different schedule which urged the inclusion of an individual’s personal risks: screening for women ages 40 to 49 should be based on individual risk factors and women ages 50 to 74 should be screened every two years.
Monday, a paper was published in the Annals of Internal Medicine (full reference below) which argues for a more personalized approach to screening mammograms.
The study by Dr. Steven R. Cummings, senior author and senior researcher at the California Pacific Medical Center Research Institute, and colleagues was based on a computer model comparing the lifetime costs and health benefits for women who got mammograms every year, every two years, every three to four years or never. Read more »
*This blog post was originally published at Suture for a Living*
July 2nd, 2011 by John Di Saia, M.D. in Health Tips, Quackery Exposed
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I read online a woman telling about how her saline breast implants got mold and she had terrible problems. Does this happen very often?
A few years ago I put up a YouTube video of my experience with silicone gel breast implants. Now every six months to a year somebody posts a comment about how saline implants are just as dangerous. A frequent portion of that response is a statement about a moldy saline implant. My response is and always has been, if saline implants are so often affected by mold, then why have I never seen it?
I have been implanting (and at times removing) breast implants for over 15 years. You would think if something was a dangerous and common phenomenon that I would be seeing it. I haven’t. Not even once.
A saline implant when left on a table outside of your body can develop mold, but this doesn’t seem to happen inside patients. The difference is probably that when implants are properly placed inside a woman’s breasts, her immune system helps protect them from such problems. Read more »
*This blog post was originally published at Truth in Cosmetic Surgery*
June 23rd, 2011 by John Di Saia, M.D. in Opinion
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Reader Question:
I want to get the [labiaplasty] surgery because I’m really embarrassed about the way I look… but I’ve read online that some experienced really bad results and ended up having pain for the rest of their lives… due to nerves getting trapped and stuff… how common is this? Do you make sure that no nerves get trapped? Because I believe that sensitivity is more important than the look… and how much do you usually remove? the bare minimum or…? I’m afraid of being embarrassed that I got this operation if I go through with it.
Labiaplasty is a serious consideration. The online reflections of all patients who have had surgery however encompass a multitude of different operations.
It is my belief that Read more »
*This blog post was originally published at Truth in Cosmetic Surgery*
June 16th, 2011 by John Di Saia, M.D. in Opinion
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Reader Question:
All I see online is bad Botox stories. Can this ever be done well? Why is it so popular?
Botulinum toxin injections temporarily paralyze muscles where they injected. While this sounds scary, it can be done to reduce certain facial movements that make people look concerned (the look of consternation,) and older (crow’s feet,etc). As is usually the case in plastic surgery, too much of an otherwise good thing can make people look weird. Just look at Read more »
*This blog post was originally published at Truth in Cosmetic Surgery*
June 11th, 2011 by John Di Saia, M.D. in Health Policy, News
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TRENTON — Minors in New Jersey wouldn’t be able to get Botox injections unless a doctor says it’s medically necessary and documents the reason, under a bill moving through the Assembly. The Assembly Health and Senior Services Committee approved legislation Thursday to clamp down on doctors injecting people under 18 with botulinum toxin for cosmetic purposes. The Federal Drug Administration already bars anyone under 18 from getting Botox for cosmetic reasons. The new state legislation would go further by requiring doctors to document in a patient’s chart the noncosmetic medical reason for performing the procedure on a minor. Botox is used widely to smooth out facial wrinkles, but also can be used to treat headaches and spasms.
Source: app.com/article/20110520/NJNEWS10/305200023/Botox-regulations-minors-pass-NJ-committee
?odyssey=mod_sectionstories
This prospective law in New Jersey would make Botox injections illegal in minors without a doctor’s statement that it is medically necessary. Unfortunately this is not to say such a law would have the desired effect. There are docs who will write those “permit slips.” Watch how many of these Botox-using minors get headaches.
I am not really a fan of laws restricting the flow of medicines. I do not believe they work well. Then again Read more »
*This blog post was originally published at Truth in Cosmetic Surgery*
