100% sugar-free!

Posted on February 5, 2014 by K Eckland

I am currently on assignment in Massachusetts – and we’ve had our share of snow in the last few weeks. It certainly makes me long for Latin America..

on assignment in the northeast

But while I may be in the northeast for the next several weeks, it doesn’t mean that I am hiding under a rock – so I continue to talk / read/ and research issues in medical tourism.

One of the newest reports comes out of the United Kingdom. The UK has embraced medical tourism to a greater degree that Americans have, and UK researchers are some of the forerunners in the field. (There are multiple reasons for the ready adoption of medical tourism by large numbers of British citizens but that’s a different topic entirely.)

No candy coating!

The latest news from the Yorkshire Post is a timely and necessary reminder for all potential medical tourists and facilitators out there. The article discusses the recently published paper, entitled, “The three myths of medical tourism” as well as interviews with medical tourists.

Research into the medical tourism industry

The paper is based on results of a study conducted at York University. Researchers at York University have an ongoing medical tourism project looking at multiple aspects of medical tourism including financial/ economic, as well as quality and continuity of care issues.

Much of what the researchers at York are studying are topics we have discussed previously on our site:

Quality Control

– the lack of standardized guidelines for ensuring quality of care (and continuity of care from the moment the patient leaves home until recovery)

– the lack of accountability for facilitators/ tour operators/ medical tourism companies for patient safety and outcomes (this means that companies can send you to the cheapest surgeon)

– the lack of recourse for patients who experience complications/ serious injury or inadequate care. (It’s a black hole for medical malpractice at present).

– The potential financial costs of complications: While some surgeons require their patients to purchase ‘complication insurance’ to cover treatment of complications (if they occur) in the home country, there is no universal requirement.

Papers in-press

Unfortunately, much of this work (by Lunt & Smith) is currently in-press. I’m anxious to see their reports but I am also wondering what sort of regional differences may exist. Medical tourism by British residents is often to neighboring areas of Europe, Eastern Europe, India and Israel. I’d be fascinated to see how that compares with outcomes and experiences for medical travelers to Latin America, and different South American countries in particular.

In any case – it’s a timely report. Hard scientific information is dearly needed since the majority of data over the last decade has been anecdotal in nature or statistical “projections/ estimates / guesstimates”.

Hard data is particularly important when it comes to allegations regarding poor post-operative care/ and increased incidence of infections (specifically in medical tourists from the UK who traveled to India). Many of these complaints arise from local plastic surgeons and may have little supporting data. If there is a problem, we need actual numbers, not case reports (particularly if we are dealing with antibiotic resistant infections).

The industry has also been plagued with numerous biases on both sides.. – Biases towards the perception that all overseas medical care is cheaper (not always the case)

and/or that cheaper = inferior

Quantitative data would also be helpful when discussing patient satisfaction and quality of care. Most of the time, statistics are bandied about from the Deloitte Institute – but I want to hear what patients think from other sources. How did patients rate their experiences in Britain? In California? Where were the patients going? What countries? What clinics were mentioned repeatedly?

Other issues – Patients poorly informed

Researchers also found that medical travelers were poorly informed or ignorant of the risks involved with medical tourism.

In some cases, patients were ‘willfully ignorant‘ and relied on social media and friends for all of their health information. A subset of these patients also traveled for unproven/ unregulated medical treatments (such as bovine stem cell injections).

Many patients were ignorant of the risks or potential complications of the surgical procedures themselves (lap-band was specifically cited numerous times) as well as the problems that arise when your surgeon is thousands of miles away.

Patients were also unaware/ poorly informed about the financial implications of developing/ treating complications in their home country – (or the costs involved if they needed to return to their surgeon). Some of the financial issues mentioned in this (and previous data I’ve encountered) is more specific to British residents with their National Health Services and it’s reimbursement structure.

However, it’s not unimaginable to picture similar circumstances for uninsured medical tourists, or tourists seeking aftercare at an “out-of-network” facility once they returned to the USA.

Ignorance of health care information – an ethical/ safety issue

Some of this ignorance may be directly attributed to the way that many medical tourism companies operate – with patients being funnelled overseas thru a “facilitator” versus referring physicians and nurses. During a recent conference on medical tourism, I was astounded when a prominent American medical facilitator brushed aside my concerns about the lack of medically trained personnel, stating, “I’ve been a paralegal for 22 years in a malpractice office – I know all that anyone needs to know about surgery.”

But what about the ‘caregiver’?

Facilitators and medical tourism companies often tout the use of ‘caregivers’. This terminology is misleading in my opinion.

Since “doctor”, “registered nurse”, and other healthcare personnel are professions that require certification and educational degrees – companies often label their assistants ‘caregivers’ since it’s illegal to use the title of nurse. In reality, the term ‘caregiver’ is more akin to ‘paid companion’. These individuals have no medical or nursing training and may actually be a source of misinformation (as this paper states.)*

In the usual course of surgery – as part of the pre-operative process, patients receive information, education and instructions during their initial consultation/ and pre-operative visits. This also gives patients a chance to ask questions, in-person to a medically knowledgeable person. Skype, and email just can’t replace this critical component.

Many times, critical information is obtained (and given) by the surgical team during the physical examination and history-taking on the initial consultation. If the referring service is a layperson, and the initial (in-person) consultation takes place after the patient arrives in the destination country, these crucial education opportunities are lost.

Call for Regulation for patient safety

As readers know, I believe that regulation is both necessary and desirable to improve/ promote and grow the medical tourism industry. This regulation needs to be undertaken by knowledgeable people/ institutions outside of the industry.

Other research in medical tourism –

Simon Fraser University – British Columbia, Canada

*In a related aside, one of the more popular Canadian medical tourism facilitators uses her unemployed sister in the role of ‘caretaker’. While the sister has no medical or nursing training, the facilitator bragged that it allows her to put her family on the payroll and bill the client for these services.

