A NEW LOOK AT TUMMY TUCKS

The evidence is everywhere.  

America is rapidly becoming The Land of the Obese.  

More and more patients have having bariatric procedures done to lose weight, and I mean a lot of weight, ie, 80, 90 or 100 pounds and more.  More than 200,000 bariatric or weight loss surgeries are performed every year. 

With such massive weight loss, body contouring becomes a top priority and, in some cases, a necessity due to skin rashes and body odor from perspiration trapped under the folds of skin.  As a result, a standard tummy tuck (that is,  an incision across the lower abdomen) may not be enough.  

So one may do a “fleur-de-lis technique.”  This is the same, but it also includes a vertical incision to help get at excess skin vertically as well as horizontally.  The procedure is done, after the bariatric surgery, as an outpatient.

If you would like to know more about Tummy Tucks, call my office and ask for Dr. Brueck at 239-939-5233. I'll be happy to set-up a private, confidential, no-charge consultation. 

Fat is a terrible thing to waist. 

MASSAGE – GETTING YOUR MONEY’S WORTH

After a hard day's work or a long mentally draining day, (the kind of demanding day a plastic surgeon goes through, LOL), there is nothing like a good, firm, relaxing massage.

A new research study has revealed there is more to a massage than meets the eye. It seems a massage can affect our genes that lead to healing of our muscles.

Scientists took eleven volunteers and placed them on a stationary bike and had them ride until they were totally exhausted. They then massaged one of each volunteers thighs for 10 minutes.

The results? The thigh that was massaged found that the genes associated with inflammatory/soreness were three times less active. The massage also increased, by 30%, the gene that creates mitochondria which increase energy/healing.

So maybe the next time your get a massage, the $50 or $60 you "lay out" maybe money well spent.

NEW INDICATION FOR BOTOX

Today's question from Fort Myers plastic surgeon, Dr. Robert Brueck MD: What will they think of next?

I guess the only limitations of finding uses for Botox is your own imagination.

Now they are injecting Botox in a patients stomach. These injections are NOT in the patients skin on the outside, but are actually injected with a needle to the mucosa or lining of the stomach.

I was watching a doctors' show – it seems there are as many as there are 7-11 stores – and a gastroenterologist was injecting Botox into a patients stomach.

The idea is that by injecting Botox into someone’s stomach it slows down the emptying of the stomach – hence – the patient feels “full” and does not eat as much.

At last, a new weight loss program (?).

The GI doctor (gastroenterologist) who spoke about this has had her stomach injected and has lost 7 pounds over several weeks. Who knows a “Botox” cocktail may be just around the corner.

NEW WAYS TO RESEARCH PLASTIC SURGERY

The way patients get information on plastic surgery is undergoing evolution.

Years ago, it was word of mouth or a referral from your family doctor. Then advertising hit the airwaves and now we have the internet.

A recent survey by the American Academy of Facial Plastic Surgeons shows a whopping 42% of prospective patients get their information from social media sites such as Facebook.

It is amazing to me, as a Fort Myers Plastic Surgeon, how popular and powerful the social media are becoming. Some of my patients spend 1-2 hours a day on social media sites.

I guess the concern I would express – don’t rely of this ALONE to make your decision on who to go to for your cosmetic surgery.

That said, if Facebook is one of your favorite places to research, you'll find me at http://www.facebook.com/DrBrueckMDFortMyersplasticsurgeon. You can "like" me there and receive my informative, and occasionally amusing message on your newsfeed.

WHEN SHOULD I HAVE A FACELIFT?

The question has been bantered about for all the ages. I hear it all the time among my patients.

There really is no set answer, but a recent study was reported in the Plastic Surgery Journal this month. The study included 89 women who underwent facelifts. There were three groups, under 50 years of age, between 50 and 60, and over 60!

The results revealed that younger patients, ie: under 50, with minimal signs of aging consistently had a more positive satisfaction rating following their surgery.

In my practice as a Fort Myers Florida plastic surgeon, I’m seeing more younger patients who want to get a jump start to looking younger and maintaining their youth.

NEW PRESCRIPTION FOR CYSTIC FIBROSIS

I remember as a young medical student in Chicago how devastating a diagnosis of cystic fibrosis was.

Still today, as a veteran Fort Myers plastic surgeon, it breaks my heart to think about these youngsters.They would usually never live long enough to get their drivers license.

