February 2010
Dr. Chris was just awarded with the Patient's Choice Award for 2009 by Vitals.com. This is the second year in a row. Unlike other distinctions, like Chicago's Top Doctors or Whos Who where you actually pay and advertise to get your name associated with those titles ( ever wonder why the top doctors in Chicago Magazine every year are the same ones who advertise every month in the magazine?), this is voted on by actual patients, and reflects the setiment of our patients.
Thanks to all who signed the petition to stop the cosmetic surgery tax! It proves that with enough pressure, occasionally congress will actually listen to the populace. It was omitted from the senate healthcare bill and will not be part of an overall plan.
Allergan is offering one of their countless promotions for using Juvaderm. If you get a Juvaderm treatment before Valentine's Day, you get a free lip plumper. Mary, as well as some of the patients, report that it works very well for those of you who want a little fuller lips without some sort of injection or implant.
One of our patients, Jo Tossi was just on WGN for their breast cancer series. She had a bilateral mastectomy and reconstruction, and is doing fantastic. She is very young, so is a good person to hear from when it comes to younger women and breast cancer. You can see her at http://www.wgntv.com/videobeta/watch/?watch=441d25d2-35a8-4c1a-a770-f4ad5486c8d4&src=front
We are still waiting on the ultra-cohesive gel implant approval ( 4th generation silicone gel implants - 410 series by Allergan and CPG series by Mentor). They are being held hostage by the FDA for unknown reasons. They have had the data for over two years, and it is all very safe and positive, but the FDA wants to see the two companies there reporting on the 3rd generation cohesive silicone gel implants. These are the ones that are used currently. The 4th generation implants are really designed for breast reconstruction patients, and it is a shame that they are not on the market for those women.
Both Dr. Chris and Dr. Vince are part of IraqStar (www.IraqStar.org), a volunteer organization that helps perform surgery on our veterans from Iraq and Afghanistan who cannot get the care they need through our VA or military hospital system. They have been part of the organization for a year now. If you know any vets who could benefit from this, refer them to the website and they will guide them the entire way. This is a volunteer service with no cost to our veterans.
Because of the economic downturn, many people are putting off routine health care visits. Please continue to get your annual mammograms and gyn check-ups. We are not seeing the usual number of breast cancer patients being detected. The breast oncology surgeons report a big drop-off in new patients, which means women are not going for their screenings. It may be harder financially in these times, but the earlier you detect something, the easier it is to treat it.
Case of the Month
The patient is a 33 year old female who has undergone multiple breast surgeries by different physicians over the past 5 years. She originally had a breast augmentation, but then developed issues with her left breast after a subsequesnt surgeon disrupted her pectoralis muscle on that side, creating a severe weakness in the medial area of her left breast, and unilateral synmastia. The pocket for the implant was also made too low so that the implant sits lower than the opposite side. Three revisions by her third surgeon resulted in no change.
The patient came to us and underwent chnage of her implants to narrower implants so that there was not as much tension on the medial area of her breast, reinforcement of her left breast fold to keep the implant higher up, and repair of her synmastia with Strattice. Strattice is a dermal matrix that is used to reinforce the medial area, keeping the implant from pushing closer together, and hiding the folds/ rippling that she had in that area from the weakened tissues. The patient is 6 months out and doing very well.
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