Denied insurance claims- the bane of patients AND doctors

I started this post 2 weeks ago and got inspired by yesterday's goofy "health summit" between President Obama and Congress. Excuse the juxtaposition of the two subjects, but I think in the end they are related.The issue of health insurance denying authorization for surgery or denying claims for procedures already performed is one of the most frustrating parts of being in practice. The New York Times featured a story on this entitiled , "Fighting Denied Claims Requires Perseverance" as it related to a patient fighting her insurer for coverage of an arthroscopic hip surgery.To me the article is less about a hip operation, but rather represents...

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Material Girl

Last night I had the pleasure of attending the filming of episode 4 for NBC’s new show The Marriage Ref. The show was absolutely hilarious! I highly recommend setting your DVRs to record Thursday nights after the Olympics. Last night’s episode was hosted by Tom Papa and his celebrity “experts” were Ricky Gervais, Larry David and Madonna.Madonna has been all over the gossip websites with speculation that she had undergone a procedure known as the "Ribbon Lift". The "Ribbon Lift" is the marketing name for a trendy little neck lift that usually takes about 30 minutes to perform. The process uses a dissolvable "ribbon"-like suspension implant to...

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Ribbon Lift

Ribbon liftRibbon lift has caught the imagination of public thanks to certain celebrities like Angeline Jolie , who is rumored to have had ribbon lift done recently to restore her once chiseled jaw line. Celebrities and others who are constantly watched and captured on camera tend to start early with facelifts. They particularly seek surgery that is least invasive and gives subtle results with least downtime and scarring . Ribbon lift fits the bill perfectly.Loss of jawline definition is one of the earliest signs of ageing and starts usually in early thirties. Overweight younger individuals in their twenties too can face this problem because of fat accumulation in lower face, upper neck and under chin. But with the onset of thirties even people with normal weight can lose the sharpness of...

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The Little Bitty "Tibi" Committee

Fashion week in New York signifies certain times of year as much as Halloween makes one think October. Twice a year, as mid-February and mid-September approach, fashionistas across the land start to get that excited itch of the approaching fashion week. For most it's the unveiling of the hottest designers newest collection that brings out celebrities, editors, and photographers alike, but for me it's a candy store of plastic surgery both good and bad, and an endless playing of my favorite two games; 'who needs what' and 'who's had what'. This year I attended the Tibi show and was giddy like a kid on a snow day as the models started walking...

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Engaged!

I know this is a side step out of the ordinary of our usual blog fare around here, but I saw a headline about Hilary Duff getting engaged and I was so genuinely happy for her. Hilary has always been extremely classy and just plain adorable. She made the transition from Disney's Lizzie McGuire to grown up Gossip Girl seamlessly. There were never any drunken photos of her dancing on tables or wardrobe malfunctions as she was exiting a vehicle. I think in Hollywood those activities have become the norm rather than the exception.Last week Ms. Duff announced that she is engaged to hockey star Mike Comrie, who she has been dating for more than...

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What's New in Liposuction : VASER

Popularity of liposuction for unwanted fat removal has generated demand for better technology which can make liposuction safer, painless and quicker. Patients and plastic surgeons alike have constantly seeked solutions that can make liposuction a better and more satisfying procedure. VASER is the latest technological offering in this context.VASER has been around since 2002, when it was approved by USFDA for fat removal. And no, VASER has nothing in common with similar sounding LASER, which also has been used for liposuction. VASER stands for Vibration Amplification of Sound Energy at Resonance. Simply put it adds the benefit of ultrasound technology to the standard liposuction procedure. Ultrasound waves are sound waves at specific frequency and one commonly comes across it during ultrasound...

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Speidi Surgery Surplus

Every gossip magazine in the country is covering the Heidi Montag plastic surgery overkill story, and it looks like her hubby Spencer Pratt is wanting to cash in on the publicity Montag has generated with her previously reported 10 procedures. Pratt has released statements to media outlets expressing his interest in chest implants, but sources close to the couple are also stating that he will also go under the knife for a rhinoplasty and liposuction. Looks like the plastic surgery bug is contagious at their house, who’s next I wonder…. Stephanie Pratt or little Enzo?  ...

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Related letter to the editor on Mayo Clinic model and Medicare

In January, I wrote about the Mayo Clinic's satellite in Arizona dropping Medicare patients claiming it was financially unsustainable. (see "The Mayo Clinic decision signals the health care bill is "One Big Ass Mistake, America"). Besides being embarrassing for the Obama administration as he'd held it up as his model health delivery vehicle, it produced a lot of teeth gnashing. For many people, they always assumed nearly all doctors accepted Medicare, and certainly an institution like the Mayo Clinic would accept Medicare rates (no questions asked).Mayo exists as a really weird historical quick of American Medicine. It established a reputation...

