(from RealSelf.com)

Hello,

I think that augmentation at too young an age can be unsatisfying over the long term. First, the chest wall and breast tissues can still be growing and maturing. The expectation of a large-ish implant under immature tissues can actually cause atrophy and thinning of the overlying tissues, leading to faster fatigue of the tissues and loss of elasticity. Second, psychologically the young patient hasn’t lived in her skin for very long in an adult state, so expectations about surgical results are derived from outside rather than inside cues. And young people generally are more suggestible and vulnerable to peer pressure.

I would focus on fitness and good self esteem until her early to mid 20’s before considering this hopefully satisfying operation.

Dan Downey MD FACS

Downey Plastic Surgery

Dr-Downey.com

Avvo.com, a nationwide review service for physicians and attorneys, has rated Downey Plastic Surgery as the top-rated plastic surgery practice in the Pacific Northwest!

Avvo.com uses many objective measures of excellence, such as legitimate board certification (i.e., genuine boards validated by Washington State Department of Health), specialty society affiliation, service, and leadership, not to mention reviews by fellow physicians. As importantly, patients have a voice in influencing the physician’s rating with their reviews.

As of today, thirty patients have kindly taken the time to post their experiences of their care with us.

Check out Dr. Downey’s credentials and many physician and patient reviews here!

BRA stands for Breast Reconstruction Awareness. It is a striking fact that many women who have mastectomy are not offered a chance to learn about and possibly choose to have breast reconstructive surgery after mastecomy.

I am constantly humbled by the bravery and fierce commitment that my breast reconstruction patients show. They are the smartest and most involved patients I have. It is consistently an intense but fulfilling experience together with them.

Mark the date in your calendar: Wednesday, October 17th, 2012

Join the Washington Wines Festival and Beauty Over Cancer in Seattle’s first Breast Reconstruction Awareness Day to close the loop on breast cancer and boost awareness of the bust. Why? Because nearly 70% of women diagnosed with breast cancer are not told about their option for breast reconstruction and EVERY woman deserves to be informed.

Get the facts. Spread the word. Have some fun and tango your heart out from 6-9pm Wednesday, October 17th at Wine World in Seattle. Seattle’s BRA Day Soiree will feature wine tasting, delicious bites, live music, a spectacular tango show at 7pm followed by a tango dance party and beginner lessons.  Bustiers encouraged!

Buy your tickets via BrownPaperTickets.com: $20 in advance, $25 day of event. See you there!

Vitals.com awarded Dr. Downey their “Compassionate Doctor” award. Vitals.com is a physician rating service. According to Vitals.com, “the Compassionate Doctor certification is awarded to physicians who treat their patients with the utmost kindness.  The honor is grated based on a physicians’ overall and bedside manner scores”.

For the third consecutive time since opening, we have received certification of our Surgery Center and Clinic by Medicare and the American Association of Accreditation of Ambulatory Surgery Facilities (AAAASF). This is not a small feat. Many large, heavily staffed surgery centers falter and many deficiencies are found by the surveyors, requiring sometimes major, hugely expensive, changes to the physical makeup of the ASC to be made before a re-inspection will be performed.

We passed the first part, the on-site Life Safety Inspection in under two hours (the inspecting engineer was wowed by our facilities – “like new”). The actual Medicare / AAAASF survey was an all-day affair, with deep deep records review, inspection of our operating manuals, and interviews with the staff. A white glove walkaround. And then: (gulp!!) both surveyors watched me and my staff operate on patients all day. It was fun, surprisingly. The doctors selected to be Medicare / AAAASF surveyors are fellow surgeons, and their personalties were professional but positive and pleasant.

We passed the Medicare inspection on the first try too. For the third time in seven years. To be accurate, the surveyors at the end stipulated that we change the language in a couple of documents in our manuals. But they too were highly complimentary of our operations, our staff, and our facility.

I am grateful to my staff for working tightly together on this very important part of Downey Plastic Surgery. Accreditation by Medicare is synonymous with a level of quality and safety that we believe our patients are entitled to.