Medical tourism on the heels of Obamacare

Posted on November 26, 2013 by K Eckland

Happy Thanksgiving to all of my American readers! I hope everyone has a wonderful and safe holiday.

I’m home for a while, sort of.

After returning from Mexico this October, I’ll be spending the rest of the Fall/ Winter here in the United States while I replenish my writer’s budget by completing some travel assignments. (Coming soon – to a hospital near you!)

Now that I am home, I have been catching up on all of the local news – and it looks like Obamacare hasn’t really kicked off to a wonderful start. Of course, it was naive to think that anything SO large/ SO involved / Affecting some many people could go off without (several) hitches, but as one of the people losing their coverage because of it – I certainly understand all of the anxiety and worry out there.

In the midst of continuing coverage of the current Obamacare fiasco, as millions of Americans lose their existing health care, several new articles on medical tourism have been making headlines across the country. Here’s a look at some of the latest news and reports from this past month.

In the Bay Area, NBC news‘ Elyce Kirchner, Jeremy Carroll and Kevin Nious published “Medical tourism: the future of healthcare?” along with a televised report. It’s the usual patient narrative along with an overview of medical tourism.

Kevin Gray, at the Men’s Journal talks about the domestic and international options available in his narrative, “Medical Tourism: Overseas and under the knife.” Gray takes a slightly different approach and discusses how consumers can comparison shop for health care services.

Among these publications, is “Medical tourism: Spanning the globe for health care,” by Kent McDill which includes information from one of my publications and a recent interview published right here at Latin American Surgery.com

The sky’s the limit?

Also, in counterpoint to the numerous press releases and newspaper articles talking about Iran, Bermuda, and various other medical tourism destinations seeking to “cash in” on the phenomena, British researchers (Lunt et al.) have published a report that contradicts the “if you build it, they will come” philosophy which has taken over the industry in many quarters.

Medical News Today published a summary of their findings early this month. Researchers also point out that much of the credible data required to provide a full and accurate picture regarding medical tourism is absent.

On a related note: While I talked about the limitations in medical tourism, accuracy of reported statistics and public perceptions in-depth during my 90 minute NPR interview, you wouldn’t really know it from my 2 sentence quote.

Pitfalls..

USA Today also published a story on some of the pitfalls for destinations with thriving medical tourism. Kate Shuttleworth takes a look at the strain that Eastern European medical tourists have placed on some Israeli facilities.

Is medical tourism on the rise? or is it all a spin of the numbers? I guess it all depends on who you ask.. But for now – Obamacare is not a viable alternative to medical travel.

Start here…

Posted on September 7, 2013 by K Eckland

This is a page re-post to help some of my new readers become familiarized with Latin American Surgery.com – who I am, and what the website is about..

As my long-time readers know, the site just keeps growing and growing. Now that we have merged with one of our sister sites, it’s becoming more and more complicated for first time readers to find what they are looking for..

So, start here, for a brief map of the site. Think of it as Cliff Notes for Latin American surgery. com

Who am I/ what do I do/ and who pays for it

Let’s get down to brass tacks as they say .. Who am I and why should you bother reading another word..

I believe in full disclosure, so here’s my CV.

I think it’s important that this includes financial disclosure. (I am self-funded).

I’m not famous, and that’s a good thing.

Of course, I also think readers should know why I have embarked on this endeavor, which has taken me to Mexico, Colombia, Chile, Bolivia and continues to fuel much of my life.

Reasons to write about medical tourism: a cautionary tale

I also write a bit about my daily life, so that you can get to know me, and because I love to write about everything I see and experience whether surgery-related or the joys of Bogotá on a Sunday afternoon.

What I do and what I write about

I interview doctors to learn more about them.

Some of this is for patient safety: (Is he/she really a doctor? What training do they have?)

Much of it is professional curiosity/ interest: (Tell me more about this technique you pioneered? / Tell me more about how you get such fantastic results? or just tell me more about what you do?)

Then I follow them to the operating room to make sure EVERYTHING is the way it is supposed to be. Is the facility clean? Does the equipment work? Is there appropriate personnel? Do the follow ‘standard operating procedure’ according to international regulations and standards for operating room safety, prevention of infection and overall good patient care?

I talk about checklists – a lot..

The surgical apgar score

I look at the quality of anesthesia – and apply standardized measures to evaluate it.

Why quality of anesthesia matters

Are your doctors distracted?

Medical information

I also write about new technologies, and treatments as well as emerging research. There is some patient education on common health conditions (primarily cardiothoracic and diabetes since that’s my background). Sometimes I talk about the ethics of medicine as well. I believe strongly in honesty, integrity and transparency and I think these are important values for anyone in healthcare. I don’t interview or encourage transplant tourism because I think it is intrinsically morally and ethically wrong. You don’t have to agree, but you won’t find information about how to find a black market kidney here on my site.

What about hospital scores, you ask.. Just look here – or in the quality measures section.

Cultural Content

I also write about the culture, cuisine and the people in the locations I visit. These posts tend to be more informal, but I think it’s important for people to get to know these parts of Latin America too. It’s not just the doctors and the hospitals – but a different city, country and culture than many of my readers are used to.

Why should you read this? well, that’s up to you.. But mainly, because I want you to know that there is someone out there who is doing their best – little by little to try to look out for you.

How the site is organized

See the sidebar! Check the drop-down box.

Information about surgeons is divided into specialty and by location. So you can look in plastic surgery, or you can jump to the country of interest. Some of the listings are very brief – when I am working on a book – I just blog about who I saw and where I was, because the in-depth material is covered in the book.

information about countries can be found under country tabs including cultural posts.

