Last month, I went to the annual American Society of Plastic Surgeons conference in Seattle. It was a good trip where I learned some new approaches and had others confirmed. I will just present a list things which impressed me and explore them more fully in future blogs.
– First, there was a lot of emphasis on presenting information to current and potential patients on Facebook. I will be developing a business page soon. I have a personal one right now which I never look at and may delete to avoid confusion, so please do not use it.
– A course which I took on comprehensive breast reconstruction helped solidify my thoughts on this important part of my practice.
– I learned a new technique to improve liposuction results without using expensive and potentially dangerous energy sources.
– There was an interesting discussion on if Plastic Surgeons can remain in solo practice (over half of us are, a huge number). The conclusion was, you can, but you may need a little help from your friends.
– Fat grafting in the breast and face continues to become a more proven and popular technique. I can confirm that I have largely been happy with the results (as have patients) as long as I understand the limitations.
– I don’t do buttocks augmentation. Given the complication profile, I’m not likely to start. The circumferential incision techniques for large weight loss and selective liposuction are most reliable.
– A great talk looked at common plastic surgical practices such as antibiotic use and antiembolic prophylaxis and it is surprising how little good information is really out there.
– A facelift panel concluded that a good result is largely based on proper technique and patient selection. The technique itself did not matter so much as long as it was well performed.
– Fillers and Botox are not cure alls, but still have their place in early aging.
That is all that comes to mind at the moment, but I am sure that I’ll think of a few more topics. We may send out an additional e-mail if and when the business Facebook page comes to fruition.
