Date: Wed, 8 Sep 1999 02:04:21 -0700

From: Meyer

2nd European appointed 25th national Congress of the Swiss Society of Plastic Surgery, St. Gallen/Switzerland

These days, above mentioned congress took place in Switzerland. For today, I was invited, as a representative of the Swiss Support Group, to speak to the European Surgeons about "Communication problems between surgeon and patient".

Under this topic, and I wanted to point out the passed and present problems in communication, which makes it very difficult for the patients, to visit again theirs surgeons. But as many of our women really need medical care, we must try to find a way of communication, without hostility.

I did talk about the "silicone-history" from the view of the patient. Here in Europe, we do have a time before 1994, and a time after 1994. 1994 was the year, when we first heard about problems with sbi!! Before, there was no communication at all! Afterwards, everything was changed, especially in our women's life!

I tried to show the points, where no communication or false communication did destroy the confidence to the surgeons (and in the end to nearly everybody involved)!

My intention was to encourage surgeons to learn rather from what patients are telling them, than to rely upon scientific reports, which do not correspond to the reality of our everydays life.

I urged them to listen to their patients and to absolutely respect their desires!

And I warned them, not to do the same mistake again with the victims with trilucent (soja)-implants: Ignorance and going back to "business" as usual!! (For your info: A plastic surgeon reported today from his observation, which means 50% rupture rate after 4-5 years!!!! There could be a chemical reaction between the soja filling material and the silicone shell, which does destroy the shell and cause this rupture!)

Of course, there would have been much more to say!! But I had to follow the topic about "communication". All our restrictive goals must be done with additional political work! The reaction of many (not all!!) of the surgeons was indeed very interesting and there is a little hope, that some of them did realize, that mistakes have been done. Hopefully they will reconsider about their responsibility.

This was for sure only a little step. But we will keep at it! (and on all other issues!)