Issues and discussions about the medical tourism industry, medical safety and quality are under quality measures

Topics of particular interest like HIPEC have their own section.

I’ve tried to cross-reference as much as possible to make information easy to find.

If you have suggestions, questions or comments, you are always welcome to contact me at k.eckland@gmail.com or by leaving a comment, but please, please – no hate mail or spam. (Not sure which is worse.)

and yes – I type fast, and often when I am tired so sometimes you will find grammatical errors, typos and misspelled words (despite spell-check) but bear with me. The information is still correct..

Thank you for coming.

Talking with Dr. Gustavo Gaspar Blanco, plastic surgeon

Posted on September 6, 2013 by K Eckland

Dr. Gustavo Gaspar Blanco, plastic surgeon

Dr. Gustavo Gaspar Blanco is a plastic surgeon in Mexicali (Baja California) Mexico. He is well-known throughout Baja and Northern Mexico for his gluteal augmentation techniques using gluteal implants. While this is one of the procedures he is most famous for, he also performs the complete range of body, facial plastic surgery procedures, and post-bariatric reconstructive surgery.

It was an engaging series of interviews as Dr. Gaspar is extremely knowledgeable and passionate about his craft. “Plastic surgery is different from other specialties, it is an art. The surgeon needs to have an eye for beauty and symmetry in addition to surgical skill.”

To read more about Dr. Gaspar in the operating room.

Gluteal Implants versus Fat Grafting

There are multiple methods of gluteal augmentation (or buttock enhancement). Dr. Gaspar performs both fat grafting and gluteal implantation procedures. He prefers gluteal implantation for patients who are very thin (and have limited fat tissue available for grafting) or for patients who want longer-lasting, more noticeable enhancements. (With all fat injection procedures, a portion of the fat is re-absorbed).

He recommends fat grafting procedures to patients who want a more subtle shaping, particularly as part of a body sculpting plan in conjunction to liposuction.

Breast Implants and attention to detail

Like most plastic surgeons, breast augmentation is one of the more popular procedures among his patients. The vast majority of his patients receive silicone implants (by patient request), and Dr. Gaspar reports improved patient satisfaction with appearance and feel with silicone versus saline implants. He uses Mentor and Natrelle brand implants, and is very familiar with these products. In fact, he reports that he has visited the factories that create breast implants in Ireland and Costa Rica. He says he visited these factories due to his own curiosity and questions about breast implants**.

Once he arrived, he found that each implant is made by a time-consuming one at a time process versus a vast assembly line as he had envisioned. He was able to see the quality of the different types of implants during the manufacturing process. These implants, which range from $800.00 to $1200.00 a piece, go through several stages of preparation before being completed and processed for shipping. He also watched much of the testing process which he found very interesting in light of the history of controversy and concern over previous silicone implant leakage in the United States (during the 1960’s – 1970’s).

Another aspect of breast augmentation that Dr. Gaspar discusses during my visits is the breast implantation technique itself. While there are several techniques, in general, he uses the over-the-muscle technique for the majority of breast implantation procedures. He explains why, and demonstrates with one of his patients (who had the under-the-muscle technique with another surgeon, and now presents for revision).

“While the under-the-muscle technique remains very popular with many surgeons, the results are often less than optimal. Due to the position of the muscle itself, and normal body movements (of the shoulders/ arms), this technique can cause unattractive rippling and dimpling of the breast. In active women, it can actually displace the implant downward from pressure caused by normal muscle movements during daily activities. This may permanently damage, displace or even rupture the implant.”

Instead, he reserves the under-the-muscle implant for specific cases, like post-mastectomy reconstruction. In these patients (particularly after radiation to the chest), the skin around the original mastectomy incision is permanently weakened, so these patients need the additional support of the underlying muscle to prevent further skin damage.

Not just about outcomes

While his clients, from all over North America, are familiar with his plastic surgery results, few of them are aware of his deep commitment to maintaining the highest ethical and medical standards while pursing excellence in surgery.

Commitment to ethical care of patients crosses language barriers

While Dr. Gaspar is primarily Spanish-speaking, his commitment to ethical practice is crystal clear in any language. He explains these ethical principles while offering general guidelines for patients that I will share here (the principles are his, the writing style is my own).

Advice for patients seeking plastic surgery

Be appropriate:

– Patients need to be appropriate candidates for surgery:

Around fifty percent all of the people who walk into the office are not appropriate candidates for plastic surgery, for a variety of reasons. Dr. Gaspar feels very strongly about this saying, “Unnecessary or inappropriate surgery is abusive.”

– Plastic surgery is not a weight-loss procedure. Liposuction/ Abdominoplasty is not a weight loss procedure. Plastic surgery can refine, but not remake the physique. Obese or overweight patients should lose weight prior to considering refining techniques like abdominoplasty which can be used to remove excess or sagging skin after large-scale weight loss.

fat removed during liposuction procedure

– Have surgery for appropriate reasons. Plastic surgery will not make someone love you. It won’t fix troubled relationships, serious depression or illness. Plastic surgery, when approached with realistic expectations (#3) can improve self-esteem and self-confidence.

– Realistic expectations – just as plastic surgery won’t result in a 25 pound weight loss, or bring back a wayward spouse, it can’t turn back the clock completely, or radically remake someone’s appearance. There is a limit to what procedures can do; for the majority people, no amount of surgery is going to make them into supermodels.

– Know the limitations

Not only are there limits to what surgery itself can do, there are limits to the amounts of procedures that people should have, particularly during one session. “Marathon/ Extreme Makeovers” make for exciting television but are a dangerous practice.

Stay Safe:

Just as patients should avoid marathon or multi-hour, multiple procedure surgeries, patients should stay safe.

