Jim,
My friend has been a patient at the VA hospital for almost a month now. She is very happy with the doc who is trying to save her leg after a nasty motorcycle wreck.
In all the time shes been on the ward, she's only met one other veteran with a medical issue. The rest on the ward were having tucks done. Tummy tucks, ARM tucks, leg tucks, etc.
Vets are waiting forever for surgery dates because the suites are booked by dependent spouses needing their extra fat cut off after their gastric bypass surgery. What's wrong with this picture?
Reply:
I've written about this and researched it. It's legitimate and a good thing. First...surgery waiting times at most VA hospitals aren't as bad as many say. All hospitals today have wait periods. That's a good sign with elective major surgery. It means they do so many that they're in practice and probably at the top of their game.
In hospitals a very high volume almost always equals better outcomes. You really don’t want to have your complex surgery done at a low volume center even if they serve gourmet food.
Plastic (cosmetic) surgery is much the same as reconstructive surgery. The doctors doing cosmetic face lifts are the same doctors who reconstruct your face after a 7.62 round has gone through it. The surgeon doing a tummy lift today is the same doctor who grafts skin onto a soldiers tummy to repair the gaping hole left from an IED.
Two or three things arise from this. First, to get the best people working at a VA center to do that super-specialized work they have to be busy. Those doctors are fussy prima donnas and they need to be cutting & stitching every day. Practice makes perfect. If they can do the cosmetic eyelid surgery of a couple dozen dependents and get great results, they're more likely to be able to replace the eyelids of a soldier who had his eyelids burned off and get similar great results.
Retention in the military services is expensive and always challenging. Many, if not most, exits of qualified soldiers are driven by the family wanting out of the harsh military lifestyle. Breast augmentation and tummy tucks are inexpensive benefits when you consider that the hospitals and doctors are already there and being paid.
If a military wife gets what she feels is a nicer appearance for free courtesy of the military service her spouse is in, she is probably going to be more amenable to hubby taking another 6. It isn’t just the ladies. Men are becoming more in tune with their appearance and opt for cosmetic surgery to rid themselves of those droopy jowls and saggy eyes.
I support the idea of cosmetic surgery offered to dependents in our military and VA hospital system. The more operations doctors and hospitals do, the better they get at it. Then, when they receive the young soldier who has been badly disfigured in battle, that soldier is going to be receiving world class care from professionals who are practiced and ready to do great work.