martes, 3 de febrero de 2015

Solving the problem of medical student debt

Dr. Richard Gunderman published an article that shared the story of Melissa Chen, a 35-year-old radiology resident in her final year at the University of Texas San Antonio. While her road to medical school was somewhat unconventional (it is great story, I highly suggest reading it), Chen is not your typical medical school student — […]



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lunes, 2 de febrero de 2015

A patient reminds a doctor: How unpredictable life is

I am looking out of my window on a cold and cloudy Boston afternoon and find myself pondering about life: How unpredictable it is, and how one minute can hold no assurance for what happens after. Before I left for vacation, I saw Joan.* She has been under my care for a number of years, […]



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The sad, tragic road to meaningful use

Meaningful. Having a serious, important, or useful quality. You know this word because you want it to define your life. Nearly all of us, at some point, will seek a more meaningful existence. Most wish our jobs were that way too. Meaningless. Having no purpose or reason. Ouch. We don’t want anything to do with […]



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Benefits of Detoxification for Skin Care

The financial sinkhole of health insurance complexity

We all know that the U.S. system of paying for health care is tremendously complex and inefficient: a multitude of insurers, thousands of insurance plans, innumerable medical bills, countless incorrect and denied claims. But just how much do we waste on this administrative morass? Continue reading ... Your patients are rating you online: How to […]



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The Vampire Face-Lift: What is it and How it Works? – By Dr. Melvin Elson

Vampire Face Lift - What is itOne of the items getting a lot of attention lately (probably because of its weird name) is the so called Vampire Face-lift. The reason it is called such is that the first step is drawing blood (about 2 tablespoons). The blood is put into a tube and spun in a centrifuge to separate the layers of substances in the blood.


How is a Vampire Face Lift performed?


One of the layers on the top consists of a cell-like material called platelets. This is separated from the rest and saved to inject into the areas to be treated. Platelets are very rich in growth factors of various sorts and it is thought that this will stimulate growth of fresh collagen and repair the damages that the sun and various other factors have produced, when it is injected into the skin.


Unfortunately, although there is a great deal of press in the lay literature about it, there is not much true clinical trials that show its benefit. Sometimes it is mixed with known injectables such as hyaluronic acid and it is claimed that the platelets will make the injections last longer, but there is no proof that that is the case.


Despite the hype about this procedure and its weird name, I would not recommend this procedure until more data are accumulated as to both its efficacy and safety.


See all the videos by Dr. Melvin Elson down here:


The post The Vampire Face-Lift: What is it and How it Works? – By Dr. Melvin Elson appeared first on Dr. Melvin Elson - Official Website.






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Dear anti-vax parents: It’s not your fault

Dear anti-vax parents, In the wake of the Disneyland measles outbreak, there’s been a lot of heated talk about parents who choose not to vaccinate their children. It seems like the medical community is now protesting even louder than the anti-vax groups were a couple years ago. But I want to take a moment and […]



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