– Avoid office procedures

As Dr. Gaspar says, “The safest place for patients is in the operating room.” With the exception of Botox, all plastic surgery procedures should be performing the operating room, not the doctor’s office. This is because the operating room is a sterile, well-prepared environment with adequate supplies and support staff. There are monitors to help surgeons detect the development of potential problems, life-saving drugs and resuscitation (rescue) equipment on hand. Should a patient stop breathing, start bleeding or develop a life-threatening allergic reaction (among other things), the operating room (and operating room staff) are well prepared to take care of the patient.

Communicate with your surgeon –

Give your surgeon all the details s/he needs to keep you safe, and have a successful surgery. Talk about more than the surgeries you are interested in –

– bring a list of all of your medications

– know a detailed history including all past medical problems/ conditions and surgeries.

If you had heart surgery ten years ago – that’s relevant, even if you feel fine now. Have a history of previous blood transfusions/ radiation therapy/ medication reactions? Be sure to tell the doctor all about it.

Even if you aren’t sure if it matters, “My sister had a blood clot after liposuction” – go ahead and mention it.. It might just be a critical piece of information such as a family predisposition to thromboembolism (like the example above).

Lastly

Surgical complications are a part of surgery. All surgeons have them – and having a surgical complication in and of itself is no indication of the quality or skill of the surgeon. Complications can occur for a variety of reasons.

However, how efficiently and effectively the surgeon treats that complication is a good indicator of skill, experience and expertise.

As part of this, Dr. Gaspar stresses that medical tourism patients need to prepare to stay until they have reached an adequate stage of recovery. This prevents the development of complications and allows the surgeon to rapidly treat a problem if it develops; before it become more serious.

“There is no set time limit for my patients after surgery, everyone is different. But none of my patients can go [return home] until I give my approval.” This philosophy applies to more than just medical tourists from far off destinations. It also applies to any patients have large procedures and their hospitalizations. While many surgeons race to discharge clients as same-day surgery patients, Dr. Gaspar has no hesitation in keeping a patient hospitalized if he has any concerns regarding their recovery. “Hospitals are the best places for my patients, if I am concerned about their recovery.”

About Dr. Gustavo Gaspar Blanco, MD

Plastic and reconstructive surgeon

Av. Madero 1290 y Calle E

Plaza de Espana, suite 17 (second floor)

Mexicali, B.C

Tele: (686) 552 – 9266

If calling from the USA: 1 (877) 268 4868

Email: gustavo@drgaspar.com

Dr. Gaspar attended medical school at the Universidad Autonoma de Guadalajara. He completed both his general surgery residency and plastic surgery fellowship in Mexico City at the Hospital de Especialidades Centro Medico La Raza.

He is a board certified plastic surgeon by the Mexican Society of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery, license number #601. He has been performing plastic surgery for over 20 years. Surgeons from areas all over Mexico train with Dr. Gaspar to learn his gluteal implantation techniques.

** He has also visited the facilities in Germany where the Botulism toxin is prepared for cosmetic/ and medical use.

Why quality of anesthesia matters: who is administering your anesthesia?

Posted on July 30, 2013 by K Eckland

Now that Colombia Moda is over – let’s get back to the stuff that really matters.. Let’s warm up but reviewing some older posts for our newer readers.

Love, Life and Surgery in Latin America is now Colombian Culture & Cuisine

I know some readers find some of my reporting dry and uninspired, particularly when talking about methodology, measurements and scales such as Surgical Apgar Scoring. But the use of appropriate protocols, safety procedures and specialized personnel is crucial for continued patient safety.

There is a saying among medical professionals about our patients.. We want them all to be boring and routine. That is what I strive for, for each and every one of my readers – safe, boring and routine.

Excitement and drama are only enjoyable when watching Grey’s Anatomy or other fictionalized medical dramas. In real life, it means something has drastically and horribly gone awry. Unlike many of its fictional counterparts – outcomes are not usually good.

In a not-so-sleepy hollow of upstate New York, a medical tragedy serves to illustrate this point, while also bringing up questions regarding the procedure. While we don’t know the circumstances behind this case – (and don’t really want to…

View original post 1,047 more words

In the operating room with Dr. Luis Botero, plastic surgeon

Posted on July 15, 2013 by K Eckland

Please note that some of the images in this article have been edited to preserve patient privacy.

Today, Dr. Luis Botero has invited me to observe surgery at IQ Interquirofanos in the Poblado section of Medellin. He is performing full-body liposuction and fat grafting of the buttocks.

Dr. Luis Botero, in the operating room

The facility: IQ Interquirofanos

Interquirofanos is located on the second floor

IQ Interquirofanos is an ambulatory surgery center located on the second floor of the Intermedica Building across the street from the Clinica de Medellin (sede Poblado). The close proximity of this clinic to a hospital is an important consideration for patients in case of a medical emergency.

The anesthesiologists estimate that 90% of the procedures performed here are cosmetic surgeries but surgeons also perform gynecology, and some orthopedic procedures at this facility.

The are seven operating rooms that are well-lit, and feature modern and functional equipment including hemodynamic monitoring, anesthesia / ventilatory equipment/ medications. There are crash carts available for the operating rooms and the patient recovery areas.

There are fourteen monitored recovery room beds, while the facility currently plans for expansion. Next door, an additional three floors are being built along with six more operating rooms.

Sterile processing is located within the facility with several large sterilization units. There is also a pharmacy on-site. The pharmacy dispenses prosthetics such as breast implants in addition to medications.

The only breast prosthetics offered at this facility are Mentor (Johnson & Johnson) and Natrelle brand silicone implants (Allergan). In light of the problems with PIP implants in the past – it is important for patients to ensure their implants are FDA approved, like Mentor implants.

In the past seven years, over 31,000 procedures have been performed at Interquirofanos. The nurses tell me that during the week, there are usually 30 to 35 surgeries a day, and around 15 procedures on Saturdays.

