October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month

As you are likely aware, October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month. Yesterday evening, we (the office of Drs. Bruno and Brown) hosted our second annual cocktail party in honor of breast cancer awareness as a way to celebrate our patients and loved ones who have had to deal with breast cancer. These women are truly special and give all of us inspiration and hope in unfounded ways.

The evening was marked by a festive room with a panoramic view of the street below. Pink balloons and pink martinis filled the room along with energetic conversation. The diagnosis of breast cancer, surgical treatment, chemotherapy, radiation treatment and reconstruction seemed to be all forgotten if only for a few hours. As a spouse of one of the patients had put it at the end of the evening... "surgery heals the body, but this heals the person".

A donation on our behalf of all those who attended will be made to the Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure. We hope that breast cancer awareness will continue throughout the year.

Beauty on the High Seas

Steiner Transocean LLC, a spa and skin care company, will be offering their services aboard Norwegian Cruise Line. These services would include injectable fillers such as Botox® , Restylane® and Perlane® . But who will be performing these services...

While the medical director of Steiner Transocean LLC is a board-certified by the American Board of Plastic Surgery, he is not the one performing the procedures, but "overseeing" them. The injections are done by a team a medially licensed doctors on board the ships.

Yes, these procedures are minimally invasive and can be done in a short period of time with minimal risk and recovery, but they should still be considered as procedures and best performed in a stable environment by a board-certified plastic surgeon. Not to mention what if you need a "touch-up or correction" and your trip has ended, you will be the one left on an island. Enjoy your cruise, save the minimally invasive procedures for land.

Medicare Payment Cut Stopped

The U.S. House of Representatives and the U.S. Senate voted to override President Bush's veto of the Medicare Bill on July 15, 2008. The Medicare Improvements for Patients and Providers Act of 2008 (H.R. 6331) has become law and the 10.6% physician payment cut that had taken place has been reversed.

This override was in part due to the active lobbying by the American Medical Association and the American Society of Plastic Surgeons. We thank all of those who contributed to the cause.

The end result of this bill will allow us, as Plastic and Reconstructive Surgeons, to continue to provide plastic and reconstructive surgery to the Medicare population - this is a service they may need and well deserve. As a Board Certified Plastic Surgeon, I am happy to provide this care.