I just returned from the annual meeting for the American Society for Aesthetic Plastic Surgery in Washington, D.C. It was an excellent meeting, attended by a "who's who" in aesthetic plastic surgery. Some interesting topics covered in the first few days:
1. Biofilms as a cause of capsular contracture - the bane of my existence as a breast augmentation surgeon is capsular contracture, or excess scar tissue that can build up around a breast implant. This can make the breast look round, hard, and painful. One potential cause is biofilm, or a coating of bacteria that can cover an implant. Techniques to limit biofilms were addressed, including the interesting Keller Funnel. If there is any way to reduce the amount of capsular contracture, I'm all for it.
2. Acellular Dermal Matrices (ADM) in breast revision surgery - We are now using several different types of radiated skin (from cadavers, pigs, etc.) as a way to prevent breast implants from bottoming out, moving into the armpit, or creating a una-boob (symmastia). My good friend Dr. Brad Bengtson gave two great talks on using these ADM's for preventing capsular contracture.
3. Laser Liposuction - Does laser liposuction really tighten the skin? Depends on who you talk to. There really wasn't a consensus on whether it visibly tightens skin, but there was a consensus on the need for more scientific studies to see if it does.
4. Lipodissolve injections actually work? One study sponsored by ASAPS/ASERF appeared to show a visible decrease in the thickness of fat in people injected with substances typically used for lipodissolve. There were no major adverse events, although the changes were subtle and the treatments did entail dozens of injections over several weeks/months. Another study didn't show any significant changes in their patients. So the jury is still out on that one.
5. I did a small talk on the eMatrix for International Hot Topics in Plastic Surgery. This is one of the newest fractional skin treatments I demo'd on the Rachael Ray Show.
There were more great topics than I can cover in a blog post. The meeting is actually still going on! I left early because I missed my family and have surgery to do tomorrow. It's always nice to sleep in my own bed next to my beautiful wife!
Thanks to everyone on the ASAPS meeting planning team for putting on a great meeting.
Thanks for reading.
Michigan-based Plastic Surgeon
Anthony Youn, M.D.:
