Prophylactic Mastectomy - an ounce of prevention is worth 5% of cure

Sometimes things that are so obviously intuitive still have to be validated. After a number of years of controversy, an increasing utilized surgery to prevent breast cancer is now being shown to be quite effective in both risk reduction and cancer-related mortality. The study "A Population-Based Study of Contralateral Prophylactic Mastectomy and Survival Outcomes of Breast Cancer Patients" is published in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute and can be seen here.Contralateral prophylactic mastectomy, (CPM), a preventive procedure to remove the unaffected breast in patients with disease in one breast, clearly appears to offer a survival...

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Study confirms that breast implants do not affect breast cancer survival

A recent Canadian study long term follow-up (see here) confirms prior observations that women with breast implants who go on to develop breast cancer have similar outcomes as women without implants who develop cancer. This is more reassurance to our patients about this theoretical concern with implants (ie. that potential difficulty with mammograms would lead to delayed breast cancer diagnosis and worse outcomes). Along a similar vein, women with implants actually have a much lower (~ 40% lower I think) rate of breast cancer as compared to peer groups in the population. ...

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From Chest to a Desk

On Wednesday night, my friend Ashley and I went to the filming of America’s Got Talent with judges Howie Mendal, Peirs Morgan and Sharon Osbourne. While the show itself was really funny and entertaining, it seemed all of the reporters and press at the filming wanted to know about was what Osbourne was going to be doing with her 34DD breast implants.Osbourne recently revealed to the Today Show on NBC that she plans on having the removed and is apparently even giving them to her rock star husband Ozzy to use as paper weights.Here are some tips about how to go about removing silicone or saline breast implants: Carefully make an educated decision...

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Old-In Young-Out

It has always been a challenge to keep up with the constantly changing dos and don'ts of life. Who can forget when eating anything non-fat was all the rage, giving all of America a false sense of how to stay slim regardless of portion size. Did we really think eating the ENTIRE one pound bag of twizzlers was going to be good for our waistline? So America gets fat and what's the solution...low-carb! Overnight being within 10 feet of a piece of bread would up you a size. It has been the same with exercise over the years. I remember a time when fitness experts everywhere promoted cardio until you were literally blue in the face. Then all...

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This is what I wore to study today.This is me showcasing my hair, and oh shit! It's pink again!This is the song I've been listening to on repeat for the past several days.This is me saying bye because I have an exam in seven hours. Bye!Top and blazer are thrifted. Tights are from a halloween costume shop called Malabar located in Toron...

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LXNY Segment Boobs vs. No Boobs

LXNY produced a GREAT segment yesterday about the dilemma to get breast augmentation or not. This is always such a hot topic no matter what is going on in the media. As it would have it people like Kate Hudson and Heidi Montag gave these ladies PLENTY to discuss. In addition to experts from magazines like In Touch, was our own Teneia Wooten. Ms. Wooten is a recent patient of Dr. Walden who underwent breast augmentation. Teneia is such a excellent example of the kind of women that make up the majority of patients that undergo breast augmentation. I think with Hollywood stars like Heidi Montag and Pamela Anderson splashed all over the tabloids, we as a society associate breast augmentation with those type of results. To be honest woman like Teneia who have a natural and beautiful result...

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Photoshop is now a Faux Pas

It seems the latest trend in the Hollywood hills is to forget Photoshop and start releasing photos for print campaigns that show the celebrities in their natural state. Check out the latest ladies willing to dare their bare.Britney Spears un-airbrushed for CandiesJessica Simpson without makeup on the cover of Marie ClaireKim Kardashian nude and showing off her curves for Harper’s BazaarSarah Palin and her crow’s feet on the cover of NewsweekWhile all of these leading ladies look great, I can’t help but push front my opinion of Palin getting a couple cc’s of Botox to those crow's feet!...

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Christmas Morning

It feels like Christmas morning! I have been waiting for this moment all my blogging life and it has come at last. Kate Hudson FINALLY got breast implants. She has been famously flat-chested forever, going on record in the past about loving her small breasts. I always commended her for loving what the man upstairs gave her, but couldn't help but think she would look even better with a little help from the silicone gods. From the looks of this picture, taken from the current issue of US Weekly, Kate has had a change of heart. The change is subtle, but leaves little question as to what's been done. If you look at the "before" picture above...

