Category: Health

Should you combine multiple cosmetic procedures?

A question that I am frequently asked is: “can multiple plastic surgery procedures be performed in one single operation?” The quick answer to this question is yes (you’ve certainly heard of extreme cases such as Heidi Montag who underwent 10 procedures in one day…); however, it’s imperative that all safety concerns be addressed sufficiently beforehand, and that should only happen when combining cosmetic procedures is the best option for the patients. Each patient is unique, and so multiple aesthetic procedures will naturally have different outcomes on their bodies.

In this blog, I explore some of the advantages and disadvantages to having multiple cosmetic procedures at once, and offer my advice for anyone thinking of having multiple aesthetic procedures in one sitting.

Advantages of combining plastic surgery procedures

The most obvious advantage to having more than one cosmetic procedure in a single sitting is that it saves time; the patient requires only one surgery and resulting in a single recovery period, as opposed to multiple surgeries requiring numerous recovery periods, possibly resulting in extra time off work, and a multitude of consultations with your plastic surgeon.

Further advantages to combining plastic surgery procedures is the lowered cost to the surgeon and their organisation. Undergoing multiple surgeries at once requires a single anaesthetist, one consultation and one hospital bed. This will reduce the overall cost for your surgeon, and could see the cost of your surgical procedure drop slightly as a result.

Talking about anaesthetics, since many surgical procedures require general anaesthesia, which always involves risks, going under just once may be considered ‘safer’ (although you have to think about the fact that the anaesthesia will have to last longer, which can also be risky).

It is important to remember that if you desire multiple plastic surgery procedures, you should consider where on your body your surgeon will be operating. A facelift, for example, can easily be combined with a nose job (rhinoplasty), or other facial cosmetic procedures. Likewise, a breast augmentation or reduction procedure could be combined with liposuction or a tummy tuck (abdominoplasty) as they are located on the same area of the body. As such, I wouldn’t recommend a breast augmentation with a buttock lift, as moving a patient during surgery could cause serious complications.

Disadvantages of combining plastic surgery procedures

Combining aesthetic procedures does give rise to a number of potential complications. While a single dose of anaesthetic and requiring the services of an anaesthetist only once may be cheaper, it would need to be a stronger dose, which, depending on the individual, could have a negative effect on the body; the more procedures, the longer a person will be under anaesthesia leading to an increase in the chance of potential complications, such as excessive blood loss.

Furthermore, while one recovery process may sound appealing, the process will be significantly longer, and potentially more painful and incapacitating, as more of your body will need time to recuperate. Depending on the individual, this can cause serious complications, and as such I wouldn’t recommend multiple cosmetic surgeries for an individual who is not fit and healthy – I actually would not recommend undergoing any cosmetic surgery to someone who isn’t fit and healthy.

What are the pros & cons of undergoing multiple plastic surgeries at once?

Anesthesia

Pro: A single surgery means just one time under anesthesia, which can reduce your risk for anesthesia-related complications. Since most complications occur during the time you are going under the anesthesia or coming out of it, combining procedures is a safer approach for many patients.

Con: While a single dose of anesthesia may be more desirable, you may need a stronger dose that enables you to stay under longer and deeper. It’s important to keep in mind that there is a danger that comes with being under anesthesia for any extended period of time. Depending on your age and health status, too strong a dose can have a negative effect on your body and may increase the chance of complications, like excessive blood loss.

Recovery Time

Pro: Every plastic surgery procedure comes with its own recovery timeline. For some procedures, the recovery time is relatively short, while others may take a number of weeks before you are ready to return to regular activities. By combining your procedures, you only have to endure one recovery period.

Con: Having just one recovery period is appealing, but know that your recovery period may be longer and more painful when recovering from multiple plastic surgeries as opposed to a single procedure. You may need to take more time off from work and need assistance from friends and family for an extended period of time.

Costs

Pro: When you have any surgery, you’re not just paying the surgeon’s fees, but you’re also paying for the anesthesiologist and the use of the operating room. By combining surgical procedures, you can potentially save a significant amount of money because you’ll be paying these fees just one time. Plus, your surgeon may give you a discount for having multiple plastic surgeries done at the same time.

Con: If you’re saving money for a procedure, then the higher costs of a combined procedure may seem like too big of a financial goal. It may be easier for you save up what you need to have a single procedure, have that procedure, then save up again for the next procedure.

Results

Pro: In many instances, combining procedures produces improved results. For example, Breast reduction with a lift may give you a better, or more desirable result. On the other hand, if you do just the reduction and take the time to heal you may not feel you need a lift until a few years later. Likewise, combining a tummy tuck and liposuction can go farther in giving you the slimmer waistline you desire than either procedure alone.

Con: When you combine surgeries, it will take more time to see your desired results, since your body needs longer to heal. You’ll also see an increased amount of bruising and swelling. If this does not sound desirable, you may prefer to make small changes over time and ease into your new look. How you want to achieve your aesthetic goals is entirely your choice.

