The Good, The Bad, & The Ugly
Greetings! I hope everyone’s week is off to a great start! At least there’s some sunny, warmer weather in the upcoming forecast!
I can’t believe last weeks weather debacles... FedEx deliveries remain screwed up! But here’s some good news...the Covid cases and Covid deaths are declining! Herd immunity is looking more and more possible! Other than the glitches in shipping caused by the storms last week, the vaccine rollout continues, and I am seeing more and more patients who either had the vaccine or the virus. And thankfully, most all of my patients who caught Covid had mild courses.
For more good news, it looks like the Johnson and Johnson vaccine may be approved later this week, and Boris Johnson, England’s PM, indicated the lockdown will be lifted in England in June!
More signs that things are looking up! Now for the bad news... the groundhog said that we still have more winter to look forward
to. And speaking of groundhog day, Dr. Fauci predicted yesterday that we’ll be wearing masks in the US until 2022. Boy, I do hope the groundhog and Fauci are wrong like they’ve been wrong before! And last but not least, the ugly!
I was talking with a dear friend of mine (also a physician) on Saturday who was complaining about the “under eye” area of her face and her reluctance to have filler. She lives in Florida and has seen so many “ugly” filler jobs.
We strive to offer our injectables at prices competitive with others in the market. Since I am the one who performs the injections, you can rest assured that a Board Certified Plastic Surgeon is performing the treatment, and not someone who took a weekend course. I have experience with and have used the vast majority of the various products on the injectable market, and chose to use products based on their longevity, safety profile, and look and feel.
I only order the Botox, Dysport and fillers from the manufacturers, and not online pharmacies that may be selling counterfeit product. And at the end of the day, injectables are MEDICAL procedures with associated risks and benefits. Most people don’t know that there’s a black box warning from the FDA regarding Botox and potential life threatening events.
For this reason the State of South Carolina guidelines mandate that Botox be injected in a facility equipped to handle medical emergencies. In fact the policy states, "neuromodulators should only be injected in an appropriate clinical setting that ensures sterility and resuscitative capabilities."
Speaking of sterility, while “Botox Parties” may sound fun, they're also not Covid compliant. We are continuing to follow Covid guidelines to maintain the safety of our patients and staff. In fact, we have even recently updated some of our Covid policies after recommendations were released this month from AAAASF, the accrediting agency for our OR.
I happen to be a surveyor for AAAASF, which stands for American Association for Accreditation of Ambulatory Surgery Facilities, and I have been privy to their latest recommendations. So while the Covid situation is showing favorable signs, we will keep you updated on new developments.
I hope everyone has a great rest of the week. Happy Taco Tuesday!