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Slick Deals from Allergan for Botox or Juvederm rebate

One of my favorite shopping websites is Slickdeals (www.slickdeals.net) which is a user driven collection of random shopping deals around the internet. You can find some fantastic bargains on all kinds of things, and the site is updated throughout the day by users reporting sales and promotional items.In honor of this, I'd like to point out the "slick deal" Allergan is offering on it's products thru July. Allergan is the world's largest breast implant manufacturer, but they also make BOTOX, the dermal filler Juvederm, and the eyelash growing solution Lastisse. Thru July they are offering a $50 rebate coupon on either BOTOX or Juvederm purchases...

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Real Housewife Admits She Gets Plastic Surgery

There are 2 new Real Housewives of New York joining the cast of Manhattan’s Upper East Side elite: Jennifer Gilbert and Sonja Morgan, according to a press release from Bravo TV.Rumor has it Morgan will replace Bethenny Frankel which would literally devastate me, her and frienemy Jill Zarin make that show! Bethenny hope you and Jill make up and become friends again soon! While Gilbert looks pleasant, but Morgan reportedly claims to be the “straw that stirs the drink,” and has three interests: sex, shopping and plastic surgery. Watch this promotional video from Bravotv.com that has a clip of Morgan presumably receiving Botox® injections in the...

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FDA to mesotherapy - Put up or shut up! (but shut up first)

The FDA last week issued cease and desist orders for a number of clinics offering fat melting "mesotherapy" injections.  The drugs most regularly used in this process are phosphatidylcholine and deoxycholate. Other drugs or products such as vitamins, minerals, and herbal extracts are often mixed into the "gumbo", complicating any assessment of safety or efficacy. Phosphatidylcholine is not approved for injection into your body and has never been evaluated for that use in controlled settings. The new warning shot over the bow went out to six U.S clinics: Monarch Medspa in King of Prussia, Pa.Spa 35 in Boise, IdahoMedical Cosmetic...

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Today I've felt a sense of clarity for several reasons:i) I have realized my Macbook has in fact not shattered internally, the battery just won't charge. I have in fact wasted several (many) hours mourning what I thought was gone forever but as I type this I emit a sigh of relief. Forget my lecture notes and research essays - do you know how many photos of neon hair I have on this thing? Enough to make people with naturally coloured locks genuinely frightened. But no, I'm actually very grateful it isn't trivial, or else I would be stuck on a wonky 1997 Windows PC (can you say D:) for the remainder of the summer. Let's just say things would not...

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Officially Grown Up

Who can forget the catchy Pussycat Dolls song "When I Grow Up" that had every tween around the country singing about wanting "to be famous and have boobies". Well looking at recent photos of Pussycat Dolls lead singer, and Dancing with the Stars contestant, Nicole Scherzinger, it is pretty obvious that she can now check both of those off her list of desired accomplishments in life. She has been famous for quite some time, but up until recently has been small busted. She has never shied away from wearing body revealing outfits and her new cleavage is impossible to miss in her DWTS wardrobe.Perez Hilton put this 'before and after' comparison...

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Anxious Amy

I was over at Makemeheal.com yesterday and I saw a new post on songstress Amy Winehouse that caught my eye. Most people know by now that the pop star underwent Breast Augmentation last fall. It was recently reported on People.com that the singer recently checked into the hospital due to "chest pains". Many of Amy's family members have spoken to the press stating that she feels the "pains" are from the breast implants. One of Amy's friends was quoted as saying:"Amy was in agony and became convinced it was something to do with her boobs. She thought she would leave it for a while but the pain go worse. She went into the clinic on Thursday...

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There's no escape from Magical Thinking on health care apparently

There's a good bit of magical thinking around the idea of preventive care. One of the most disingenuous aspects of this is the push for these measures as "free" as part of the health care reform debate. Nothing of value is free, and in health care the overhead propping up the system makes that even more true. Now there are both cheap and expensive measures that included in what we call preventive care or cancer screening, but at the end of the day they do not save money (even if they may make us healthier). It's actually counterintuitive that some bad habits or diseases from them (smoking or diabetes) may actually save  money as they...

