Women claim breast implants saved their lives in separate incidents

Jim Leonardo

Two women are crediting their breast implants for potentially saving their lives in separate reports.

A 41-year-old Florida woman told WESH-TV in Brevard County, Fla., that her saline-filled breast implants saved her from a fatal wound after she was attacked at knifepoint by the new girlfriend of her ex-fiancé. The suspect first used a pocket knife to scratch the victim's car before stabbing the woman several times in the left side of her chest.

The woman, who was interviewed Feb. 6 on "Inside Edition," gave her name only as "Melissa."

"It happened so fast," Melissa said of the Jan. 26 incident. "I'm like, ‘Put down the knife.' I look down and I was covered in blood." She also was soaked by saline, WESH reported.

Her alleged assailant, Amy Winter faced charges of aggravated battery and criminal mischief as of Feb. 14, although those charges may be upgraded, according to a spokesperson for the 8th Judicial Circuit Court in Melbourne, Fla.

Meanwhile, in Houston, Brazilian model Sheyla Hershey claims her size 38KKK breasts saved her life when she drove her car into a tree after leaving a Super Bowl party on Feb. 4. Hershey, 33, told police she became dizzy while driving near her home before striking the tree.

"My implants saved my life, I'm very sore and I have some scratches on them, but I know I would have been badly hurt without them because they were very close to the steering wheel," she told radaronline. The airbags in her vehicle failed to deploy, according to reports.

Police charged her with DUI, but Hershey claims that road conditions contributed to the crash, the website states.

"It was raining and the roads were bad and the visibility was poor, there are no sidewalks," she told the website. "There was a rough crash into (one) tree then I panicked and reversed across the road and hit another tree."

Hersey had her record-setting 38MMM implants removed in 2010 after infection set in. She's informed news outlets that she plans to return to this size when she's physically ready.

Contact: Dr. Armen Vartany, Board Certified Plastic Surgeon 1510 South Central Avenue, Ste 620, Glendale, CA 91204-2598 (818) 500-0823 ‎ Vartany.com

CareCredit teams with plastic surgeons for ‘25 years of Caring'

PSN staff

04/23/2012 at 10:00AM

The ASPS-endorsed health-care credit card company CareCredit® is celebrating its 25th year of helping patients finance plastic surgical procedures and other medical options by announcing the "25 Years of Caring Sweepstakes," with a grand prize of $25,000 and 25 First Prizes of $1,000 each. The sweepstakes, which is open to CareCredit cardholders, began April 15 and will run through May 31. No purchase is necessary.

In addition to the cash prizes, the sweepstakes offers patients the chance to instantly win gift cards and additional sweepstakes entries.

"Over the past 25 years, CareCredit has been chosen by more than 20 million patients - we appreciate them and want to acknowledge how important they are to us," says CareCredit President Davod Fasoli. "Every person in our company realizes that we have a single purpose: help make health care accessible to patients. That's why we decided to celebrate our cardholders with the ‘25 Years of Caring Sweepstakes' as the highlight of our anniversary.

"This is a way for CareCredit to say ‘thank you' to our customers," Fasoli adds.

CareCredit has sent to all ASPS members a "25 Years of Caring" kit that includes special displays, flyers and social media links. Plastic surgeons who want to learn more about the sweepstakes - or order additional supplies - can go to carecredit.com/cardsweeps.

Patients in good standing with CareCredit receive an automatic sweepstakes entry, and those who use their card at any medical practice during the contest period will receive an additional entry. CareCredit cardholders also can enter via overland mail, e-mail, online and other methods. Cardholders can visit carecredit.com/cardsweeps for details.

Cardholders interested in the instant prizes entries should be directed to carecredit.com/25 to play "Scratch & Match."

Contact: Dr. Armen Vartany, Board Certified Plastic Surgeon 1510 South Central Avenue, Ste 620, Glendale, CA 91204-2598 (818) 500-0823 ‎ Vartany.com

Study Provides Data on 'Patient-Reported Outcomes' for Different Types of Silicone Implants

For Immediate Release: 02/28/2013

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Arlington Heights, Ill. - For women undergoing breast reconstruction using implants, most patient-reported outcomes are similar with two different shapes of silicone gel-filled implants, reports a study in the March issue of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery®, the official medical journal of the American Society of Plastic Surgeons (ASPS).

