Welcome to our October Newsline.

Special Economic Hardship Discount

Many of our patients are telling us that they are having to postpone surgery that they had hoped to carry out over the Holidays.  We realize that the economic downturn had caused many of our patients to look for ways to save by any means possible.  To ease the burden somewhat, we are instituting a discount program that will be in effect from October 23rd until November 26th of this year.

For all surgery and procedures carried out within that period, patients will receive a 15% discount on the surgeon’s fee.  It is limited to procedures and surgery that are not covered by any other discount or reduced fee program.  If you wish to take advantage of the program, please let us know as soon as possible since these spots are not likely to last long!  This will also cover injections and lip augmentations carried out at our Center and also at our satellite locations.

Patients must ask for the discount as it will not be automatically offered!

Discount Certificate

Dealing with Deflated Saline Breast Implants

“ I was getting out of the shower and as I was drying off, I noticed that one breast felt strange.”
This is commonly what we hear when a patient presents with the deflation of a saline implant.  A woman usually does not feel anything internally, when a saline implant begins to leak.  While this might seem scary, it is not a danger to a patient’s health.  It is a situation that, when addressed quickly, can be surgically corrected with the patient experiencing practically no down time.
The reason we try to take care of the situation quickly is because once the saline leaks and the implant becomes empty, the scar tissue surrounding the implant (referred to as the “pocket”) begins to decrease in size.  This can make replacement surgery more complicated and even more costly because the pocket must be surgically widened to allow adequate space for the replacement implant (see our information on Endoscopic Capsulotomy).  If the scar tissue is not treated, the implant can feel tight, overly firm and cause the patient mild to severe discomfort.

“Is the other implant going to leak too?  Should I go ahead and replace both sides?”
This is a very good question that we hear when the patients are planning replacement surgery.  There is a lot to be said for the old adage “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it”. The decision to replace either one or both implants simply remains a purely economic one.  In our 16+ years of experience using saline implants almost exclusively, we have seen no evidence that they are more likely to leak with age.  However, our opinion may change as the years go by if we begin to see an increase in the deflation rates.

“Do I have to go back to the surgeon that did my breast augmentation”
It is not required that a patient return to the original implanting physician for their warranty to be effective.  The two companies that manufacture saline implants, Allergan Medical and Mentor Corporation, currently have lifetime guarantees on these products.  This guarantee states that as long as a patient has one of these devices implanted and it leaks, the company will give them a replacement implant at no cost.   The companies even go further than that with a limited financial assistance program that helps by covering a portion of the operating room and anesthesia costs if the deflation occurs  within a short time of surgery.

“What does it cost?”
The fee for replacement surgery varies depending on the condition of the breast prior to the deflation, the manufacturer’s warranty, and whether the patient has one or both implants replaced.  If the breasts are soft and natural feeling prior to the deflation, the surgery can be carried out through the original surgical incision and the fees are quite minimal.  If the breasts were firm and tight prior to the deflation and an endoscopic capsulotomy to modify the pocket is recommended to loosen the scar tissue, this is done through a very small incision below the areola and will most certainly add to the final cost of the operation.

Dr. Tobin Honored in Veracruz Mexico

In September, Dr. Tobin was the featured guest lecturer at the annual meeting of The Mexican Academy of Cosmetic Surgery.  His lectures covered a broad range of subjects including facial and body surgery, liposuction surgery and a featured talk on insuring patient satisfaction with cosmetic surgery.

This is the third year that Dr. Tobin has been invited to lecture to the Academy.

The meeting, this year, was held in Veracruz, which happens to be the oldest city in the Americas, founded in 1519.  In recognition of his contribution, the Mayor and City Council presented Dr. Tobin with a certificate recognizing him as a Distinguished Visitor.

Veracruz

Cosmetic Surgery Can Boost Mood

As reported in WebMD Health News, having cosmetic surgery won’t magically change your life, but it could improve your mood and your quality of life; it also might help you quit taking antidepressant medications. Those are the findings of two separate studies presented at a past meeting of the American Society of Plastic Surgeons in San Francisco.

In one study, carried out by Bruce Freedman in Washington, DC,  he evaluated 362 men and women, most of them middle-aged women, who had undergone cosmetic surgeries such as facelifts, breast augmentation, breast reduction, and tummy tucks. Before their surgeries, 301 patients (83%) were not taking antidepressants; the other 61 patients (17%) were taking the medications. Six months after the surgery, 19 of the 61 patients on antidepressants had stopped the medication, a decrease of 31%.

In the other study, women who had surgery to correct asymmetrical breasts reported a better quality of life and higher self-esteem six months after the surgery, says Elvio Bueno Garci’a, MD, PhD, a professor at the Federal University of Sao Paulo, Brazil, who led the study.  When Garci’a quizzed the patients before surgery and then three and six months later, asking about their health-related quality of life and self-esteem, he found the treatments provided improvement that increased with time.

The entire article can be seen online at this link: Cosmetic Surgery Can Boost Mood.

That’s all for now.  We hope you enjoy our Newsline.  As always, we welcome your input.

Sincerely,

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

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