Painkiller Addiction After Surgery
After surgery, I typically prescribe painkillers such as Percocet or Vicodin. Pretty standard fare for patients to deal with their pain after an invasive procedure. If I was to estimate, I’d say that that one prescription is enough for 80% of my patients. The other 20% may need another prescription but very few, I’d venture […]
Patients Love to See The Skin and Fat I Remove! Before & After Photos
I started doing something a few years ago in preparation for my plastic surgery boards that triggered an epiphany about what humans find interesting. Here’s some background. For any plastic surgeon to become board certified, they must “collect” cases for approximately half a year after they pass their written board examination. This means that they […]
Don’t Spend All of Your Money!
I see it every year. There’s a mad rush to have cosmetic surgery from October through December so patients have time to recover during the holidays. But then the New Year comes and consumers have no funds left over for anything else. People speak of New Year’s Resolutions and work out for a week […]
The New Surgeon: Are Patients at Risk?
You wake up one night with abdominal pain that starts around your navel (“belly button”) and within a few hours it moves to the lower right section of your abdomen. The pain is so significant that you can’t go back to sleep. Naturally, you make the decision to go to the ER. It’s December, right […]
High Deductible Health Plans Make for Better Consumers of Healthcare
In the recent article by Robert Pear in the NY Times, consumers are learning that their deductibles will be higher in the Affordable Care Act (italics added by this author). This act would be more appropriately named the Accessible Care Act because for most, it will make health insurance more accessible but not more affordable. […]
Juvederm Voluma: Now Available in San Francisco
Well, it’s finally here. I wrote about the impending approval of Juvederm Voluma in a previous blog post but now it’s available right here in San Francisco. For those of that are unfamiliar with Juvederm Voluma or want to learn more, continue reading. Juvederm Voluma is a new product from Allergan, the same company […]
Note to Concierge Medicine: Watch Out for the Charlatans Among You!
As reimbursements continue to go down, especially with the Medicaid expansion across the US, and other attempts at reducing costs, more and more physicians will stop taking insurance. This comment is not an attempt to pull at American’s heartstrings with sympathy for doctor pay. It’s a statement. A statement that is anecdotally supported by a […]
Friggatriskaidekaphobia (Fear of Friday the 13th)
Never heard of friggatriskaidekaphobia?! It’s the fear of Friday the 13th (today, if you’re reading this on Friday the 13th, 2013). How do you come up with a word like that? Well, Frigga is the name of the Norse goddess for whom “Friday” is named in English and triskaidekaphobia is the fear of the number […]
The Republican Slugfest
Last week’s NY Times article highlighting Republican’s continued efforts to mount legal challenges to the new healthcare law are embarrassing me as a Republican-leaning independent. For one, this ship has sailed. The opposition may have future victories in court but they’ll be minor in comparison to the Supreme Court’s decision to uphold the Act. The Affordable […]
To Offer BHRT or Not to Offer BHRT?
After six months in practice here in San Francisco, I noticed many patterns in this tech-savvy, co-ed intellectual workforce. One is the request for BHRT or bioidentical hormone replacement therapy to help stave off cardiac, intellectual and emotional changes associated with aging. Because the provision of this type of medical care is not isolated to […]
