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Living confidently with a distinctive face or body

The visual impact of having a face which has scars from an accident or burns like mine or a birthmark, a cleft lip and palate, a Bell’s palsy or a skin condition is arguably not taken seriously enough by clinical...

Botulinum toxin (BoNT) for depression: A review of the mechanism of action and its potential place as an adjuvant treatment

BoNT is becoming a recognised efficient treatment for depression, endorsed by several disciplines including psychiatry. Clare Amrani examines the potential mechanism of action and explores the appropriate place of BoNT in the therapeutic armamentarium for depression. How did BoNT become...

British Foundation for International Surgery and Training

Two of the UK’s most innovative Plastic Surgeons, Barbara Jemec and Wee Lam, give a fascinating account of the work of BFIRST overseas and, perhaps most importantly, explain how you can get involved. The British Foundation for International Surgery and...

Acid attacks: part 1

In the first of a two-part series, Andrew Burd takes us through the background to the development of his protocol for the acute management of chemical assault burns (see Part 2 here). I have maintained a long-term interest in how...

Hymenoplasty and virginity – an issue of socio-cultural morality and medical ethics

This article reflects the increasing complexity of the modern world, where the rich diversity of culture, morals, the law and religion, can have profound effects on medical practice. Sometimes there is considerable debate which is not in fact appropriate. This...

The Challenge of Renaissance, not Reconstruction: the aftermath of an acid attack

What madness makes a human being perpetrate a crime that is so horrible, so evil that makes it a capital offense (in Bangladesh) even though the death involved is of a person who remains alive? The motivation behind an interpersonal...

An epidemic of lower limb gunshot injuries

As the COVID-19 pandemic continues to impact upon us all, the author, a reconstructive plastic surgeon, provides a thought-provoking account of a different type of epidemic that is having devastating consequences. The Oxford English Dictionary defines an epidemic as “a...

Continuing personal development

“It is an interesting biological fact that all of us have, in our veins the exact same percentage of salt in our blood that exists in the ocean, and, therefore, we have salt in our blood, in our sweat, in...

Lipoedema awareness – the current state of play

Why do we need awareness? Around 40% of women in the UK are overweight or obese. Yet, within that 40% statistic, is a sub-set of women for whom that is not the full story. They suffer from a condition called...

Enhancing performance and wellbeing for surgeons: the science of life coaching

Life coaching has emerged as a powerful personal and professional development tool, particularly for individuals navigating high-stakes environments. Life coaching emphasises self-awareness, self-management and self-efficacy, including establishing desired outcomes, goal setting and developing skills and action plans to achieve them....