Plastic surgery blog: Micro chip technology helps medicine

Microchip technology is familiar for people who have pets. According to a recent Los Angeles times article microchip technology may soon be helping us to help patients monitor their meds better. According to the article scientists say they have devised a new way to give patients their medicine: through a fingertip-size microchip embedded in the body that doctors can control remotely via a wireless connection. The drug chip, more than a dozen years in the making, was used to deliver bone-strengthening hormones to women with advanced osteoporosis who otherwise would have needed daily injections. After four months, the chips were safely removed from the patients bodies, scientists reported Thursday at a meeting in Vancouver of the American Assn. for the Advancement of Science. The concept of delivering medications for patients in a time release fashion to wireless remote can be groundbreaking especially for surgical patients. While this technology is still under development it does lend to interesting possibilities for plastic surgery patients. Patients who are considering procedures such as abdominoplasty and sub pectoral breast augmentation are likely to experience pain and discomfort that is a bit more intense than other plastic surgery procedures. Currently there are options such as a pain pump to help patients manage the pain. It is not unheard of to consider that one day patients may be able to choose microchip technology short term to easily manage pain and discomfort associated with these procedures. Dr. Kim is committed to carefully researching new technology and techniques to help manage his practice and patient outcomes better. Dr. Kim carefully manages practice growth with the goal of exceeding the expectations of his patients.