Archive for April, 2013

Nipple reconstruction

Yes, it can be done… but should it be?  All of the techniques of nipple reconstruction can produce a prominent bump similar to that of nipple.  BUT fast forward one year and most are no larger than a mosquito bite.  Most methods also FLATTEN projection which seems self-defeating.   I’ve come to the conclusion that there are no viable and reliable methods of reconstruction and instead prefer 3D tattooing done by a tattoo artist rather than myself.  There is a doctor who insists on scarring the areola with some kind of cut that leaves a permanent visible scar around the reconstructed areola… perhaps it is his ‘brand’ but regardless, it looks awful to the patients that see me after as well as to myself.  So just because you can, should you?  I think not.

What is ‘best’?

A colleague of mine mentioned to me that he was the fastest and best surgeon… and it struck me as odd that he would feel compelled to make such a statement.  In my experience, speed kills and causes all kinds of other complications.  And it made me think about just who is the ‘best’?  I have never esposed to be the best because I know I am not.  I am conscientious, wise from my experience and humble about my outcomes.  I will always do my best to get the best outcome for my patient.  So what does this other surgeon imply when he says he is the best?  I was in a group where one doctor’s complications outnumbered the other doctor’s complications combined!  But this one individual thought he was the best.  I had a colleague who always took longer in the OR then estimated, presumably to be more careful with his surgery.  But did this make him ‘best’?  I can’t say our results would support that.  So I guess ‘best’ is a deceiving term and in the end meaningless amongst colleagues.  I certainly wouldn’t want a doctor who thought of himself as the best but failed to deliver on that concept repeatedly.  Its a perception and reality of how you treat your patients that makes you good, and perhaps the best in their eyes.  And in the end, that is all that matters.