vol.7, No 3 – December 2008

Welcome to our December Newsline.

Welcome to our December Newsline. We hope that all of our patients and friends enjoy a happy and healthy Holiday Season.

JetaJeta Makes a New Friend

I’m sure that all of you are now familiar with Jeta, our resident Doberman. She is now a year and three months old and continues to charm all of us and our patients. Recently, we spent a short vacation in Ruidoso and, of course, took Jeta with us. While there, she made a new friend.

 
Busy Midland Odessa

OilAs many of you know, our Midland – Odessa practice is quite busy. As a result, it often takes a couple of months to get in to see us on our visits to the area. We realize this is a hardship, but there are only so many hours in a day, and we feel it is more important to spend adequate time with our patients than to squeeze in extra appointments. As a result, many patients from the Midland – Odessa area choose to drive into Abilene for their initial appointment.

In an effort to at least make the drive a little less expensive, we have instituted a policy of reducing the price of an initial consultation for patients who are unable to get an appointment for consultation at the next scheduled visit. This will apply to all of our satellite locations.

In other words, if you call to schedule a consultation, and we are fully booked your consultation fee will be reduced from $75 to $45 if you choose to come into Abilene for the appointment. Hopefully, this will at least cover your travel expense.

Secondary Breast Tuck

Breast LiftWhen patients seek breast lifting procedures we always caution them that the operation is far from perfect. The problem is that most individuals seeking this operation have a problem with a lack of good skin elasticity. For that reason, it is necessary to over-correct the tightening of the breast to allow for later relaxation. Still, over time, the skin on the bottom of the breast will stretch. This can also be a problem for women who have undergone breast reduction surgery. Now don’t get me wrong in this regard, most patients are quite satisfied with the operation in that there is almost always a major improvement, but it is certainly less than ideal in many cases.

In many cases, a major enhancement can be accomplished through a relatively minor secondary “tuck up” procedure, wherein the skin on the lower portion of the breast is further tightened. This procedure involves no additional scaring, as the previous scar is removed during the tightening. As long as nipple relocation is not required, the procedure is easily accomplished under local anesthesia in our minor surgery suite, thus keeping the cost very reasonable.
Additionally, patients who had their original surgery done at our Center will enjoy a very special and substantial price reduction for the surgery. Let us Breast Implants and Cancer Safety know if you might be interested in considering this option.

Breast Implants and Cancer Safety

According to a review conducted at Vanderbilt University’s Ingram Cancer Center, and reported in the November 2007 issue of Annals of Plastic Surgery, women who receive silicone breast implants do not have a higher risk of breast cancer or other cancers and do not experience lower survival rates after a diagnosis of breast cancer. Additionally, the review found no causal associations between silicone breast implants and health issues such as connective-tissue disease, neurologic disease or birth defects in children born to women with implants.

“Few implantable medical devices have been investigated for safety hazards more extensively than silicone gel-filled breast implants. For almost three decades, researchers around the world have been conducting in-depth studies on the health of women with implants to determine if there are significant health risks. The evidence is clear that implants are not linked to serious disease,” according to Joseph McLaughlin, Ph.D., professor of medicine at Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center.

The researchers reviewed several large studies that used control groups to provide comparison data and found that while the sensitivity of mammography may be reduced somewhat by the implants, women with implants, in fact, do not present with more advanced cases of breast cancer or suffer from lower survival rates after diagnosis with breast cancer, both of which would indicate interference by the implants. There is also no evidence that the implants caused higher rates of cancer, regardless of anatomic site.
Special Deal on Restylane

restylaneThe company that manufactures the popular filler Restylane is making a special offer good until January 4, 2009. Patients who are treated with one syringe of Restylane can receive a $50 rebate from the company, and those who are treated with two syringes are eligible for rebate of $100. We are sweetening the deal even more. During the same time period we will offer match their offer on Restylane injections during the same period of time which means a total of $100 off one syringe and $200 off two syringes. Remember, the offer expires January 4, 2009.

That’s it for now. Again we wish all of our patients and friends a Merry Christmas. Happy Hannukah and a prosperous and healthy New Year.

Sincerely,

Howard A. Tobin, M.D., F. A. C. S.
www.newlook.org

For general information: askdena@newlook.org or n41gt@newlook.org