Welcome to my blog. I am a retired plastic surgeon in Seattle and was in private practice since 1991. I've seen more than a few interesting faces and cases through my years spent in the exam room, the operating room and the emergency room. And I have an opinion on just about everything relating to plastic surgery (and a lot of unrelated stuff). If you like my blog, let me know. Thanks for reading! Lisa
I saw a patient recently who would benefit a lot from having a breast lift at the time of implant removal and that was what I recommended. She had read on Dr. Facebook that it was safer to delay the lift. This launched me into a discussion about the blood supply to the breast, whichContinue reading…
Breast Contouring, Breast Implant Removal, Breast Implants, Breast Lift
I do a lot of breast implant removals and the topic of en bloc capsulectomy often comes up. I am so glad to see this this very well researched and well written article by Jolene Edgar. She has interviewed me and several other plastic surgeons regarding our approach to the breast implant illness patient. IfContinue reading…
Breast Implant Illness, Breast Implant Removal, Breast Implants, Patient Beware, Patient Safety
I use my blog to share some of the interesting stuff I see in medical journals and this is one of weirdest case reports I have ever seen. This is from PRS Global Open (from about a year ago) which is the International Open Access Journal of the American Society of Plastic Surgeons. See theContinue reading…
Breast Implant Removal, Breast Implants, Now That's a Little Weird
This post is based on a phone consultation from earlier this week. I’ve changed a few unimportant details to protect patient privacy. This lady has smooth, saline implants that are about 10 years old. She is part of the Pacific Northwest Breast Implant Illness (BII) Facebook group and she thinks her implants are making herContinue reading…
Breast Implant Illness, Breast Implant Removal, Breast Implants, My Plastic Surgery Philosophy, Patient Safety, Plastic Surgery
This is a question posted by a patient on RealSelf. She’s a lady in her 50’s with 11 year old anatomic Allergan Style 410 implants. She has typical menopausal symptoms and does not think her implants are causing her night sweats, mild brain fog or hot flashes. She’s heard about BIA-ALCL and wants to knowContinue reading…
Breast Implant Illness, Breast Implant Removal, Breast Implants
I get a lot of requests from breast implant illness patients to do an en bloc resection of their implants and the surrounding implant capsule. The term en bloc refers to a procedure that removes the structure in question in one piece or all together. This term is used most commonly in cancer surgery whereContinue reading…
Breast Implant Illness, Breast Implant Removal, Breast Implants, Patient Safety, Plastic Surgery
Over the years, I have done a bajillion implant revision cases. This comes with the territory of being in practice many years (27 years and counting as of this blog post!) and also with showing and voicing an interest in revisional surgery. Implant revision is a fact of life. Breast implants are not life timeContinue reading…
Recently I received this email from a former breast implant illness patient. I am sharing it with her permission but she has asked me to protect her identity. I will call her Celeste because I love that name. I have made no changes except for correcting a few typos. Celeste: I read your blog postContinue reading…
Breast Contouring, Breast Implant Illness, Breast Implant Removal, Breast Implants
My last blog discussed the difficult and frustrating problem of capsular contracture of breast implants. As with just about every problem known to mankind, prevention is the best approach. But despite doing everything correctly pre-operatively, intra-operatively and post-operatively, a small number of patients will experience capsular contracture. First a little history: Way back when theContinue reading…
Breast Contouring, Breast Implant Removal, Breast Implants, Plastic Surgery, Uncategorized
Capsular Contracture 101 Anyone who knows my practice well knows that I am not a big fan of breast implants. I much prefer fat transfer and/or breast lift to get a breast looking nicer. But sometimes only a breast implant will get the patient the size and shape of breasts they desire. Implants have manyContinue reading…
Breast Contouring, Breast Implant Illness, Breast Implant Removal, Breast Implants
@lisalynnsowder
