Recently, the State of Maryland passed a law limiting the amount of liposuction that can be done in an office setting because of a long history of poorly trained and largely unregulated physicians performing liposuction in their offices. 

We at CPS feel our that patients are well served by having liposuction performed by board-certified plastic surgeons in a certified operating room.  For the safety and comfort of the patients, we always work with physician anesthesiologists as well. 

There are continuing improvements in liposuction technology.  Our own preference, and the most common system for liposuction used in the United States, has been the MicroAire system.  Over the years, various systems such as ultrasound and laser-based technologies have been used without significant improvement in the overall results. 

Fortunately, the results from liposuction today are the best we have ever seen and the postop recovery is easier and shorter for the patients.

It was very stressful—everything felt urgent and we couldn’t come close to doing everything that needed to be done. Sometimes you’d think, “What can I honestly DO here?” The truth is we can’t fix a country or undo a disaster, but we can help one person and then another and another. In the end, the individuals we help are so appreciative.

I think this is a key thing to understand. The resilience of the Haitian people is just mind-boggling. There’s none of this “woe is me” stuff; no “Why did this happen to me?” Inside the tents what we saw was truly devastating—kids without arms and legs or with horrible extremity injuries. Every other baby had lost both parents. And we also saw a joyful, resilient people—very appreciative and polite—who reminded us of how much we have and how little one really needs. We’d walk into a tent filled with people who are dealing with absolutely the most difficult situations you can imagine. They are smiling and glad to see us. They clearly haven’t given up. Kids who’ve lost a foot or a leg, hopping around on crutches, trying to play soccer; little ones reaching up and asking “Who you?” or “Who that?”

In the end, bottom line its as much for us as it is for them to go down there. We come back better for having gone. We remember what’s important, that we don’t need a lot to be happy, how much we truly have and how being grateful for what you have is joyful.

In the end, 21 people went down on February 25 and stayed until March 2.

Everyone watching the news about the earthquake in Haiti shares a bond—the ache of horror at the immensity of the loss. And my connection to the story was both strong and personal. I had just returned—literally days before—from Northern Haiti—where I have been working at the Hopital Sacre Coeur. It is the largest private hospital in the North of Haiti located in the town of Milot. My work there is about supporting an initiative that is close to my heart—Haitian-born and trained medical personnel including doctors and now a surgeon—providing care for the members of their community.

When I heard what was happening after the earthquake, I wanted to go back. I was relieved to learn early on that the hospital was functioning. And over the next two weeks, I began to get word of how it had responded to the incredible need—expanding from a 73-bed hospital serving the community to serve over 400 patients in tents, hastily converted spaces and a just-acquired school across the street from the hospital. While continuing to meet the needs of the surrounding community, Hopital Sacre Coeur also opened its collective doors to the earthquake victims who were streaming in. Some walked for many days, others were flown in.

And just as Hopital Sacre Coeur opened its doors to take in the earthquake victims, members of the medical communities in the United States opened their hearts, changed their schedules and went to Hopital Sacre Coeur to help. Instead of the usual team of 20 medical volunteers, the group that went shortly after the earthquake numbered 100.

You can read some of their reflections here: http://www.crudem.org/category/volunteer-reflections/

This patient had a facelift in addition to rhinoplasty.

Rhinoplasty Patient 5

Tummy Tuck Patient 7

Tummy Tuck Patient 6

Tummy Tuck Patient 5

Tummy Tuck Patient 4

Rhinoplasty Patient 4