August 22, 2012

Spider veins 101: How to win the unsightly badge of aging legs

Even if you have nice tight and toned legs, those little blue spider vein marks can make your legs look older than you would like.

In the simplest of terms, veins serve as a channel for blood to flow back to the heart. Valves open and close to assist blood flow and to prevent blood from following a normal pull of gravity. Varicose veins can result from damaged or weakened valves, which allow blood to build up in certain areas.

There are numerous products and medical procedures for you to regain fashionably bare legs.  Varicose veins can become painful if left untreated, can lead to severe blood clots, skin discoloration, skin ulcers and tissue loss. For women with varicose veins, shaving can be difficult because of the raised veins overlying thin skin.

Less troublesome are spider veins, milder relatives to varicose veins, are fine, short veins resembling a tangled web or sunburst. The most common place for varicose and spider veins to occur are in the legs, more specifically within the thigh, calf and ankles.

Spider veins, various veins, blotches and pigment loss affect half of all people 50 and older according to the US Department of Health and Human Services. In addition there are several vein other problems including spider veins, the tiny bluish ones usually in an area on the legs. While they’re usually not harmful, many consider them unsightly.

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Quality, satisfaction ratings augment referrals

The decision on a health-care provider — be that a physician, chiropractor, or hospital — is a personal one that deserves thought and research.

While Fairview Heights resident Denis Wienhoff didn’t directly choose providers for his employees, he said he began using group health benefits provider ADP to both control costs and be sure his workers could keep their physicians. He owns Missouri Stencil Products in Park Hills, Mo., and labeling firms Chicago Coding Systems and Coding Solutions Inc. in St. Charles, Ill. “As a small business trying to do their own evaluation, we could switch plans every year based on price, but there would be no continuity,” Wienhoff said. “That’s not fair to the employees.”

When Wienhoff’s personal physician left primary care, he got references from his former physician to other doctors. “Go in and sit down and interview the (prospective) doctor,” Wienhoff said. “How many patients does he have, how is the practice run?”

When his new physician, Dr. Daniel Gaitan, decided to offer services through concierge medicine company SignatureMD — seeing a smaller number of patients who pay an annual fee — Wienhoff decided to stay. “It’s doctoring like when I was a kid,” he said. “The time, the attention and focus you get.” Like Wienhoff’s, your health plan might not cover the annual concierge fee, he said. Also, ask if your concierge physician will continue to take co-pays through your health plan.

Since physicians are the only ones who can admit a patient to a hospital, patients usually seek recommendations from doctors on which hospital to choose, said Dave Dillon, spokesman for the Missouri Hospital Association, a member-based nonprofit. “But there’s a significant amount of quality data available for hospitals,” he said. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ Hospital Compare website (www.hospitalcompare.hhs.gov) offers information on everything from hospitals’ emergency room wait times to use of medical imaging. Review the site’s patient satisfaction data, Dillon suggested, and ask your friends and neighbors for references, “because a lot of it is experience-based.”

As owner of Patient Advocacy Services of St. Louis, registered nurse and lawyer Christine Krieger helps people, often geriatric patients or those with chronic conditions, navigate the health-care system. She said to first decide what type of health-care provider you need: a specialist, a chiropractor, a physical therapist? Next consider other special needs, such as location or languages spoken, she said.

Once you’ve narrowed the field, ask friends for references, or even better — a friend who’s a nurse or doctor, Krieger said. “Nurses know what doctors are good in their specialty and which ones listen.” Review physician and hospital ratings by rating service HealthGrades.com, Krieger said.

Ask for a “new patient” appointment and try to have your health records sent ahead of time, Krieger said. Take a list of questions with you to your appointment.

“Once you go, don’t be afraid to change providers,” she said. “You have to click with the person.”

Signature MD

Original Article

August 15, 2012

Top plastic surgeon creates plastic surgery aesthetics bible, ‘Be Your Best’

If you have the slightest interest in plastic surgery, it is best to be armed with all the knowledge you can be. Common sense dictates that you only consult with a board certified doctor and make sure whatever procedure you elect is their specialty.

All doctors have different areas of expertise, but very few can claim mastery of most.

Internationally acclaimed aesthetic plastic surgeon Peter Bela Fodor, M.D., F.A.C.S. is one of the rare doctors whose natural ambidextrous ability (he can operate and use each hand equally) creates the most dramatic results. Dr. Fodor‘s peers have elevated him to serve in multiple positions in various national and international plastic surgical organizations including as President of the Lipoplasty Society of North America as well as President and Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the American Society of Aesthetic Plastic Surgery.
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August 08, 2012

Laughing Through Liposuction

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More about Dr. Aaron Rollins