What plastic surgeries are typically combined?

While safety is always the top priority, many cosmetic surgeons are comfortable combining at least two surgeries as long as you’re in good health. The most common plastic surgery procedures that are combined include liposuction and tummy tuck, rhinoplasty and chin augmentation, and breast augmentation with breast lift.

Another popular option offered at Northeastern Plastic Surgery is the mommy makeover, which is a combination of breast surgery, liposuction, and tummy tuck procedures designed to rejuvenate a women’s body after she is done having children. Sometimes, procedures must be combined. For example, when women choose to undergo breast augmentation using fat transfer they must first undergo liposuction to harvest the fat and then they have the breast surgery.

When are surgeries not combined?

If you have high blood pressure, an existing health condition, or your surgeon otherwise deems multiple surgeries to be unsafe, then you’ll have to be content with having one procedure at a time.

Other considerations that go into determining the possibility of having multiple cosmetic surgeries at same time include:

• the patient’s overall health
• the areas where the procedures are to be performed
• the surgeon’s qualifications and experience
• the length of time the patient would need to be under anesthesia

In terms of body sculpting, the most popular combination procedures are:

• Mommy makeover (tummy tuck, liposuction, breast lift and breast augmentation)
• Breast augmentation and breast lift
• Thigh liposuction and thigh lift
• Face and neck lift
• Liposuction and arm Lift

Complementing Procedures

Certain cosmetic surgeries go hand in hand, so you may want to combine multiple surgeries that can be done at the same time. For example, you may need to have a tummy tuck following liposuction in order to get rid of loose skin. It’s also a smart move to combine breast augmentation procedure with a breast lift cosmetic surgery. Or, women who undergo reconstructive breast surgery as part of cancer treatment, may choose breast augmentation.

Having more than one cosmetic surgery at the same time, or having cosmetic surgery procedures at different times both have advantages and disadvantages. A skilled cosmetic surgeon in partnership with an experienced anesthesiologist can make the decision whether they’re able to perform multiple procedures at the same time, or whether they want to perform them separately.

Helpful things to learn in pediatrics

There are many critical skills to learn in Peds. You are not going to learn them all in this preceptorship, but your question is a good one. As a 1st yr student you are not yet going to have the requisite knowledge (yet) to learn what I would try to teach, say, a 3rd year med stud.

So keeping it training-level appropriate:

1. Keeping a younger child calm enough during an exam to gather useful data.

2. The mechanics of doing pneumatic otoscopy (even a 1st year can recognize the visible structures of the outer and middle ear) without hurting the child and scaring them the least possible.

3. Looking for a red reflex and for signs of esotropia and pseudoesotropia.

The latter two things are pretty much mechanistic skills and can be learned without much depth of knowledge of pathophys or experience (unlike the across-the-age-spectrum cardiac exam and the neurologic exams which I would want the 3rd/4th year to learn but take some deeper knowledge and experience with).

My question is what are the three basic skills or procedures that all pediatricians should know. The reason I ask this is that my school has a clinical medicine course that mainly covers internal medicine and as such we do not get much exposure to pediatrics. My experiences in pediatrics consisted mainly of shadowing my former pediatrician. I am hoping that I can be more active in the Preceptorship.

Some skills that I had in mind are learning how to do a well child examination, Developmental Evaluation, AD/HD Evaluation, or even learning how to use a growth chart. Hopefully I can also learn some procedures but that will depend on the physician

Doctors Your Child Needs

Children’s health doctors

Your child will encounter numerous medical professionals from the moment they are born. These people are there for your child as much as they are there for you to answer questions, diagnose illness, and ensure overall health. Some children only ever see the family doctor, while others may need an allergist or orthodontist

Pediatrician or family physician

The choice between a pediatrician and a family physician or general practitioner is for you to make

Both can meet children’s needs, including:

annual physical exams

disease care

treatment of common illnesses

Most people opt for a pediatrician, especially in the child’s youngest years. However, seeing a family doctor means your child could be with the same doctor their entire life. If your child sees a pediatrician, then they will usually switch to a general practitioner after puberty is complete. This happens around 16 or 17 years of age. When your child is first born, they will need to go to the pediatrician or family doctor quite frequently. Within the first year of life, your new baby will need up to six “well-baby” or “well-child” visits. During these visits, they will be weighed, have their development assessed, and receive vaccinations. However, after the 12-month mark, the recommended frequency of these visits drops off significantly and may vary according to your practitioner. An annual well-child visit is still advised for children older than 3 years

Pediatric dentist

When your child gets their first tooth, it’s time to think about a dentist. The American Dental Association recommends that children have their first dental appointment within six months of cutting their first tooth, and no later than their 1st birthday. This visit includes a physical exam of the mouth and an information session for you. Early examinations will help protect your child’s teeth and set up a lifetime of good dental habits. Follow the first trip with semiannual visits for teeth cleaning and exams. The dentist will take X-rays as the child gets older to ensure all of the teeth are coming in properly and that there are no cavities. Many children require treatment by an orthodontist, a doctor specially trained in braces. If your child’s adult teeth are coming in crooked, your dentist could refer you to an orthodontist to see if braces may help.

