The American Society of Plastic Surgeons released their statistics for 2010 yesterday.  The overall number of cosmetic procedures increased 5 % in 2010.  This may represent some pent-up demand as patients return who had put off cosmetic work when the economy was so unstable.  Reconstructive procedures also increased 2% in 2010 with breast reconstruction up 8% !  This puts breast reconstruction into the top five reconstructive procedures for the first time .  The other top reconstructive procedures were (1) tumor removal (2)laceration repair (3)scar revision and (4) hand surgery.  Good news !  Hopefully this means that our work to get the word out to patients  undergoing mastectomies about their reconstructive options is working!

A new national registry has been established by the American Society of Plastic Surgeons and the FDA to document reported cases of a rare condition  , Anaplastic Large Cell Lyphoma (ALCL) which is possibly associated with breast implants.  Thirty four cases of ALCL  in patients with breast implants have been reported in the world and that is in the 5-10 million women who have implants world wide.  Most of the patients presented with late onset seromas ( swelling) around their breast implants .  The condition appears to arise in the capsule surrounding the implants and is not breast cancer.  Currently the recommendation for women who are found to have this condition is to remove the capsule ( scar tissue) which surrounds the implant as well as the implant.  Safety is always of first concern and I  concur with the the American Society of Plastic Surgeons , the Aesthetic Society as well as both implant companies (Mentor and Allergan) in supporting efforts to research this rare condition .