Free plastic surgery for Army members

iVillage Member
Registered: 03-25-2004
Free plastic surgery for Army members
7
Thu, 07-22-2004 - 12:28pm
I'm not even sure what to think about this...

http://www.cnn.com/2004/US/07/21/military.perks.reut/index.html

Report: Bigger breasts offered as perk to soldiers

Wednesday, July 21, 2004 Posted: 6:46 PM EDT (2246 GMT)



NEW YORK (Reuters) -- The U.S. Army has long lured recruits with the slogan "Be All You Can Be," but now soldiers and their families can receive plastic surgery, including breast enlargements, on the taxpayers' dime.

The New Yorker magazine reports in its July 26th edition that members of all four branches of the U.S. military can get face-lifts, breast enlargements, liposuction and nose jobs for free -- something the military says helps surgeons practice their skills.

"Anyone wearing a uniform is eligible," Dr. Bob Lyons, chief of plastic surgery at Brooke Army Medical Center in San Antonio told the magazine, which said soldiers needed the approval of their commanding officers to get the time off.

Between 2000 and 2003, military doctors performed 496 breast enlargements and 1,361 liposuction surgeries on soldiers and their dependents, the magazine said.

The magazine quoted an Army spokeswoman as saying, "the surgeons have to have someone to practice on."

I'd much rather see them spending this on pay and housing for military, I think.

Glassy

iVillage Member
Registered: 07-01-2004
Thu, 07-22-2004 - 12:33pm
"The magazine quoted an Army spokeswoman as saying, "the surgeons have to have someone to practice on."

I'd be hard pressed to be anyone's practice dummy...I don't care how bad I wanted bigger breasts or a smaller nose....lol

iVillage Member
Registered: 04-03-2003
Thu, 07-22-2004 - 1:25pm
The military surgeons get paid the same regardless of the procedure or procedures they do, so the only real added expense to the military is the equipment for the lipo and the materials for the augmentation and cosmetic surgery.

I agree with you that military pay and housing should have a priority, but I don't feel that the additional amounts being spent here would really make much difference.

~mark~

iVillage Member
Registered: 03-25-2004
Thu, 07-22-2004 - 5:01pm
So you think they have liposuction machines and breast implants laying around already in stock at army hospitals? And if those doctors have time to do these type of elective procedures on active duty, why are some veterans waiting for months to see a doctor or specialist?

I hate to think they're doing cosmetic surgery on Army members when we have people without flak jackets in harm's way. I'd much rather see my tax dollars on someone's chest than in it.

Glassy

Avatar for merlins_own
iVillage Member
Registered: 09-25-2003
Thu, 07-22-2004 - 6:43pm
Well, in terms of better pay and housing, I can agree with you there. I can see plastic surgery for defects of some kind, wounds and so forth, for the soldier in the line of duty and his/her family, but these "extras" seem a bit much. I think our soldiers deserve everything we can give them, but fluff stuff can wait when other more basic needs should be the priority. I think such TV shows as "Extreme Makeover" and the dirth of cheap junk "reality shows" reinforcing the value of appearance over everything else in terms of one's self-worth demonstrate the skewed values we are seeing in this society and providing this kind of medical coverage is just in response to that.

Merlins_Own

AS ABOVE, SO BELOW!

iVillage Member
Registered: 04-03-2003
Thu, 07-22-2004 - 7:11pm
Did I not specifically state that there would be no real additional cost *except* for the lipo equipment and the materials needed for the augmentation procedures?

"And if those doctors have time to do these type of elective procedures on active duty, why are some veterans waiting for months to see a doctor or specialist?"

Because either A: for one reason or another the doctors in question aren't where those veterans are; and/or B: those aren't the specialists those veterans need to see?

~mark~

iVillage Member
Registered: 03-18-2000
Thu, 07-22-2004 - 7:39pm

Here's more info.


http://www.hood-meddac.army.mil/default.asp?page=surgery_plastic&vi=n&mnu=0


For patients interested in Plastic Surgery, the following operations are done at DACH at Fort Hood:



  • Breast reduction
  • Breast augmentation (with breast implants)
  • Breast lift
  • Breast reconstructions (with breast implants)
  • Abdominoplasty (tummy tuck)
  • Suction lipectomy (Liposuction)
  • Scan revisions
  • Excision of skin lesions
  • Others

There is a waiting list for operations, whether cosmetic or medically therapeutic, if the procedure is elective (non-emergency).



  • Non-active duty patients must pay a fee for cosmetic surgery at Darnall.
  • All patients at Darnall, active duty and non-active duty, do not need to pay a fee for non-cosmetic, or therapeutic surgery that relieves symptoms or treats a health problem.
  • If you are an active duty patient, all surgery, cosmetic and non-cosmetic, done at DACH is without a fee, with the exception of having breast implants, in which case you must pay for the implants.
  • Any fees for cosmetic surgery on non active duty patients are required to be paid before the surgery.

For more information, call the Plastic Surgery Department at 288-8931

cl-Libraone~

 


Photobucket&nbs

iVillage Member
Registered: 07-01-2004
Fri, 07-23-2004 - 10:48am
"For patients interested in Plastic Surgery, the following operations are done at DACH at Fort Hood:

Breast reduction

Breast augmentation (with breast implants)

Breast lift

Breast reconstructions (with breast implants)

Abdominoplasty (tummy tuck)

Suction lipectomy (Liposuction)

Scan revisions

Excision of skin lesions

Others "

And we have to admit that some of these procedures may not be done on a purely cosmetic basis. Breast reduction for example would have been a great health benefit for my thin, but very well endowed friend when she was in the military and constantly at the doctor for back pain. 'Course, at that time, she had to pay for the more modern, less invasive procedure that would have left her with the best chance of her breasts functioning for their intended purpose in the event she wanted to nurse children in the future. She couldn't afford it, so she passed.