Lately a trend has developed to group everybody involved with patient care under the title "Provider". While this is all nice and lends a feeling of esprit de corps as well as equality, the final arbiter and decision maker is the physician. The responsibility ultimately lies with the doctor. As it should. Many years of training and learning takes place before the... read more »

The latest "buzz word" in medicine has been "stem cell" treatments for many debilitating diseases. The process of stem cell treatments is in its infancy and that is almost a hopeful stretch when one examines the progress in this area. Stem cell research is just beginning and our knowledge is still very limited. We know that certain cells ( so far... read more »

No. That is utterly silly! Smoking does diminish blood flow to the skin via the constricting effects of nicotine on blood vessels. This in turn can magnify the aging process of skin where loss of thickness is partly due to poor nutrition as result of decreased blood supply. One can argue that thinner skin will fold more easily like an accordion and indeed... read more »

Recent media attention to the relatively new reconstructive procedure of major facial transplantation for total or near total destruction of the human face has raised interesting points worth teaching. First, as most people realize, this surgery is not cosmetic! The purpose is to reconstruct a face that bears as much resemblance to facial features as possible. Once the initial transplant is successful,... read more »

Yes it does remove hair permanently. The important fact that everyone has to keep in mind is that, like many other treatments of our body, it takes more than one procedure to accomplish this task. Hair exists in multiple phases at the same time. Some are in a growth phase, some in sleep, and some in a normal shedding. There are... read more »

I see many people who have tried laser treatments for their leg spider veins with no visible improvement. The reason for this is that spider veins need to be injected with sclerosing agents first before laser has any effect. Injecting the vein with an irritant such as hyper-tonic saline will cause the vein to collapse thus removing 80% of the color which... read more »

No! Unless one overeats. Liposuction is the only truly permanent procedure. It removes fat by suctioning out fat cells that contain the adipose tissue. These cells do not regrow. Therefore there are fewer cells in the area after treatment. When  overeating occurs weight is gained, but now it is stored in other areas that have more fat cells i.e. where  storage capacity is greater.... read more »

Simple answer is no. Implants can last a life time, especially the gel (silicone) type. Implants need to be replaced only if there is some clinical sign (symptoms) that on further exam reveals a problem which otherwise cannot be corrected. This situation is not common.

Body mass index! The bane of everyone's existence. This index, contrived using height and weight only, is being used to determine everyone's status in regard to obesity. Unfortunately this rather simplistic formula corrals people into categories that misrepresent their true fitness level. While it works relatively well for the medium framed individual, it grossly miscalculates the people with small or... read more »

We have watched, heard and read all types of Charlie Sheen stories; most as a source of amusement and entertainment. The media has exploited the man and we have allowed it, without any objection from any corner of the globe. The argument goes that the man allows and invites public scrutiny/abuse by encouraging conversations/bouts with the media. What if Mr.... read more »