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Plastic Surgery Channel iPhone App... At Your Service!

The iPhone has really made life easier by providing top-notch restaurants, shopping, travel, and navigation at your fingertips. The latest iPhone app even makes plastic surgery more accessible! Check out the Plastic Surgery Channel's iPhone app on the apple.com website.Get answers to questions about plastic surgery directly from board certified plastic surgeons across the country! You can submit a question, view recent questions and surgeon responses, and even view video commentary posted by the doctors, all at the touch of a button.Looking for a qualified plastic surgeon in your area? The app lets you search by zip code or your current location...

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Also, slightly unimportant since the previous post is obviously taking over everything, but this is what I wore today. (lol not showing my eyes: see last post) Faux fur hat, beige lace dress, purple floral tights, grey knee highs all from H&M. Floral jumpsuit, Topshop. Floral cardigan, forest green skirt are vintage. White lace shirt, Urban Outfitters sale rack I think? Or maybe it's vintage. I forg...

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Lee Alexander McQueen.

My head and heart and body hurts so much right now. A man who’s work has had such a profound effect on me is just gone? I still can’t come to terms with this.To apply the term "exceptional" to his work is demeaning and arbitrary. His work surpassed the exceptional, went beyond the contemporary vision. He formulated bodies of work (through his multiple collections) pieces that were heard of not only tangibly but conceptually. Of course an idea is one thing, but to execute it in an objective space and then excel above the concept is a rarity in the societal era of the tedious and indolent. His execution, his designs, his artistic...

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Happy Doppelgänge Week!

When my mama told me I could be anyone I wanted to be in the world when I grew up, I thought she meant a princess or an astronaut, little did I know that I could be Jessica Alba.Alba, who’s latest movie Valentine’s Day, has quite the fan base, myself included, but I’m pretty positive Xiaoging’s ex-boyfriend (from China) takes the cake as her number one fan! Xiaoging, who is only 21, wants to undergo plastic surgery procedures to resemble Alba, her ex-boyfriend’s favorite actress. Her ex-boyfriend reportedly is so obsessed that his whole apartment is covered with photos and posters of Alba, and although she broke up with him because of his obsession,...

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*This post has no relevant point or thesis to it. It's just a bunch of random closely related shit placed together.So firstly let me acknowledge what I wore today. I left my camera back where I originally live and so I'm just resorting to Photobooth. I had a very limited choice of what to wear since all of my stuff was here, where I am now, but yeah, TEXTURES. Mad props to you.Everything is vintage except for the striped skirt which is from H&M.I got my nails manicured for the first time in ever at my mom's friend's nail salon and she was a bit thrown off when I asked her to omit two of them from being painted blue and to be done in white...

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Our Celebrity in Training!

Move over Paris Hilton, we have our own "Celebrity in Training" here at Dr. Walden's office. What am I talking about you ask, well here are the details. Her name is Allison, she is 15, she had a cosmetic rhinoplasty performed by Dr. Walden, and most importantly she is ADORABLE!!! What qualifies her as a "celeb in training"? Besides the fact that she is a beautiful young woman, Ms. Allison has been taking advantage of the world wide web to chronicle her journey throughout her pre and post-operative rhinoplasty procedure. She has a YouTube channel (which I will feature at the bottom of this blog post....oh, and don't forget to subscribe!) and she has a handful of video blogs where she discusses all the ins and outs of her procedure. Now this is the part of the blog where I start to feel...

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Rah Rah Ohh La La

I have been searching the gossip magazines and apparently, with the exception of Heidi Montag, the celebrity world has been on a plastic surgery hiatus. Therefore, today's blog is going to be about someone who I think would greatly benefit from the results of a procedure. One thing you may not know about me is my personal obsession with everything Lady Gaga. Maybe its my recent transition from past work in the entertainment and fashion industries but there is just something about Lady Gaga that I cant get enough of. So CLEARLY I was sooooo excited to attend her concert at Radio City Music Hall. Gaga rocked it... the set was unreal,...

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Boob Man Bachelor

Well it wouldn't be a season of the Bachelor without the girl that every girl in America loves to hate and this season's villain makes her predecessors look like sweethearts. Vienna has successfully alienated all the other contestants while managing to convince Jake that the negative portrayal of her by the other girls stems from nothing more than jealousy. Jake might want to pick up a copy of US Weekly this week to shed some light on the real Vienna. According to the magazine, Vienna not only cheated on her husband while he was serving in Iraq, but she drained his bank account of $5,000 to fund her breast implants. Can you think of anything...

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