There are over 30,000 patients with cystic fibrosis in American today.

Vertex Pharmaceutical just got FDA approval for a new pill called Kalydeco. It is used to treat a small segment of cystic fibrosis patients.

The cost for one year - $294,000.

The reason? Because the company spent millions to develop it and the number of people using it will be miniscule.

A more expensive drug is Soliris. It is used to treat a certain blood disorder and it’s cost? $409,500 per year.

It seems shameful that these drugs cost so much. But, if there is not enough income to pay for the research, there would be no research.

And the good news is that every breakthrough usually opens the door for another breakthrough.

SUPERBUGS? Will they meet their match?

As a Fort Myers MD, I am frequently asked about "superbugs".

We all know what they are - they’re in the news a lot. They seem to be unstoppable. We might see them as flesh-eating bacteria, leading the way in an epidemic of antibiotic, hospital-acquired infections. Now, a new weapon in the fight against these invaders may be available. Researchers in Israel have found a way to restore a bacteria’s sensitivity to antibiotics. This process is LYSOGENIZATION.

In this technique, scientists use bacteriophager (virus that attack bacteria) to invade resistant bacteria which then can restore their antibiotic sensitivity. So far these new “phases” have not been tested on superbugs, but soon will be.

GLAUCOMA & GEOGRAPHY

As a plastic surgeon involved with aspects of physical beauty, I am drawn to information about vision. It is, after all, the principle way we experience physical beauty.

So, what could the vision problem, glaucoma, possibly have in common with geography? Well, they both begin with G.

But, seriously, there appears to be more to this than meets the eye. It seems people who live most of their lives BELOW 41 Degrees north Latitude (i.e. passes through Chicago) have a SIGNIFICANTLY lower risk of developing exfoliation glaucoma. Exfoliation glaucoma causes protein deposits in the eye which can lead to vision loss.

And here, we thought people were moving to Florida for the weather. We learn new and interesting things everyday.

FOLLOW-UP TO PIP GEL IMPLANT

Dr. Robert Brueck MD, Fort Myers plastic surgeon, reports on the status of French breast implants.

I wrote earlier about the French government paying to have silicone implants removed. The implants were PIP implants manufactured by Poly Implant Prothese’.

The Society of Plastic Surgeons has been monitoring the events as they unfold. To date PIP implants have not and were not approved for use in the U.S.

Again – women who engaged in “medical tourism” and went abroad to get their augmentation – well, you may want to inquire which type of implants you have.

WHY DO DRUGS COST SO MUCH?

How many times have I heard – “that’s outrageous!” - when talking about the price of a particular medicine?

My brother, Bill. takes a pill every day that costs upwards of $25.00. That’s pricey. But in the end, it all comes down to the cost to develop the drug, the cost to manufacture and the size of the potential market.

Drug research is $100 billion a year endeavor.

I was reading an article in the Wall Street Journal that prompted this little article. Two years ago, some researchers in Boston showed how they could kill cancer cells by targeting a protein in the cells called STK33 – don’t ask me what it stands for.

Amgen, the well known biotech pharmaceutical company, jumped all over it. They put together a team of scientists/researchers totaling 24 to see if they could duplicate this. If they could, this could prove to be a pathway to create new drugs to fight cancer. After 6 intensive (and expensive) months – all their efforts had failed.

One of the cornerstones of original research is reproduceability. In other words, if one lab does research, say, in Chicago, can that research AND results be duplicated in a lab in Miami or Paris? That is crucial.

Bayer, the big pharmaceutical company, has halted nearly two-thirds of phase 2 trials in drug research. Phase 2 involves reproducing results from other labs.

The bottom line is that those FAILED attempts cost money – cost real dollars. Bayer is not alone in failed attempts. In that list are companies like Amgen, Pfizer, Eli Lilly and many others. Drug research is not cheap. This helps explain in part the rising cost of prescription drugs.

Obviously, as a Fort Myers Plastic Surgeon, I wish with you that drugs could be developed at lower cost. But researchers must be paid, facilities must be built and maintained and gambles are taken that the research will produce a life-saving or life-enhancing drug. When it doesn't, that cost drops to the bottom line of the drug companies.

When it does, the bottom line for all of us is a priceless advance in our health, quality of life and longevity.