From the Breast Cancer Reconstruction Blog:

A study published in September's edition of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery examined the abdominal recovery rates and patient satisfaction after breast reconstruction with different abdominal flaps: the DIEP, SIEA and muscle-sparing free TRAM.

The authors of the study used a 12-question patient survey and retrospective chart review to compare donor-site (abdominal) function, pain, and aesthetics in 179 patients who had unilateral or bilateral breast reconstruction with 47 SIEA flaps, 49 DIEP flaps, and 136 muscle-sparing free TRAM flaps during a 5-year period.

The authors' conclusions were that breast reconstruction using SIEA flaps results in significantly less abdominal donor-site issues than DIEP flaps in bilateral cases and free muscle-sparing TRAM flaps in both unilateral and bilateral cases. The authors felt that these differences were "clinically relevant" and recommended that SIEA flaps be used whenever possible in preference to DIEP or muscle-sparing free TRAM flaps for breast reconstruction.

Read it all here.

PSP magazine has launched its first podcast series, hosted by yours truly, which focuses on laser- and light-based technologies used in body contouring procedures. I think you will enjoy the material we've assembled in this podcast series. Two very informative physicians, David J. Goldberg, MD, JD, and Patrick M. McMenamin, MD, discuss laser-assisted lipolysis in the first episode of our four-part podcast series.

The first of our four-part series can be found here.

The podcast series will cover a number of new and at times controversial topics, including fat-melting technologies, ultrasound, and RF-based products.

The emphasis is not so much on the products as the technologies -- which ones are proven, which are experimental, and which ones are likely to find their way into a physician's practice? Based on the interviews I've done on the subject, the changes occurring in the liposuction/body contouring arena are significant.

Next to the wildly popular breast-augmentation/breast-reduction procedures, bariatric surgery has gained a foothold as the fastest-growing aesthetic surgery procedure by far in the last few years. The media has gone gaga over the perceived "minor miracles" of these weight-reduction techniques ("Cure for cancer!" "Cure for the morbidly obese!" etc.).

More...