10/05/06

The American Society of Plastic Surgeons (ASPS) will be celebrating 75 years of  providing the premier educational experience for plastic surgeons from October 6 to October 11 in San Francisco.

This year’s event will include clinical education programs, social events, networking opportunities, and an exhibit hall that will showcase the latest products and services for the industry.

The clinical education sessions will include:

• Breast asymmetry surgery improves quality of life and self-esteem. Physicians have found that plastic surgery can improve self-esteem and can act as a natural mood enhancer. At the meeting, plastic surgeons will discuss how breast asymmetry surgery impacted quality of life and self-esteem in 35 patients. After undergoing surgery, all patients had statistically significant improvement in vitality, mental health, and self-esteem.

• Insurance companies deny medically necessary breast reductions based on random, unproven coverage criteria. Plastic Surgeons will discuss a recent ASPS study that found that insurance companies are denying breast-reduction procedures to thousands of women each year because of rigid, unfounded conditions for securing coverage. Physicians will also focus on the symptoms that patients need to exhibit in order to receive coverage for breast reduction, including back, neck, shoulder, and arm pain; rashes; bra strap grooves; and numbness in the upper torso.

• Patients stop needing antidepressant medication after plastic surgery. Surgeons will discuss a recent ASPS study that found that a significant number of patients stopped taking antidepressant medication after undergoing plastic surgery. According to the study, 360 patients had aesthetic plastic surgery—60 patients were taking antidepressants. However, 6 months after surgery, that number decreased to 42 patients.

To register for the meeting, visit www.plasticsurgery.org.