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BREAST AUGMENTATION VIDEOS

“Fat Transfer” Procedure Allows Patients to Trade Fat Thighs for Bigger Breasts
BY ADMIN ⋅ JULY 9, 2010 ⋅ EMAIL THIS POST ⋅ PRINT THIS POST ⋅ POST A COMMENT
From the bottom to the bust. Or mid-section to mammary. Fat transplant technology has made science fiction into medical fact. A relatively simple series of cosmetic procedures can now use unwanted fat in a hip or thigh area to enlarge a woman’s bosom.

“My patients have been asking about this for a long time,” says Dr. Bill Johnson, Medical Director of Innovations Medical. “And now, it’s reality. We can remove unwanted fat from a mid-section or thighs and use it for breast augmentation. It’s easier and healthier than most other breast augmentation procedures, and the results are remarkable.”

Clinically, the process is called autologous fat transfer, or natural breast augmentation. Advanced liposuction technology has been coupled with new fat grafting procedures to allow physicians to remove and then relocate the fat tissue within a matter of hours. The patient is awake during the procedure and can have it completed in one morning or one afternoon.

“Many women haven’t been satisfied with their implants, or just don’t like the idea of a man-made substance inside their body,” says Dr. Johnson, “for them, fat transfer is the answer.” Besides using the body’s own tissue, fat transfer requires smaller incisions, less anesthesia and the recovery is typically much quicker. For women who have had both procedures, the comparison is stark. Most of them say fat transfer offers a more natural feel, no worry of leakage and no concerns over an auto-immune reaction to the chemical implant. In addition, fat transfer is usually cheaper than implant surgery.

“But not all women are suitable fat transfer candidates,” warns Dr. Johnson. “She has to have enough excess fat, be healthy with a series of completely normal mammographies. We don’t want to complicate any existing conditions.”

“Breast Fat Transfer” is still a relatively unknown procedure, making up only approximately 5% of overall domestic breast augmentations. As the procedure’s popularity expands, however, that number could quickly grow.

Watch out for fake cures for swine flu.

As flu season gets into full swing, con artists are peddling an increasing number of fake–and sometimes dangerous–drugs that purport to cure or prevent H1N1 to a population increasingly nervous about getting sick.

The Food and Drug Administration recently ordered a bunch of these advertised remedies from a proliferation of Internet sites that promised prevention or cures. Several sites advertising Tamiflu–a costly, but effective treatment for Swine flu–sent out bogus products.

One of the orders, which arrived in an unmarked envelope postmarked in India, contained tablets made up of talc and acetaminophen (the active ingredient in Tylenol), according to the FDA. Others contained some of the active ingredients in Tamiflu, but not in the same proportions as prescribed treatments. Few of the web sites required a prescription.

“Medicines purchased from Web sites operating outside the law put consumers at increased risk due to a higher potential that the products will be counterfeit, impure, contaminated, or have too little or too much of the active ingredient,” said FDA Commissioner Margaret A. Hamburg.

That boosts the risk that you’ll suffer side effects from inappropriate use of prescription medications or dangerous drug interactions. There’s also a chance that you’ll get contaminated drugs, containing impure or unknown ingredients, she added.

In reality, your best chance at preventing Swine flu is to follow grandma’s advice:

Wash your hands frequently.
Drink plenty of liquids (ideally hot liquids).
Keep your fingers away from your face.
Gargle with warm salt water once a day to kill bacteria.
Blow your nose, and, perhaps, swab it daily with a Q-tip dipped in warm salt water.
Why are these things helpful? The points of entry for a virus are your eyes, nose and mouth, said Dr. Donna Barsky, pharmacist with Texas Star Pharmacy in Plano, Tx. Because bacteria can get on your hands when you touch things–from doorknobs to drinking fountains–that were handled by sick people before you, your chance of getting sick is closely correlated to how much you touch you face and how often you wash your hands.

Warm salt water kills bacteria, but briefly. Hot liquids wash the bacteria into your digestive tract, where the chemical stew in your stomach can kill the germs before they spread.

Barksy also recommends that you carry a hand sanitizer and use it, particularly if you spend a lot of time in crowded public places. If you’re unusually vulnerable or nervous in areas where you’re in close quarters with a crowd, wear a surgical mask, she said. Both of these prevention moves are cheap and easy.

The symptoms for Swine flue are a high fever–usually 103 to 104–listlessness, muscle aches and a severe headache. If you have those symptoms, get to a doctor, she said. They’ll test for the virus and can prescribe treatment if the test is positive. If you get treated in the first 48 hours, your chance of kicking the virus in less than five days is good, she added.

Typically, doctors are prescribing Tamiflu, she added, but it has side-effects that make it important that you have medical supervision if you take it. The real deal (as opposed to the fakes being peddled online) is also expensive. Barsky says that a 25-ml dose costs about $65 for someone without insurance. Those who do have insurance are finding that their coverage varies widely, with some companies covering the treatment in full and others demanding large co-payments.

