Dr. Maria Siemionow, head of plastic surgery at the famed Cleveland Clinic, led a surgical team that recently performed the first face transplant in the United States.
Siemionow and CNN chief medical correspondent Sanjay Gupta talked with CNN’s Larry King about the reconstructive procedure and the prognosis for the patient. The following is an edited transcript of the interview.
Larry King: Dr. Siemionow, what caused the patient to need a new face?
LONDON – Doctors baffled by an unexplained rash on people’s ears or cheeks should be on alert for a skin allergy caused by too much mobile phone use, the British Association of Dermatologists said on Thursday.
Citing published studies, the group said a red or itchy rash, known as “mobile phone dermatitis,” affects people who develop an allergic reaction to the nickel surface on mobile phones after spending long periods of time on the devices.
“It is worth doctors bearing this condition in mind if they see a patient with a rash on the cheek or ear that cannot otherwise be explained,” it said.
After gastric bypass surgery and the subsequent tummy tuck, Tracy Wilkinson became obsessed with an area of her body she’d never before worried about: her back. The 100-pound weight loss left her with droopy folds of excess skin that bulged beneath her bra line.
“I felt like I had another pair of breasts under my arms,” says Wilkinson, who’s 67 and lives in Covington, Va. “It made me feel not-human. I didn’t feel attractive with all that loose skin.”
Enter the bra-line back lift, a new procedure designed to eliminate those bumps and bulges caused by loose skin — sort of like a facelift for your back. Wilkinson was treated by Dr. Joseph Hunstad, a Charlotte, N.C., plastic surgeon who created the procedure and penned the small study that appears in the October issue of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery.
Men usually have the reputation of avoiding seeing a physician, even when they are sick, but the issue may be different when it comes to wanting cosmetic surgery or enhancement procedures such as Botox. Men are now seeking out doctors for non-medical reasons, and in record numbers.
Plastic surgeons are now reporting an increase in the number of male clients that are seeking a slimmer waist or stronger jaw line. The numbers have gone up by 16 percent from the year 2002 to 2007, according to the American Society of Plastic Surgery. You won’t find many men discussing this issue, but cosmetic surgeons are now reporting that their services are becoming more popular by the opposite sex in what has typically been a female-dominated market.