Things To Know About Dietary Supplements for Children and Teens

According to a 2012 national survey, nearly 12 percent of children (about one in nine) in the United States use a complementary health approach, such as dietary or herbal supplements. Some teens use products advertised as dietary supplements for weight loss or bodybuilding. Increasingly, products sold as dietary supplements, particularly for weight loss and bodybuilding, contain ingredients that could be harmful, including prescription drug ingredients and controlled substances. In addition, many dietary supplements haven’t been tested in children. Because children’s bodies aren’t fully developed, the side effects of these products on children and adults may differ.

things to know about dietary supplements for children and teens.

Although many dietary supplements come from natural sources, “natural” does not necessarily mean “safe.”

Federal regulations for dietary supplements are less strict than those for prescription and over-the-counter drugs.

Dietary and herbal supplements may be poor quality and contain contaminants, including drugs, chemicals, or metals. Studies of dietary supplements have found significant differences between what’s on the label and what’s in the bottle of some supplements.

Dietary supplements may interact with other products or medications or have unwanted side effects on their own.

About 4,600 children go to the emergency room every year because of dietary supplements. Most took a vitamin or mineral when unsupervised. Child-resistant packaging isn’t required for dietary supplements.

Certain homeopathic products (called “nosodes” or “homeopathic immunizations”) are promoted as substitutes for conventional immunizations, but they haven’t been shown to protect children against diseases. Follow the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s vaccination recommendations to safeguard your children against vaccine-preventable diseases. Vaccinating children helps protect our community’s and our children’s health.

Hidden ingredients are increasingly becoming a problem in products promoted for bodybuilding. Some bodybuilding products marketed as dietary supplements contain steroids or steroid-like substances. These could lead to serious liver injury, stroke, kidney failure, or other serious conditions.

Dietary supplements marketed for rapid weight loss, such as acai and hoodia, don’t help keep weight off for the long term and can have side effects. Some supplements have a lot of caffeine or herbs such as guarana that contain caffeine, which can cause life threatening changes in your heart rhythm. The FDA has also found weight loss products tainted with potentially dangerous prescription drugs.

Ask your child’s health care provider about the effectiveness and possible risks of any complementary health approaches you are considering or already using for your child. Also, remind your teenagers to talk to their health care providers about complementary health approaches they may use or are considering.

Child therapists

It’s happening again. Your daughter is frustrated and stomping away down to her room, slamming the door and in general “has her cranky pants on”. You say calm down, but she yells back “I don’t know how to do that!!!”

We tend to tell our kids to “calm down” without ever giving them explicit directions on how to deal with stress and anxiety. Here’s a collection of the best tools and tips I’ve found to teach children how to calm down and relax

Quick Ways to Calm Down

Sometimes you’ll need a quick way to help your child calm down and you don’t have much with you. Maybe it’s when you’re out at Target or stuck in traffic

These tips will come in handy at those times:

Imagine your favorite place – it’s like taking a mini vacation wherever you are

Think of your favorite things

Name animals alphabetically (alligator, bear, cow, dog, etc…)

Squeeze Something (play dough, clay, silly putty, your fists, a stress ball)

Get a Cold Drink of Water

54321 Grounding – go through each of your 5 senses

Put your arms straight out in front of you, palms facing out.

Put one hand over the other at the wrists and interlace your fingers.

Swoop your hands and arms toward your body and then place your interlaced hands on your chest.

Cross your feet at the ankles and put your tongue on the roof of your mouth.

Stay still for one minute.

tips for managing children’s anxiety about COVID-19

Many families are facing major changes in their day-to-day lives because of coronavirus disease (COVID-19). With all the unknowns that come with a new virus, it’s normal to feel anxious about the “what ifs” and the future.

This stress does not just affect adults – children and teens are also at risk for anxiety, especially as their daily routines are affected.

“Children of any age can experience anxiety,” explains Roshini Kumar, LPC, clinical therapist at Children’s Health℠. “Right now, it’s difficult to anticipate the future, and kids have been pulled from their normal routines. Any time a child faces significant change, it can cause fear and anxiety.”

Create a routine

One of the best ways to help children cope with change is to implement structure again. “Routines help us anticipate what’s coming and make us feel safe and secure,” says Kumar. “Structure and stability have been drastically affected for many families, so it’s important to establish a new normal for your child.”

Work with your child to create a new daily schedule. A healthy routine will encourage children to maintain a regular sleep schedule, healthy eating habits and daily physical activity (see ideas to stay active at home). Turn to trusted resources, such as your child’s school, for suggestions of daily work or activities. Make a goal chart or to-do list and display the chart in an easy-to-see place like the refrigerator. This will allow your child to track progress and be reminded of their hard work