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Growing Hacks in Cali...Cali - Underqualified cosmetic surgeons plague the Golden State

Nod to LL Cool J in the post title :)California is an iconic part of the United States that sets many trends. Unfortunately one of these trends is the growth of under or untrained physicians performing cosmetic surgery procedures. A snapshot of who is performing cosmetic procedures in California, published this month in the journal, Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery, examined 1,876 cosmetic practitioners from San Diego to Los Angeles. Only 495 of them were actually trained in plastic surgery. Primary care physicians with no surgical training to speak of made up the 4th group of liposuction providers following plastic surgeons, dermatologists...

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FDA Cracking Down on Unproven Lipodissolve (Mesotherapy) Treatments

Thank goodness! The U.S. Food and Drug Administration today issued warning letters to six U.S. based medical spas and a company in Brazil for making false or misleading statements on their Web sites about drugs they claim will eliminate fat in a procedure called “lipodissolve,” or for otherwise misbranding lipodissolve products.  These companies involved have made claims that the drugs they use for their lipodissolve procedures are safe and effective; however, these products have not been evaluated or approved by the FDA for this use. Check out the Associated Press report that has my commentary on the topic featured on USA Today.Lipodissolve...

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Have MERCY!!

Can you believe that is little DJ Tanner??? I must admit I haven't thought about Candace Cameron Bure in years. I have seen her pop up here and there in those Lifetime movies, but other than that she has been out of the public eye. I was over at Perezhilton.com checking out the most recent gossip and at the bottom of the first page was pictures of Candace announcing it was recently her Birthday.I noticed as I was looking through the pictures that she is a part of a new show on ABC Family called "Make It or Break It". I have never seen the show itself, but it seems to have a large following and is growing in popularity. The first episode...

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Bring it on down to Plasticville

For those of you who haven’t met Dr. Walden, one thing you might not know about her is how funny her one-liners can be. She often is livening up our office (not that it needs it, we’re obviously continuously entertained) with jokes and funny clips for us all to watch about Plastic Surgery, celebrities and pop culture. One of my favorites that she found was when Justin Timberlake was on Saturday Night Live doing a skit on Plasticville. Click the link below to see Justin cover Lady Gaga, Kelly Clarkson (my two favorite singers ever) and the Black Eyed Peas. Maybe I can convince Dr. Walden to change our slogan to “Bring it on down to Plasticville”…...

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Makeover Idol

American Idol is known almost as much for its contestant makeovers as it is turning virtual unknowns into overnight celebrities. Who can forget Clay Aiken first walking on stage as a nerdy kid from North Carolina only to end the season with millions of "Claymates" loving his edgier, revamped look. How about Carrie Underwood? Yes she was cute during her idol days, but not even close to the league she's in today with her size two figure and glam look. Not only have we grown accustom to watching the contestants style evolve throughout the season, but these makeovers are as anticipated and talked about as the finalists vocal progression . It...

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Are your breast implants under warranty?

The New York Times had a story last week (see here) on how expensive orthopedic implants for knees and hips were to replace when they failed. As the cost of the devices themselves (without hospital or physician charges) can run north of $15,000, it can be more then $50K on the price tag when these patients require re-operation for premature failure. Highlighted in the story was the fact that the manufacturers did not expressly provide a warranty for replacement costs of their implants.Much like these orthopedic devices, patients with breast implants can expect their devices to have to be replaced at some point in their life, either thru device...

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I Promise its Plastic

This weekend I had the opportunity to attend Promises, Promises, the musical comedy. Let me first gush about how great the show was. I have seen a substantial number of shows, and am not always impressed with the performances. However, this one surely made my top 3. It was witty, interesting, creative, and every detail of the musical numbers, stage props and acting were incredibly engaging. Having been a Kristin Chenoweth fan from her golden Galinda days in Wicked, I was curious to see how her dancing, voice and aging appearance could stand the tests of time as I had not seen her in person since this past February in Mercedes-Benz Fashion...

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Comme des Garcons Fall/Winter 2008 (this is the Comme Comme line, right? correct me if I'm wrong). Fast forward to 3:53 until 4:15.So I felt like literally translating this outfit because I realized I had just about all the piece she was wearing. Well, cheaper versions of the pieces anyway. I better run though I have a lot of errands to run before hopping on a bus to New York tomorrow morning. I'll try and blog those days, but nevertheless I'll have pictures for when I arrive home. Later days!Blue button up from mom's closet. Skirt and shoes are thrifted. Pants and socks from H&M. The white thing on my skirt is a piece of stri...

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