Prior to heading to the Operating Room:

Prior to surgery, patients undergo a full consultation with Dr. Botero and further medical evaluation (as needed). Patients are also instructed to avoid aspirin, ibuprofen and all antiplatets (clopidogrel, prasugrel, etc) and anti-coagulants (warfarin, dabigatran, etc.) for several days. Patients should not resume these medications until approved by their surgeon.

Complication Insurance

All patients are required to purchase complication insurance. This insurance costs between 75.00 and 120.00 dollars and covers the cost of any treatment needed (in the first 30 days) for post-operative complications for amounts ranging from 15,000 dollars to 30,000 dollars, depending on the policy. All of his clients who undergo surgery at IQ Interquirofanos are encouraged to buy a policy from Pan American Life de Colombia as part of the policies for patient safety at this facility. International patients may also be interested in purchasing a policy from ISPAS, which covers any visits to an ISPAS-affiliated surgeon in their home country.

Today’s Procedures: Liposuction & Fat Grafting

Liposuction – Liposuction (lipoplasty or lipectomy) accounts for 50% of all plastic surgery procedures. First the surgeon makes several very small slits in the skin. Then a saline – lidocaine solution is infiltrated in to the fat (adipose) tissue that is to removed. This solution serves several purposes – the solution helps emulsify the fat for removal while the lidocaine-epinephrine additives help provide post-operative analgesic and limit intra-operative bleeding. After the solution dwells (sits in the tissue) for ten to twenty minutes, the surgeon can begin the liposuction procedure. For this procedure, instruments are introduced to the area beneath the skin and above the muscle layer.

During this procedure, the surgeon introduces different canulas (long hollow tubes). These tubes are used to break up the adipose tissue and remove the fat using an attached suctioning canister. To break up the fat, the surgeon uses a back and forth motion. During this process – one hand is on the canula. The other hand remains on the patient to guide the canulas and prevent inadvertent injury to the patient.

fat being removed by liposuction

Due to the nature of this procedure, extensive bruising and swelling after this procedure is normal. Swelling may last up to a month. Patients will need to wear support garments (such as a girdle) after this procedure for several weeks.

Types of liposuction:

In recent years, surgeons have developed different techniques and specialized canulas to address specific purposes during surgery.

Standard liposuction canulas come in a variety of lengths and bore sizes (the bore size is the size of the hole at the end of the canister for the suction removal of fat tissue.) Some of these canulas have serrated bores for easier fat removal.

Ultrasound-assisted liposuction uses the canulas to deliver sound waves to help break up fat tissue. These canulas are designed for patients who have had repeated liposuction. This is needed to break up adhesions (scar tissue) that forms after the initial procedure during the healing process.

Laser liposuction is another type of liposuction aimed at specifically improving skin contraction. This is important in older patients or in patients who have excessive loose skin due to recent weight loss or post-pregnancy. However, for very large amounts of loose skin or poor skin tone in areas such as the abdomen, a larger procedure such as abdominoplasty may be needed.

During laser liposuction, a small wire laser is placed inside a canula to deliver a specific amount of heat energy to the area (around 40 degrees centrigrade). The application of heat is believed to stimulate collagen production (for skin tightening). Bleeding is reduced because of the cautery effect of the heat – but post-operative pain is increased due to increased inflammatory effects. There is also a risk of burn trauma during this procedure.

There have been several other liposuction techniques that have gone in and out of fashion, and many of the variations mentioned are often referred to by trademark names such as “Vaser”, “SmartLipo”, “SlimLipo” which can be confusing for people seeking information on these procedures.

Fat Grafting

Fat from liposuction procedure to be used for buttock augmentation

Fat grafting is a procedure used in combination with liposuction. With this procedure, fat that was removed during liposuction is relocated to another area of the body such as the buttocks, hands or face.

In this patient, Dr. Botero injects the fat using a large bore needle deep into the gluteal muscles to prevent a sloppy, or dimpled appearance. Injecting into the muscle tissue also helps to preserve the longevity of the procedure. However, care must be taken to prevent fat embolism*, a rare but potentially fatal complication – where globules of fat enter the bloodstream. To prevent this complication, Dr. Botero carefully confirms the placement of his needle in the muscle tissue before injecting.

Results are immediately appreciable.

fat being injected for buttock augmentation. (Photo edited for patient privacy).

The Surgery:

Patient was appropriately marked prior to the procedure. The patient was correctly prepped, drapped and positioned to prevent injury or infection. Ted hose and sequential stockings were applied to lessen the risk of developing deep vein thrombosis. Pre-operative procedures were performed according to internationally recognized standards.

Sterility was maintained during the case. Dr. Botero appeared knowledgeable and skilled regarding the techniques and procedures performed.

His instrumentadora (First assistant), Liliana Moreno was extremely knowledgeable and able to anticipate Dr. Botero’s needs.

Circulating nurse: Anais Perez maintained accurate and up-to-date intra-operative records during the case. Ms. Perez was readily available to obtain instruments and supplies as needed.

Overall – the team worked well together and communicated effectively before, during and after the case.

Anesthesia was managed by Dr. Julio Arango. He was using an anesthesia technique called “controlled hypotension”. (Since readers have heard me rail about uncontrolled hypotension in the past – I will write another post on this topic soon.)

Controlled Hypotension

However, as the name inplies – controlled hypotension is a tightly regulated process, where blood pressure is lowered to a very specific range. This range is just slightly lower than normal (Systolic BP of around 80) – and the anesthesiologist is in constant attendance. This is very different from cases with profound hypotension which is ignored due to an anesthesia provider being distracted – or completely absent.

With hypotensive anesthesia – blood pressure is maintained with a MAP (or mean) of 50 – 60mmHg with a HR of 50 – 60. This reduces the incidence of bleeding.