Assessment of key areas of quality of life after breast reconstruction shows few significant differences with conventional round implants versus newer "shaped" implants, according to the new research, led by Dr. Sheina A. Macadam of University of British Columbia, Vancouver.

Does Implant Shape Affect Breast Reconstruction Outcomes?
The researchers evaluated patient-reported outcomes in women who underwent breast reconstructionwith implants after mastectomy for breast cancer. Reconstructions were done using two different types of silicone gel-filled implants: conventional round implants and anatomical "shaped" implants. The study included 65 women receiving round implants and 63 receiving shaped implants; the round implants all had a smooth surface, while the shaped implants had a textured surface.

The patients completed the BREAST-Q© questionnaire, which evaluated changes in several areas of health-related quality of life, including satisfaction with breasts and with overall outcome, psychosocial, sexual, and physical well-being, and satisfaction with care. Quality of life is increasingly regarded as an important factor in evaluating the benefits of various types of medical or surgical treatments.

Data on patient-reported outcomes was collected one to four years after breast reconstruction. About 80 percent of women in both groups had reconstruction immediately after mastectomy.

The BREAST-Q data showed good overall outcomes with both types of implants. Average scores for satisfaction with the overall reconstruction (on a 100-point scale) were approximately 77 for women receiving shaped implants and 75 for those with round implants. Scores for satisfaction with the breasts were about 64 in both groups.

Scores in other areas-including psychological and sexual well-being-were also similar for the two groups. Just one area differed significantly between groups: women with shaped implants rated their breasts as firmer than women with round implants.

Findings May Help to Guide Women's Choice of Implants
In a finding important to plastic surgeons, there was no difference in implant "rippling" between groups. Rippling, or wrinkling, had been a drawback of the first generation of shaped implants. Newer shaped silicone implants are not yet approved in the United States; clinical trials are underway.

New implants are introduced to the breast reconstruction market with limited data on the outcomes important to patients-especially in terms of how the reconstruction affects key areas of quality of life. "Patient-reported outcomes data is required to provide guidance based on previous patients' experience and satisfaction profiles," Dr. Macadam and colleagues write.

The new study finds few differences in patient-reported outcomes after breast reconstruction with round versus shaped implants. "[T]hese two types of silicone implants are equivalent in terms of satisfaction with outcome," according to the authors.

Dr. Macadam and colleagues point out the increased firmness of shaped implants as "the one notable difference" between the two types. They believe their findings will help surgeons inform patients about the expected outcomes of reconstruction using round versus shaped implants, and may help to guide introduction of the shaped implants for widespread use.

Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery® is published by Lippincott Williams & Wilkins, part of Wolters Kluwer Health.

About ASPS

The American Society of Plastic Surgeons (ASPS) is the world's largest organization of board-certified plastic surgeons. Representing more than 7,000 Member Surgeons, the Society is recognized as a leading authority and information source on aesthetic and reconstructive plastic surgery. ASPS comprises more than 94 percent of all board-certified plastic surgeons in the United States. Founded in 1931, the Society represents physicians certified by The American Board of Plastic Surgery or The Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada. ASPS advances quality care to plastic surgery patients by encouraging high standards of training, ethics, physician practice and research in plastic surgery. You can learn more and visit the American Society of Plastic Surgeons at PlasticSurgery.org orFacebook.com/PlasticSurgeryASPS and Twitter.com/ASPS_News.

Contact: Dr. Armen Vartany, Board Certified Plastic Surgeon 1510 South Central Avenue, Ste 620, Glendale, CA 91204-2598 (818) 500-0823 ‎ Vartany.com

Before Deciding on Breast Implants, Consider FDA Precautions

Before Deciding on Breast Implants, Consider FDA Precautions




Contact:Dr. Armen Vartany, Board Certified Plastic Surgeon1510 South Central Avenue, Ste 620, Glendale, CA 91204-2598 (818) 500-0823 ‎ Vartany.com