+
MODEL
Journal of Plastic, Reconstructive & Aesthetic Surgery (2014) xx, 1e1
CORRESPONDENCE AND COMMUNICATION Letter: A comparison of short-term surgical outcomes between NHS and private sector abdominoplasty surgery
clinic visits and others to receive three years of clinic follow up. Further studies comparing outcome of cosmetic surgery in NHS and the private sector are to be encouraged.
Ethical approval Not required.
Dear Sir, Dr Weir and colleagues’ short paper1 is to be commended for its concept and courage in exploring the yet unchartered territory of comparing outcomes of NHS versus private practice. Had Dr. Dheansa found that his private patients faired better he would have been scorned by his NHS colleagues and had he on the other hand found that NHS patients had a better outcome he would be putting in question his private practice. There are a few points we would like to raise though. The authors were not clear whether the patient notes analysed represented all the abdominoplasties performed during the period under study or there were other selection criteria. The absence of documentation of smoking habit in the majority of private patients is troubling given the great importance this may have on potential complications of abdominoplasty2 and we welcome an explanation from the authors for this gross discrepancy. The first author of this letter was himself castigated by Medical Defence Union experts for not documenting advice relating to smoking cessation prior to an abdominoplasty procedure that was complicated by a small area of upper flap necrosis. We would also like clarification as to the number of seromas in each of the two groups studied and the average number of aspirations required. The total volume of drainage makes it difficult to compare the groups from a clinical perspective. It would further be useful to know the specific complications that required some of their patients to attend 43
Funding sources None declared.
Conflict of interest The authors have no conflict of interest to disclose. B. Nathan, FRCS Z. Nash, BSc
References 1. Weir AGA, Page PRJ, Dheansa BS. A comparison of short-term surgical outcomes between NHS and private sector abdominoplasty surgery. J Plast Reconstr Aesthet 2014;4:e111e2. 2. Karthikesalingam A1, Kitcat M, Malata CM. Abdominoplasty in patients with and without pre-existing scars: a retrospective comparison. J Plast Reconstr Aesthet Surg 2011;64:369e74.
Bassem Nathan Zachary Nash Riverside Hospital, Brentside Executive Park, London TW8 9DR, UK E-mail address: [email protected] 31 March 2014
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.bjps.2014.05.009 1748-6815/ª 2014 Published by Elsevier Ltd on behalf of British Association of Plastic, Reconstructive and Aesthetic Surgeons.
Please cite this article in press as: Nathan B, Nash Z, Letter: A comparison of short-term surgical outcomes between NHS and private sector abdominoplasty surgery, Journal of Plastic, Reconstructive & Aesthetic Surgery (2014), http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/ j.bjps.2014.05.009
MODEL
Journal of Plastic, Reconstructive & Aesthetic Surgery (2014) xx, 1e1
CORRESPONDENCE AND COMMUNICATION Letter: A comparison of short-term surgical outcomes between NHS and private sector abdominoplasty surgery
clinic visits and others to receive three years of clinic follow up. Further studies comparing outcome of cosmetic surgery in NHS and the private sector are to be encouraged.
Ethical approval Not required.
Dear Sir, Dr Weir and colleagues’ short paper1 is to be commended for its concept and courage in exploring the yet unchartered territory of comparing outcomes of NHS versus private practice. Had Dr. Dheansa found that his private patients faired better he would have been scorned by his NHS colleagues and had he on the other hand found that NHS patients had a better outcome he would be putting in question his private practice. There are a few points we would like to raise though. The authors were not clear whether the patient notes analysed represented all the abdominoplasties performed during the period under study or there were other selection criteria. The absence of documentation of smoking habit in the majority of private patients is troubling given the great importance this may have on potential complications of abdominoplasty2 and we welcome an explanation from the authors for this gross discrepancy. The first author of this letter was himself castigated by Medical Defence Union experts for not documenting advice relating to smoking cessation prior to an abdominoplasty procedure that was complicated by a small area of upper flap necrosis. We would also like clarification as to the number of seromas in each of the two groups studied and the average number of aspirations required. The total volume of drainage makes it difficult to compare the groups from a clinical perspective. It would further be useful to know the specific complications that required some of their patients to attend 43
Funding sources None declared.
Conflict of interest The authors have no conflict of interest to disclose. B. Nathan, FRCS Z. Nash, BSc
References 1. Weir AGA, Page PRJ, Dheansa BS. A comparison of short-term surgical outcomes between NHS and private sector abdominoplasty surgery. J Plast Reconstr Aesthet 2014;4:e111e2. 2. Karthikesalingam A1, Kitcat M, Malata CM. Abdominoplasty in patients with and without pre-existing scars: a retrospective comparison. J Plast Reconstr Aesthet Surg 2011;64:369e74.
Bassem Nathan Zachary Nash Riverside Hospital, Brentside Executive Park, London TW8 9DR, UK E-mail address: [email protected] 31 March 2014
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.bjps.2014.05.009 1748-6815/ª 2014 Published by Elsevier Ltd on behalf of British Association of Plastic, Reconstructive and Aesthetic Surgeons.
Please cite this article in press as: Nathan B, Nash Z, Letter: A comparison of short-term surgical outcomes between NHS and private sector abdominoplasty surgery, Journal of Plastic, Reconstructive & Aesthetic Surgery (2014), http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/ j.bjps.2014.05.009
