Dying to be beautiful

The quest for beauty and perfection will make people do strange things. Some might include cosmetic surgery on the list but I think most would agree that allowing a person who never attended medical school or any hospital training to operate on you is beyond strange if not foolhardy.

Back in 2010 we were called by an astute and thoughtful hospital doctor. He was treating a woman who had bilateral abscesses in her buttocks. When he asked her what had provoked the unusual infection she confided that she recently had liposuction. When the doctor asked who did the procedure he was surprised by what he heard. A local Spa operator. Thinking that a language barrier was preventing him from fully understanding what the woman was saying he probed deeper. No, she wasn’t a doctor, but had done these procedures many times before. The patient had allowed the Spa operator to remove fat cells from her abdomen and re-insert them into her derriere.

Along with detectives from the major case squad we raided the Queens Spa and confiscated records and drugs. We found a number of pharmaceuticals that require a license to prescribe, such as botox, and others that are illegal in the United States. We began calling the patrons to ask if they were well and to learn the scope of this illegal medical practice and the harm it might have caused. Five procedures were popular: liposuction, meso therapy, botox, injection of filler materials and intravenous vitamin infusions.  Bust, thigh and buttock augmentation with silicone or other industrial-use chemicals was the most common procedure performed. Meso therapy is the injection of chemicals under the skin to dissolve fat. It is unproven and can result in infection and scarring. Quite a few had complications such as scarring, discolored skin and wounds that didn’t heal. This past spring the Spa owner pleaded guilty and was slapped with a $400,000 dollar fine and two years jail time.  http://www.queensda.org/newpressreleases/2012/may/nieto_05_29_2012.con.pdf

The district attorney sent a message to others involved in the illegal practice of medicine that putting the public health in danger will not be tolerated in NYC. It is also a cautionary tale to people seeking affordable alternatives to plastic surgery.

Sadly plastic surgery by unlicensed practitioners of medicine is all too common as a simple Web search reveals. And these are just the people who got caught. Costing a fraction of what real doctors and hospitals charge it is most popular among Hispanic women.  This was our fourth investigation into illegal medical practice.  The woman who was dissatisfied with her figure learned of the Spa from a friend who informed her that she could get a procedure that usually costs over $10,000 dollars for $500. What she got for her money was pain, fever, a deep tissue infection and a several day stay in the hospital.

She was lucky, others have not been as fortunate suffering debilitating pain, chronic infections with mycobacteria, permanent disfigurement and even death. In 2009 a Bronx woman died of silicone pulmonary embolism from a filler injection.  The list of chemicals injected is appalling as is the lack of safe and sanitary practices. One women used Krazy Glue to seal a wound (see links below). Cheap cosmetic surgery by an unlicensed practitioner is dangerous and you get what you pay for. So if you are determined to improve your appearance save up for a real plastic surgeon or do it the old fashioned way. Tone those abs and butt at the gym.

Bronx woman dies

http://www.wpix.com/wpix-woman-dies-after-illegal-plast-257650,0,2530751.story

PR woman dies after lipo

http://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1356&dat=19980904&id=nM0UAAAAIBAJ&sjid=QggEAAAAIBAJ&pg=5617,1611875

Miss Argentina

http://www.theplasticsurgerychannel.com/breaking-news/former-miss-argentina-dies-after-buttock-augmentation.html

UK woman dies

http://hellobeautiful.com/1659285/girl-dies-after-illegal-plastic-surgery/

Las Vegas crime
http://www.lvrj.com/news/pair-whose-illegal-plastic-surgery-led-to-woman-s-death-sentenced-132262758.html

Another Blog on dangers

http://www.plasticsurgeryinflorida.com/blog/2010/01/experts-say-large-volume-buttock.html

Deadly Virus Visits National Park

As scenic vacations go, Yosemite is spectacularly breathtaking. Whether you are viewing the awesome rock formations from an overlook or standing in the valley staring up at a waterfall. In the world of hantaviruses, Sin Nombre virus (SNV) is equally breathtaking. Literally. In the spring of 1993, in the Four Corners area of the US, the Sin Nombre virus killed two young, accomplished long distance runners. They died of sudden respiratory failure and the only clue was that the two victims were engaged to be married. A week later another couple became seriously ill with the same air gasping symptoms. One was a relative of the very first case.  The damage to the victim's lungs looked like they had inhaled World War I nerve gas. When investigators visited the home of the first two cases they found no obvious source, but noted that they place was heavily infested with rodents. El Nino’s rains resulted in a bumper crop of pine nuts, a staple for the white-footed deer mouse and their numbers had doubled since the previous year.

After an incubation period from one to five weeks the first symptoms to appear that aren’t much different from the flu and include fever, chills, headache and severe muscle aches. Sometimes stomach pain and dizziness occur.   Several days later respiratory symptoms appear.  The life sustaining oxygen membrane in the lungs no longer works. Fluid collects and patients die of oxygen starvation. Most hantavirus cases in the US have occurred in the southwest but another strain was discovered in Maryland and we have had two cases in New York, the latest was just last year: (http://abclocal.go.com/wabc/story?section=news/local/long_island&id=8211238)

Back in June of 1993 the CDC began testing serum from the Four Corners victims of SNV against a battery of viruses from across the world looking for cross-reactivity as a clue to Sin Nombre’s identity. They got reactions with two viruses from halfway across the world, Haantan and Seoul. These viruses were discovered during the Korean War and were known to cause kidney disease. Sin Nombre was their cousin and was uniquely adapted to survive in the urinary systems of mice, Peromyscus maniculatus to be exact, the white-footed deer mouse. Disturbing mouse nests or sweeping urine-laden dust aerosolizes the virus and brings it into contact with sensitive lung cells. To read the full Sin Nombre virus investigation story see CJ Peter's book, Virus Hunters, chapter 1.

Curry Village is a camp comprised of canvas tent-cabins in the valley of Yosemite. It is affordable and popular with families. Thus far six cases and two deaths from SNV have been confirmed in visitors to the park. Four were known to have stayed in Curry Village. Others are under investigation and an alert was sent to state health departments because an estimated 10,000 people from across the nation stayed at Curry Village from June to August this year.

Prevention begins with sealing your house to prevent mouse invasion, a difficult task. Even here in the Big Apple the industrious little critters routinely make there way into apartment buildings. Trapping (I use live, “green” mouse traps) and good food hygiene are the next steps, like disposing of trash in a receptacle that rodents can’t penetrate. That includes food in your home, using thick plastic, metal or glass canisters to store food.  Caution is advised when cleaning areas of mouse habitation. Ensure proper ventilation, spray the area first with a disinfectant, like dilute bleach. This will inactivate viruses and keep dust levels down. Wearing personal protective equipment to include a mask, goggles and gloves is also a good idea. See full CDC recommendations here: http://www.cdc.gov/rodents/cleaning/index.html