However, this technique is not safe for everyone. Only young healthy patients are good candidates for this anesthesia technique. Basically, if you have any stiffening of your arteries due to age (40+), smoking, cholesterol or family history – this technique is NOT for you. People with high blood pressure, any degree of kidney disease, heart disease, peripheral vascular disease or diabetes are not good candidates for this type of anesthesia. People with these kinds of medical conditions do not tolerate even mild hypotension very well, and are at increased risk of serious complications such as renal injury/ failure or cardiovascular complications such as a heart attack or stroke. Particularly since this is an elective procedure – this is something to discuss with your surgeon and anesthesiologist before surgery.

The patient today is young (low 20’s), physically fit, active with no medical conditions so this anesthesia poses little risk during this procedure. Also the surgery itself is fairly short – which is important. Long/ marathon surgeries such as ‘mega-makeovers‘ are not ideal for this type of anesthesia.

Dr. Julio Arrango keeps a close eye on his patient

Dr. Julio Arango keeps a close eye on his patient

However, Dr. Arango does an excellent job during this procedure, which is performed under general anesthesia. After intubating the patient, he maintained a close eye on vital signs and oxygenation. The patient is hemodynamically stable with no desaturations or hypoxia during the case. Dr. Arango remains alert and attentive during the case, and remains present for the entire surgery. Following surgery, anesthesia was lightened, and the patient was extubated prior to transfer to the recovery room.

He also demonstrated excellent knowledge of international protocols regarding DVT/ Travel risk, WHO safety protocols and intra-operative management.

Surgical apgar score: 9 (however, there is a point lost due to MAP of 50 – 60 as discussed above).

Results of the surgery were cosmetically pleasing.

Post -operative care:

Prior to discharge from the ambulatory care center after recovery from anesthesia the patient (and family) receives discharge instructions from the nurses.

The patient also receives prescriptions for several medications including:

1. Oral antibiotics for a five-day course**. Dr. Botero uses this duration for fat grafting cases only.

2. Non-narcotic analgesia (pain medications).

3. Lyrica ( a gabapentin-like compound) to prevent neuralgias during the healing period.

The patient will wear a support garment for several weeks. She is to call Dr. Botero to report any problems such as unrelieved pain, drainage or fever.

Note: after some surgeries like abdominoplasty, patients also receive DVT prophylaxis with either Arixtra or enoxaparin (Lovenox).

Follow-up appointments:

Dr. Botero will see her for her first follow-up visit in two days (surgery was on a Saturday). He will see twice a week the first week, and then weekly for three weeks (and additionally as needed.)

* Fat embolism is a risk with any liposuction procedure.

**This is contrary to American recommendations as per the National Surgical Care Improvement Project (SCIP) which recommends discontinuation within the first 24 hours to prevent the development of antibiotic resistance.

From news of the weird: Wrong-sided surgery

Posted on November 29, 2012 by K Eckland

Admittedly, this is not where I usually look for information on medical quality and safety measures – but this case, as presented in News of the Weird for this week deserves mention:

“Neurosurgeon Denise Crute left Colorado in 2005 after admitting to four serious mistakes (including wrong-side surgeries on patients’ brain and spine) and left Illinois several years after that, when the state medical board concluded that she made three more serious mistakes (including another wrong-side spine surgery).

Nonetheless, she was not formally “disciplined” by either state in that she was permitted merely to “surrender” her licenses, which the profession does not regard as “discipline.” In November, Denver’s KMGH-TV reported that Dr. Crute had landed a job at the prestigious Mount Sinai Medical Center in New York, where she treats post-surgery patients (and she informed Illinois officials recently that she is fully licensed in New York to resume performing neurosurgery). [KMGH-TV, 11-4-2012]”

This is an excellent example of the importance of the ‘Time-out” which includes ‘surgical site verification’ among all members of the surgical team. This also shows some of the limitations in relying on the health care professions to police themselves. Does this mean that I can absolutely guarantee that this won’t happen in any of the operating rooms I’ve observed? No – but it does mean that I can observe and report any irregularities witnessed (or deviations from accepted protocols) – such as ‘correct side verification’ or failure of the operating surgeon to review medical records/ radiographs prior to surgery.

It also goes to show that despite lengthy credentialing processes and the reputations of some of the United States finest institutions are still no guarantee of quality or even competence.

What about Leapfrog?

This comes at the same time as the highly controversial Leapfrog grades are released – in which medical giants like UCLA and the Cleveland Clinic received failing marks. (UCLA received an ‘F” for avoidable patient harm, and the Cleveland Clinic received a “D”.)

Notably, the accuracy of the Leapfrog scoring system has been under fire since it’s inception – particularly since the organization charges hospitals for the right to promote their score.

But then – as the linked article points out – so do most of the organizations ‘touting’ to have the goods on the facilities such as U.S. News and Reports and their famed hospital edition.

Guess there aren’t very many people like me – that feel like that’s a bit of a conflict of interest..

Dr. Alberto Martinez, Sports Medicine/ Orthopedic surgeon

Posted on November 28, 2012 by K Eckland

Dr. Martinez (right) in the operating room

(Out of respect for patient privacy – I’ve done my best to crop the patient ‘bits’ from the photo.)

Spent some time last week with Dr. Alberto Martinez of Med-Sports Orthopedic Clinic here in Bogotá. Dr. Martinez specializes in arthroscopic surgery of the hips, knees and shoulders. As we talked about before, shoulder surgery is its own subspecialty in orthopedics due to the increased complexity of this joint.

We talked a bit about hip arthroscopy,which is still a relatively new procedure in orthopedics and the fact that one two surgeons in Bogota are currently performing this procedure.