Whatever you do, don’t order drugs from untested Internet sites, the FDA warns. Unless you have a lab, you’re not going to know what’s in the package. That’s dangerous to both your health and your wealth.

www.texasstarpharmacy.com

SWINE FLU: H1N1 VIRUS

By Donna Leinwand, USA TODAY
Health departments and hospitals are shifting into emergency mode as clusters of swine flu develop across the USA, and some are activating pandemic plans for the first time.
Many states have declared a public health emergency in anticipation of a pandemic, a global epidemic in which the new flu strain spreads from person to person. Some of these states have requested their share of the federal stockpile of flu medicine as at least 10 states — Arizona, California, Indiana, Kansas, Massachusetts, Michigan, Nevada, New York, Ohio and Texas — have confirmed swine flu cases.

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Emergency rooms are reviewing their plans for handling a mass outbreak of illness and stepping up infection-control measures, such as distributing masks to all employees. Pharmacists and medical suppliers are reporting brisk sales of masks.

Virginia, which has no confirmed cases of swine flu, prepared for a possible outbreak by activating its pandemic plan for the first time since it was created in 2002, Bob Mauskapf, director of emergency operations for the state’s health department, said at a news conference.

The state put its pandemic plan — which outlines procedures for communicating with the public, dispensing medicine and monitoring outbreaks — into effect after the anthrax attacks killed five people and sickened 17 others in the USA.

Virginia has conducted pandemic drills six times since 2006.

“Based on the rapid spread of the virus, we believe more cases will be found in the coming weeks and months,” Mauskapf said.

As part of its emergency operations, state officials are conducting daily conference calls with local health departments and school districts to identify outbreaks of illness and are contacting the state’s doctors and health care workers, he said. If the disease emerges in Virginia, the state might close schools, ban large public gatherings and activate its medicine distribution plan, he added.

Virginia also declared a health emergency Monday, allowing it to request its share of flu medicine from a federal stockpile. The state has 770,000 courses of flu medicine and has requested 280,000 treatments from the federal government.

‘Power to prepare’

Virginia is taking the right steps, said Sharona Hoffman, a professor of law and bioethics at Case Western Reserve University and a former researcher at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention who has participated in some of the CDC’s pandemic exercises. All states should declare public health emergencies in case the virus continues to spread, she said.

“You might think it’s an overreaction, but that’s the way to put in place the resources you need and give authorities the power to prepare,” Hoffman said.

The CDC, the lead federal agency in a pandemic, has rehearsed its plans for years, Hoffman said. The CDC has activated its preliminary pandemic plans for the first time, which include communicating daily with the public and health care providers, surveying the nation for outbreaks and positioning resources, she said.

“This is the first opportunity to see how it works,” she said. “You don’t know exactly how it’s going to work until you have the actual scenario.”

Baltimore’s Johns Hopkins Medicine, a center that includes hospitals, clinics and a medical school, began its first stages of pandemic preparations on Saturday as news of the first U.S. cases emerged, said Jim Scheulen, executive director of Hopkins’ Critical Event Preparedness and Response (CEPAR) office.

CEPAR gathered its leaders Saturday night to launch its plan. The next day, staff training included information on isolating patients who appeared to have the flu. The CEPAR staff also began issuing equipment, such as masks, he said.

The group conducts two conference calls each day and is discussing ways it could handle an anticipated spike in patients who believe they have swine flu, Scheulen said. “I think we were all surprised with how quickly this cropped up, so we’re glad we made plans,” he said.

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‘A million calls’

Pharmacist Donna Barsky, owner of Texas Star Pharmacy in Plano, is keeping careful track of cases in the state and has taken stock of her supplies. She is not worried about shortages.

The federal government, Barsky said, is releasing medicines from its national stockpile in stages to states that have confirmed or suspected cases to minimize hoarding. The CDC said ample flu medicine is available and has released a quarter of its stockpile.

Wholesalers that have stocks of the medicines also are dispensing carefully, she said.

Meanwhile, Barsky is fielding what seems “like a million calls” from her customers.

“They are concerned, especially if they have respiratory problems already and cannot afford to have the flu,” she said.

Some people have asked for antiviral medicines, which she cannot dispense without a doctor’s prescription. “Most of the doctors are being very careful about not prescribing for people who do not have symptoms or who are not at risk,” Barsky said.

Masks, she said, also are selling briskly, especially among pilots and other frequent travelers.

A 3M manufacturing plant in Aberdeen, S.D., that produced about 250 million masks last year stepped up production from five days to seven days this week to meet demand, plant manager Lee Compton said.

Some places sold out of masks. Employees at Poudre Valley Health System, a medical supply store in Fort Collins, Colo., said they sold their last box of face masks Monday.

Said store manager Janell Gerk: “The last time we had this happen was when it was all about the bird flu.”

Contributing: Jeff Martin of the Argus Leader in Sioux Falls, S.D., Trevor Hughes of the Fort Collins Coloradoan

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