Breast Surgery More Efficient in Surgery Center Compared to Hospital

A study published in the American Journal of Surgery found that breast surgery is safe in both the hospital and ambulatory surgery center settings, with no significant difference in complications. However, it did find that the total time spent at the facility was on average 69 minutes shorter at the surgery center.

The authors were able to do the comparison because they had a surgery center where breast surgeries were done that closed in 2005, after which breast operations were done at a hospital.

The study compared 92 patients who underwent breast operations at the surgery center with 92 patients who underwent outpatient breast operations at the hospital and analyed the following factors: anesthetic techniques, recovery room events, and duration of stay (pre- through post-op times).

Age and recovery times were similar. Complications were negligible at both the surgery center and hospital. However, the preoperative and total facility time increased when breast cases were moved back to the hospital setting.

“Findings support a common perception, namely, that outpatient surgery can be more efficiently performed at a dedicated outpatient center rather than at a hospital setting,” according to the study.

Some of the reasons for the efficiency of the surgery center include:

• Nurses at the surgery center only prep outpatients, whereas hospital nurses may process both outpatients and critically ill patients.
• The surgery center was limited to a small and uniform set of cases, whereas the hospital has a more varied and complex case mix, which can cause delays.
• The preoperative area in the surgery center was physically closer to the OR compared with the hospital setting.

The conclusion states that “the potential efficiency advantage of an ASC over a hospital has implications for patient and staff satisfaction, facility expense, and surgeon productivity.”

Dr. Kim performs several breast surgeries, including breast augmentation and breast reduction, in the Houston area.

Does Beauty Give You an Edge on a Job?

An article titled “The Beauty Advantage” on Newsweek.com argues that the quest to look good isn’t just “a vain pursuit” and that beauty can affect your career.

In today’s economy looking good is something that can’t be dismissed as frivolous, according to author Jessica Bennett.

“Economists have long recognized what’s been dubbed the ‘beauty premium’—the idea that pretty people, whatever their aspirations, tend to do better in, well, almost everything,” she writes. She then gives the following statistics:

• Handsome men earn, on average, 5 percent more than their less-attractive counterparts
• Good-looking women earn 4 percent more, on average, than their less-attractive counterparts
• Attractive people get more attention from teachers, bosses, and mentors
• Babies stare longer at good-looking faces

Furthermore, economist Daniel Hamermesh says that a good-looking man will make some $250,000 more during his career than his least-attractive counterpart. It’s no surprise, then, that 13 percent of women say they’d consider cosmetic surgery if it made them more competitive at work, according to the American Society of Plastic Surgeons. Ten percent of men would consider it as well, according to a Newsweek survey.

In a Newsweek survey of 202 corporate hiring managers, 56 percent said that qualified but unattractive candidates are likely to have a harder time getting a job. Furthermore, more than half advised spending as much time and money on “making sure they look attractive” as on perfecting a résumé.

Asked to rank nine employee attributes in order of importance, managers placed looks above where an applicant went to school, but below experience and confidence.

In addition to the article, the online Newsweek special report includes online essays, photo galleries, and interactive features on the “beauty advantage.”

Botox Approved as Migraine Treatment in U.K.

Well known as a wrinkle fighter, Botox has now been approved by the U.K.’s drug regulators to treat chronic migraines. Allergan, the maker of Botox, announced last week that it can now be used on migraine patients in the U.K. who have headaches at least 15 days a month, including migraines on 8 days.

The U.K. is the first country to approve Botox for this use, and the U.S. may be next. The FDA is likely to decide this month whether the product can be sold for migraines, Aaron Gal, a Sanford C. Bernstein & Co. analyst in New York, said in May.

The clinical trial called the PREEMPT (Phase III REsearch Evaluating Migraine Prophylaxis Therapy) involved more than 1,300 patients diagnosed with chronic migraine. At the end of a 28-day baseline period, patients were randomized to receive either Botox injections or placebo.

By week 24 following treatment, patients who received Botox averaged 8.2 fewer migraine days, which was significantly greater than the change from baseline observed in placebo treated patients of 6.2 days.

The study concluded that Botox was generally well-tolerated and an effective preventative treatment for adults with chronic migraine, giving improved quality of life and reduced headache related disability.

Lee Tomkins, director of Migraine Action, stressed it was not a “cure” but it offered hope for those who suffer the most frequent migraines. “We have been following these studies really closely and the evidence is really pretty solid. These people spend half their lives in pain. Even if they get half the attacks, it can really improve their quality of life,” said Tomkins.

The American Society of Plastic Surgeons (ASPS) statistics revealed that Botox was the number one minimally-invasive cosmetic procedure in the U.S. in 2009. Dr. Kim, an ASPS member, performs the procedure in her office in the North Houston area.

Beauty Website Launches with Videos & Month of Prizes

A new consumer website by the American Society for Aesthetic Plastic Surgery (ASAPS) was launched this week: Project Beauty aims to “cut through the clutter” and answer consumers’ beauty-related questions: What treatments work? Which don’t? How can you tell if a product is legitimate or just marketing hype?

Although sponsored by the cosmetic surgery society, the site aims to be about all things beauty—not just plastic surgery. Project Beauty is a video-on-demand website that will be updated weekly and features “a ‘who’s who’ list of experts on fashion, makeup, and skincare as well as news and first person stories on all things related to aesthetic surgery,” according to the ASAPS press release.

To kickoff the launch, the site is hosting a month-long giveaway contest called “30 Days of Beauty.” Each day from July 6, 2010 to August 4, 2010, Project Beauty will offer one prize—such as a Sonicare toothbrush, Mederma Stretch Marks Therapy, and SmashBox cosmetics—per day. To win, you must join the Project Beauty Community and enter daily to win the prize of the day.

The site debuted with a number of videos on a range of topics, including a teenager who shares her reasons for getting rhinoplasty at fifteen; a step-by-step guide to applying makeup for the day; and a woman who explains her decision to get a breast augmentation and why it was important for her to have the procedure performed by a board certified plastic surgeon.

Project Beauty also launched a social media campaign on Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube. To join the Project Beauty community, sign up at www.projectbeauty.com.