Posts Tagged risk
Tsa Body Scanners, Exposure and Cancer
Posted by admin in Dr D's Truth on April 15, 2013
Amongst those issues argued as the tsa body scanner debacle ensues is risk. The bottom line is that to expose the public in a massive way to radiation exposes them to risk. Widespread and frequent radiation exposure of this type has not been implemented before, and the effects will likely take many years to reveal themselves. In essence if we continue this policy, we won’t know the long term effects until decades later.
We have a historical example however; that of “low dose” radiation exposure for acne. In the 1950′s, it became popular in some countries to submit people suffering form acne to “low dose” radiation exposure as treatment. It worked in many cases. Here is an Australian case example of a patient who later developed many cancers.
I have seen occasional patients (it wasn’t as common in the US) who had had radiation treatment for acne as children and without much history of sun exposure developed massive numbers of skin cancers as well as other malignancies. There is also some evidence of increased risk for breast cancer and sarcomas. At the time of the actual “treatments,” these risks were of course unknown. Who is to say our current tsa scanner policy is not going to produce another such group of patients in the decades to come?
Profiling might not be politically correct, but massive scanner exposure even in minute amounts seems likely to increase cancer rates. Profiling will not. This is simple folks.
Best Regards,
John Di Saia MD
Originally posted 2010-11-24 09:00:07.
Reader Question: Mold in Saline Breast Implants?
Posted by admin in CHS, Dr D's Truth on February 25, 2013
I read online a woman telling about how her saline breast implants got mold and she had terrible problems. Does this happen very often?
A few years ago I put up a YouTube video of my experience with silicone gel breast implants. Now every year or so somebody posts a comment about how saline implants are just as dangerous. A frequent feature of these responses is a statement about a moldy saline implant. My response is and always has been, if saline implants are so often affected by mold, then why have I never seen it?
I have been implanting (and at times removing) breast implants for over 15 years. You would think if something was a dangerous and common phenomenon that I would be seeing it. I haven’t. Not even once. I have seen occasional implant infections but they have always been bacterial, not fungal.
Breast Implant Infections
Breast implant infections can be a big deal. That is the main reason that doing what we can to minimize them is important. When an implant within a person’s body becomes infected by bacteria or fungus, simple pharmacological treatment is usually not enough to stop it. The implant must usually be removed. An infection affecting a breast implant will therefore plague the patient until that implant is removed and the body can clear the remaining infection. A moldy breast implant is fortunately a rare problem and we would like to keep it that way. 
Breast implants have risks, but these risks can be minimized by making good choices….choose good surgical talent and facilities, don’t go too large, put your implants under good soft tissue coverage and stay with saline over silicone implants in most cases.
Best Regards,
John Di Saia MD
Originally posted 2011-06-29 07:30:11.
Post op Breast Implants & Breast Sex Question
Posted by admin in breast implant pre-op tutorial, Dr D's Truth on July 28, 2011
As many of you know I have a web site, this blog and a forum or two that I surf and at which I receive questions. This one was direct:
The Question:
“I feel silly asking the question but I just got my breast implants done and my man really likes boobie sex. When can we do it? My doctor did a great job, but is so conservative. I would feel stupid asking him. I feel less silly asking you as I have read you site and blog for quite a while now.”
An Answer:
This definitely qualifies as the question of the week. The question has been asked before but you don’t “beat around the bush” at all (no pun intended). LOL.
Patients tend to be a bit embarrassed in asking questions about cosmetic surgery and sex. This has been a recurring topic on a many forums that I have frequented over the years, but there it usually comes up after tummy tuck surgery. I also put up something brief on my web site directed toward assisting my patients with post-op sex issues. These issues obviously interest many people, but many like yourself are too embarrassed to ask.
Ideally you would ask your surgeon what he or she recommends. Patients do not realize that not all surgeons do surgery in the same fashion with the same materials. So what I recommend to my patients may not be the best for you. In fact, following the advice of anyone other than your surgeon has more risk than following your surgeon’s direction. Understand that implants are not made to last forever and you are planning upon some extra wear. 
Just looking into how to answer this question was a trip. What to even call the “act” is difficult without using censored words. Wikipedia calls it “mammary intercourse.” The Brits apparently call it a tit wank. The implant makers probably wouldn’t recommend it, but it is done as we all know. Some of my patients have told me it was a motivator adding to the desire to have the implants in the first place.
So I am offering you general guidelines only and not medical advice:
You can probably “test drive” your new rack a month after surgery. If you are a redo operation, you definitely want to ask your surgeon first. Have your man avoid licking the breast on the area of the incision (the healing line through which the implants were placed) or getting any bodily fluids on it for at least a month after surgery or a week after it appears completely closed (without scabs) whichever comes second. Be gentle the first time, use plenty of lubrication and definitely stop if anything hurts.
Happy playtime.
Best Regards,
John Di Saia MD
Originally posted 2008-07-21 07:30:00.
Sheyla Hershey Breast Implant Removal Surgery
Posted by admin in plastic surgery complications, plastic surgery news on January 20, 2011
The world has come to know her well. Sheyla Hershey is known for her striking smile and her large M cup breast implants. She has tried to save them for the past three months, but that fight has come to an end. Hershey had to have her implants removed, along with most of her own breast tissue. Hershey tells FOX 26 News her surgeon realized in surgery that most of her tissue was too damaged to save. She says her surgeon tried to save just enough tissue to attempt reconstructive surgery within three or four months.
Source: myfoxhouston.com/dpp/health/100909-sheyla-hershey-breast-implants-removed
When she had the surgery to make her the largest breast implant patient in the World, I said it was risky. Sheyla Hershey ultimately realized some of that risk. When implants so large are placed the pressure stretches, thins and to an extent destroys tissue. There is not enough breast tissue to cover the implants in these types of cases. The implants are too large.
In Sheyla’s case, the implants became involved with infection which undoubtedly further destroyed tissue. She had a Wound Vac put in to help encourage wound healing in the absence of tissue…mainly to close the space the implants had developed. It is doubtful that she will be able to have large implants placed once again as the soft tissue cover has likely been severely compromised.
In essence she has become a reconstructive type case. This is sad. Things will end up looking pretty poorly by the sounds of things. This type of outcome is almost unheard of with the much smaller, more routinely implanted sizes.
“Really big comes with really big risk with breast implants.”
Best Regards,
John Di Saia MD
Originally posted 2010-09-10 19:00:29.
Misconception Correction – Silicone Gel Breast Implants & Risk
Posted by admin in breast implant pre-op tutorial on August 31, 2005
Looking at the online forums, it seems that the prevailing attitude is that if you are having problems with your saline implants, a switch to silicone gel is the universal cure.
Although I am not in total agreement of the FDA position on the matter, I believe that silicone gel implants pose a long term risk to the patient. In my experience, they tend to harden much more readily than their saline-filled counterparts. The newer cohesive gel types are just that: “new.” There is no long term data showing us how patients implanted with them will do. They are probably better than the older gel implants, but they will leak to some extent and the outcomes of this are not as of yet known.
Hardening in the case of silicone gel frequently involves calcification. Your body deposits calcium inside a scar tissue shell around the implant. It looks like egg shells:
This patient had had silicone gel implants for twenty years before I removed them. The white layer in the picture is calcium.
Saline-filled implants do not tend to do this in the same way or to the same extent.
Best Regards,
John Di Saia MD
Dr D – Your Orange County Surgeon
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