Arthroscopy is the orthopedic minimally invasive counterpart to general surgery’s laparoscopy or thoracic surgery’s thoracoscopy. It involves insertion of a camera and several tools through small (1 cm) incisions in the skin. Arthroscopy itself has been used in orthopedics for many years but it is just now making inroads in hip procedures.

I’ll be publishing an upcoming article based on my observations over at ColombiaReports.com

For more information

Rath E, Tsvieli O, Levy O. (2012). Hip arthroscopy: an emerging technique and indications. Isr Med Assoc J. 2012 Mar;14(3):170-4.

Haviv B, O’Donnell J. (2010). The incidence of total hip arthroplasty after hip arthroscopy in osteoarthritic patients. Sports Med Arthrosc Rehabil Ther Technol. 2010 Jul 29;2:18

The authors found that 16% of patients in their study eventually required hip replacement after hip arthroscopy during seven years follow-up.

Nord RM, Meislin RJ. (2010). Hip arthroscopy in adults . Bull NYU Hosp Jt Dis. 2010;68(2):97-102. Review.

New venture with Colombia Reports

Posted on November 10, 2012 by K Eckland

While I have written several books about surgery and surgeons in Colombia, much of this information I’ve obtained from my research has been consigned to sitting on the shelves of various bookstores.

But, now with the help of Colombia Reports, I am hoping to change that. As I mentioned in a previous post, Colombia Reports.com and it’s founder, Adriaan Alsema have been amazingly supportive of my work, ever since they printed my first article on Cartagena in 2010.

Since returning to Colombia, I have kept in touch with Colombia Reports while we discussed ways to bring more of my research and work to the public. Colombia Reports is a perfect platform – because it serves a community of English-speaking (reading) individuals who are interested in/ and living in Colombia. With this in mind, Colombia Reports has created a new Health & Beauty section which will carry some of my interviews and evaluations.

It is an ideal partnership for me; it allows me to bring my information to the people who need it – and continue to do my work as an objective, and unbiased reviewer. We haven’t figured out all of the details yet – but I want to encourage all of my faithful readers to show Colombia Reports the same dedication that you’ve shown my tiny little blog, so that our ‘experiment’ in medical tourism reporting becomes a viable and continued part of Colombia Reports.

This is more important to me that ever – just yesterday as I was revisiting a surgeon I interviewed in the past (for a new updated article), I heard a tragic story that just broke my heart about a patient that was recently harmed by Dr. Alfredo Hoyos. While I was unable to obtain documents regarding this incident – this is not the first time that this has happened.

Previous accusations of medical malpractice against this surgeon have been published in Colombian news outlets including this story from back in 2002.

The accusations are from Marbelle, a Colombian artist regarding the intra-operative death of her mother, Maria Isabeth Cardona Restrepo (aka Yolanda) during liposuction. These accusations were published in Bocas – which is part of El Tiempo, a popular Colombian newspaper, in which the singer alleges that Dr. Hoyos was unprepared, and did not have the proper equipment on hand to treat her mother when she went into cardiac arrest during the surgery.

story about the death of one of Dr. Alfredo Hoyos’ patients.

Now – as many of you remember, I interviewed Dr. Alfredo Hoyos back in 2011, and followed him to the operating room, giving me first hand knowledge of his surgical practices.

Readers of the book know he received harsh criticism for both failure to adhere to standard practices of sterility and patient intra-operative safety (among other things.) I also called him out for claiming false credentials from several plastic surgery associations – and notified those agencies of those claims.. In the book, readers were strongly advised not to see Dr. Hoyos or his associates for care.

But – as I mentioned, my book is sitting lonely on a shelf, here in Bogotá – and in the warehouses of Amazon.com and other retailers.. So, people like that patient – didn’t have the critical information that they needed..

This is where Colombia Reports – and I hope to change all that. So in the coming weeks, I am re-visiting some of surgeons we talked to in 2011, and interviewing more (new) surgeons, more operating room visits..

Patients with Passports: Medical Tourism, Law, and Ethics

Posted on October 17, 2012 by K Eckland

A new book on medical tourism – this one by an associate professor at Harvard Law School ( I. Glenn Cohen), which follows the lines of the work done by Dr. Delmonico and several others in addressing the legal and ethical issues in medical tourism – particularly the grey areas (and downright black, in my opinion) such as transplant tourism and surrogacy tourism. I haven’t had the opportunity to read his book yet – but I hope he takes aim at the unethical practices of some of the giants like Planet Hospital.

He’s a much bigger voice than an unknown nurse / writer like me – so maybe he will get the attention that this issue deserves.

Maybe at the same time, it will spark interest in efforts like mine – to establish objective and unbiased evaluations of health care services so that people who are looking or relying on medical tourism for their healthcare aren’t just taking a blind stab based on slick marketing tools, and fancy websites?

I sure hope so – even if stories like this one aren’t front-page news like black market kidney sales, it is still a vital and important reason to do what I do.

Objective and unbiased reviews

Author to author – congratulations, Mr. Cohen and best of luck!

Why read Bogota and other hidden gem titles?

Posted on July 30, 2012 by K Eckland

As readers of my sister site, Cartagena Surgery know, I am currently hard at work on my third title in the ‘Hidden Gem’ series – with the latest offering on Mexicali, Mexico. But I continue to get comments from readers, friends, and everyone else asking, “Why bother?”

Why bother reading Hidden Gem?

People should read these titles because we can’t assume that all medical providers have been vetted, or that all medical facilities meet acceptable criteria for safe care. It is a dangerous assumption to expect that ‘someone’ else has already done the research. [lest you think this could only happen in Sri Lanka, be forewarned. With new legislation, the critical doctor shortage in the USA will only worsen.]

Medical tourism has the potential to connect consumers with excellent providers around the world. It may be part of a solution to the long waits that many patients are experiencing when seeking (sometimes urgent) surgical care. It also offers an opportunity to fight the runaway health care costs in the United States.

