Houston Plastic Surgery Blog » Safety

Talk about irresponsible journalism…”Nip and tuck on a budget in Argentina.”

Dr. McKane — Fri, 11 Sep 2009 15:31:43 +0000

This morning as I sat down to read CNN online, I was struck by the article “Nip and tuck on a budget in Argentina.” If you’d like to read it for yourself, here’s the link: CNN. The highlights of the article are “Thousands visit Argentina for cheap cosmetic surgery. Combination of top doctors, weak currency make country attractive. Patient: It would have cost $50,000 dollars in Canada but only $10,000 in Argentina. Estimates say that 1 in 30 Argentines has gone under the knife.”

This article is totally one sided and in my mind a disservice to the public. It plants the seed that medical tourism is a great concept without any problems. The issue that I have with this article is that it fails to recognize that Plastic Surgery is in fact surgery.

The author likes to talk about the benefits of having surgery in a foreign country. But what about the risks? How can a potential patient assess the qualifications of the foreign surgeon? Is the procedure being performed in a safe and clean environment? Are there appropriate protocols in place to avoid the transmission of hepatitis or HIV or other diseases? How will the followup be arranged? Who’s going to responsible for this care? Is it really a good idea to be mixing recovery with some vacation activities like swimming or remote locales? What if there is a complication? How is that handled? At what cost? What legal recourse will there be if there is a disaster?

If you believe all the marketing hype about beautiful results in exotic locations, let me point you to an Australian Society of Plastic Surgeons survey that polled 68 surgeons. 59% of them reported seeing patients with complications from cosmetic surgery done abroad. 22% of them had treated patients on more than one occasion.

Furthermore, when you return home, what type of welcome do you think that you’ll receive if you need followup care or care for a complication? From a kind and caring surgeon that you have an established relationship with? Or, from one that is angry, worried about you, and concerned about medical liability from a mess that you created? There is a lot of resentment in the medical profession towards individuals that seek surgery away and then expect to be seen for care. I received a response to my post “After medical tourism, how exactly do you plan to follow up? that hits this sentiment squarely on the head. The respondent notes, “I hope the medical tourism has turned out to be a medical disaster for the patient. ”

Our websites www.beauty-surgeon.com and www.drmckane.com have additional information and before and after photographs of aesthetic plastic surgery for review. I invite you to schedule a consultation with me if you would like to learn more about medical tourism or any of the procedures that we offer. Please feel free to contact our office at (713) 661-5255 if you have any questions.

-Brice W. McKane, M.D.

After medical tourism, how exactly do you plan to follow up?

Dr. McKane — Wed, 09 Sep 2009 18:10:17 +0000

I’m compelled to blog today about a patient that presented to me for help. She was a “medical tourist” who had undergone a tummy tuck procedure in Brazil because it was discounted. She thought that she would be saving a bundle of money and getting a vacation in the process.

What she didn’t account for was the complication she would experience and the cost that this would be to her. Approximately six weeks after her procedure she presented to me with a large area of abdominal skin death and an invasive infection. I took her case and before her problems were resolved she required several additional surgeries, weeks of dressing changes, antibiotics, and consultations with other physicians. The cost of this care was not covered by her insurance company and rapidly resulted in hospital bills in the tens of thousands of dollars.

The sad part of this story is that when she presented to me, the cat was out of the bag . She had been attempting to nurse herself at home for a period of time until things became dramatically worse. Had she been able to followup with her surgeon, the problems that she experienced could have been recognized sooner and appropriate treatment could have been initiated earlier.

So my questions for you, the reader, considering medical tourism: how exactly do you plan to follow up? What will you do if you experience a complication from your procedure? Even though it may seem like discount surgery abroad, can you really afford it?

-Brice W. McKane, M.D.

“My breasts haven’t gotten any smaller. Why do I need to replace my leaking silicone implants?”

Dr. McKane — Fri, 21 Aug 2009 16:30:16 +0000

Today in clinic I visited with a patient that had silicone implants placed 20 years ago. She had been referred to me because she had undergone an MRI for an unrelated reason and her implants were noted to be ruptured on the study. I recommended that she replace her implants. She asked, “My breasts haven’t gotten any smaller. Why do I need to replace my implants?”

Unlike saline implants which will deflate, silicone breast implants can rupture and a woman may remain completely asymptomatic and not be aware of it. This is termed a “silent” rupture. If this occurs, the silicone gel spills into the space around the implant that is contained by the scar that the body develops around the implant (capsule). The problem with this is that at times the gel can then migrate from this space into the breast tissue. Silicone migration can occur even further and reports have shown that it can reach the elbow region, shoulder, chest, abdomen, groin, and even the shins. The migrated gel can cause inflammation that presents as nodules under the skin. These nodules are called siliconomas. Siliconomas can cause pain and at times may create a communication to the skin’s surface that will ulcer and then drain. Migrated gel has also been reported to cause lymphadenopathy (inflammed lymph nodes), infection, fibrosis, and skin retraction. The management of this problem usually requires surgical excision. Depending on the area involved and the amount of silicone to be removed this can be very difficult or disfiguring. So to answer this patient’s question; replacement of leaking silicone implants should be performed to avoid these problems.

Our websites www.beauty-surgeon.com and www.drmckane.com have additional information and before and after photographs of silicone breast augmentation for review. I invite you to schedule a consultation with me if you would like to learn more about silicone breast augmentation or silicone migration. Please feel free to contact our office at (713) 661-5255 if you have any questions.

-Brice W. McKane, M.D.

You are risking your life if you have silicone injected at a salon or a “pump party.”

Dr. McKane — Fri, 31 Jul 2009 18:14:55 +0000

I was saddened today when I visited with a transgender patient in consultation. She had undergone several silicone injections to her breasts by unlicensed individuals. These injections occurred in the back of a salon in a Latino neighborhood and at a “pump party.” She presented to me because now her breasts were basically “rocks” and she had developed several infections and draining areas. Unfortunately, she was so severely disfigured that all I could really offer her were mastectomies to remove her breasts.

The injection of non FDA approved products or industrial silicone at parties or salons is criminal. Anyone who considers this procedure is gambling with permanent disfigurement or death. There may be no way to remove the substance from your body without a radical procedure as I have indicated above. Severe tuberculosis infections have even been reported. Other complications can occur as did in this patient with chronic infections and draining wounds. When these substances are injected by an untrained individual there is no accountability for sterility, the product being used, or for the possible transmission of diseases like hepatitis and HIV.

There is absolutely no reason to consider these injections when there are approved alternatives that can be performed safely by a Plastic Surgeon or another trained physician. If you are considering undergoing an injectable procedure I recommend visiting www.injectablesafety.org a website with numerous resources for you to review.

Our websites www.beauty-surgeon.com and www.drmckane.com have additional information and before and after photographs of injectable procedures for review. I invite you to schedule a consultation with me if you would like to learn more about any of the injectables available for use. Please feel free to contact our office at (713) 661-5255 if you have any questions.

-Brice W. McKane, M.D.