But..

But it also has the potential, if unchecked, unvetted, unverified and left unregulated to cause great harm.

Another reason to read Hidden Gem is to find out more about the surgeons themselves, their training, and many of the new, and innovative practices in the realm of surgery. Often the best doctors don’t advertise or ‘toot’ their own horn, so you won’t find them advertised in the pages of your in-flight magazine as “One of the best doctors in XXX” even if they are. (Many people don’t realize those segments are paid advertisements, either.)

Why bother writing Hidden Gem?

Because ‘someone’ needs to.

I am that ‘someone’ who does the fieldwork to find out the answers for you. I can never assume that it’s been done before, by someone else. I have to start from ‘scratch’ for every book, for every provider and every hospital.

I also believe that the public should know, and want to know more about the people we entrust to take care of us during serious illness or surgery. We should know who isn’t practicing according to accepted or current standards and evidence – and we should know who has/ and is offering the latest cutting edge (but safe and proven) therapies.

New article on Yahoo!

Posted on May 22, 2011 by K Eckland

New article posted on Yahoo! (associated content). Most of you have heard me talk about the topic before – it’s usually one of the first questions I heard when interviewing surgeons down in Bogotá – but I wanted to publish something where the rest of the world could see it.. (Colombia as a destination for American medical tourists – five reasons why..)

In the operating room with Dr. Rafael Beltran, Thoracic Surgeon

Posted on May 11, 2011 by K Eckland

Dr. Rafael Beltran, Thoracic Surgeon

Spent the morning at the National Cancer Institute, which really is a pretty amazing place, with a pretty amazing guy – Dr. Rafael Beltran. He’s one of the many incredible people I’ve met here – that truly make the world a better place through their work. I could have spent all day with him, seeing patients, surgery, discussing his cases and research – (Heck – I’d love to work with him!) but unfortunately, I had to race across town after several hours for another interview..

Dr. Beltran (tall gentleman on the left) and his surgical team

I really like this picture here, I think it highlights one of the important aspects of surgery – the surgical team.. As you can see above, Dr. Beltran (left) certainly doesn’t work in isolation – and that’s his philosophy about cancer care – the surgeons from different specialties work together closely, along with oncologists, radiologists, hematologists, therapists and other specialties to give well-coordinated, and well-rounded care. While I was the operating room, I stood next to a shy young woman.. After I badgered her for a little bit – she told me her story. She’s a respiratory therapist – and she was watching the surgery, so she would better understand how to take care of her lung surgery patients – and to understand exactly what they had been through. Not often do surgeons find room in their ORs for respiratory therapists – but Dr. Beltran understands that by having this young woman here observing – she learned more today than she could ever glean from books.. By doing so – he’s integrated her into the surgical team, and that’s important when often today’s medicine is an exercise in fractured and fragmented care.

In the operating rooms all around us – the same thing was occurring, with orthopedics, plastic surgery, neurosurgery.. As you can tell – on all my visits to the National Cancer Center, I’ve been very impressed with the physician commitment and the level of care.

As I raced off – I received a text that the doctor I was next scheduled to meet had to go to another hospital – he offered to meet me there, but he had an emergency, so I thought it best to reschedule for when he had more time. I’m really looking forward to talking to him – so I didn’t want him to be too distracted.. I get the best interviews when we can just sit down and talk..

Then – a thoracic surgeon we’ve talked about before – texted me that he had 2 interesting cases – did I want to go? So I spent he remainder of the afternoon talking with Dr. Juan Carlos Garzon, thoracic surgeon. I’m glad I did – because I had lots of questions from our previous interviews, and between cases, he spent the time to answer my lingering questions; about his practice, about thoracic surgery in general, and about Colombian medicine so it was definitely a worthwhile trip..

Dr. Juan Carlos Garzon, Thoracic Surgeon..

Last week in Bogota

Posted on May 8, 2011 by K Eckland

well, everyone – my visa is expiring, I’ve spent my retirement, I’m physically exhausted, and I need a job – it’s come time for me to return home to the United States. But not before I cram in as many last-minute interviews as possible before my plane takes off in the early morning hours of May 16th.

My only regret is despite interviewing as many surgeons as I was physically able, it just wasn’t possible to meet and talk to all of the thousands (literally thousands) of surgeons here in Bogota.

For my last week, I have some great interviews lined up – going to meet with several more surgeons at Hospital Santa Clara, going to the operating room with Dr. Beltran from the National Cancer Institute and interviewing with the amazing trauma surgeon, Dr. Borraez, inventor of the ‘Bogota Bag’ aka the ‘Borraez Bag.’ I’ll be seeing Dr. Holguin, as well, from the first edition – to catch up as he now lives in Bogota part-time.

I’m still hopeful I’ll be able to slip in and see a few more surgeons – waiting to hear back now..

But I won’t be away from Colombia for too long! I plan to be back in August, once I’ve completed the arduous task of editing the hundreds of pages of notes, and thousands of pages of additional materials – to present my book, here in Bogota, first – to all the people who have assisted me, took time out of their busy schedules to talk to an unknown nurse, and budding writer.

Even if I never sell a large amount of copies, I feel like I have accomplished a lot – I have brought some well deserved attention to some great physicians. Many of these people do things, ever single day that would be considered extraordinary at home. Others have invented or performed procedures that are used around the world to help others. Others make the world, and Bogota, a better place, just by listening to their patients, giving freely of their time and caring. That’s no small feat in today’s world of medicine, and for me, no small feat to write about.

I hope that the readers of this book are able to get a sense of the information I am trying to convey, and that it helps them with their healthcare decisions. If I have done that, and sell ten copies – then I have succeeded beyond my wildest dreams.

Thank you to everyone following my blog, and I hope you’ve enjoyed reading it as much as I have enjoyed writing it!