LOS ANGELES (KABC) — For many women who got breast augmentation outside the U.S., what was meant to make them feel beautiful became a ticking time bomb inside their bodies.

Teresita Morales’ breast implant ruptured and leaked into her chest wall. This caused debilitating pain for the 43 year old, who feared [...]]]> By Denise Dador

LOS ANGELES (KABC) — For many women who got breast augmentation outside the U.S., what was meant to make them feel beautiful became a ticking time bomb inside their bodies.

Teresita Morales’ breast implant ruptured and leaked into her chest wall. This caused debilitating pain for the 43 year old, who feared cancer.

“I was thinking, what if my implants get removed and something is wrong with me? I have two beautiful daughters and I want to be with them,” said Morales.

Morales had good reason to be scared. In 2003, she went to her native Venezuela to get breast enhancement surgery. She and her sister did it together. The surgeon gave her Poly Implant Prothese, also known as PIP silicone implants.

“The doctor told me, ‘Oh, Teresita, we have the greatest, the latest implants from France. You’re going to love them. They’re amazing,’” Morales said.

That French company is now bankrupt. It never submitted the data required to get approval from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. So, the PIP silicone devices were never sold in the U.S.

Years later, patients who got them abroad like Morales discovered the implants were filled with non-medical grade silicone.

Implants are supposed to be clear. The type Morales received has spots. Reconstructive plastic surgeon Dr. Grant Stevens says many also contain machine oil.

“This industrial silicone gel is contaminated. It has a number of contaminants which can cause all sorts of problems including inflammation and other systemic disorders,” he said.

Stevens says even the saline version of the PIP implants, which were sold in the U.S. for a short time, had faulty casings.

“Their shells are defective and they rupture four times more frequently than the salines we have here in America,” Stevens said.

When Stevens removed Morales’ PIP implants earlier this month, he found the contaminated gel had traveled to two of her lymph nodes. He removed the nodes and cleaned up as much of the gel as he could.

“We’re not out of the woods yet with Teresita. We don’t know the long lasting effects,” Stevens said.

Like the hundreds of thousands of women around the world who’ve received these implants, Morales has no legal recourse. Some countries have set up programs to help women pay for removal but not for subsequent medical care. Stevens says despite the costs, he believes women with these implants should not wait.

“So those 400,000 women who have these implants should all have them removed,” Stevens advised.

Morales said after the surgery, the pain went away. Looking back, she says she’ll never get surgery outside of the U.S. again.

“Sometimes saving money is not worth it when it’s about your health, your body,” she said. “Now I feel like it’s a miracle in my life. I’m going to start over again.”

By Katharine C. Giovanni

Why should you hire a concierge?  I can think of a hundred reasons actually. Here are just a few…

People around the world are trying to squeeze thirty-six hours into a twenty-four-hour day, and when you do that you don’t do it very well. If you continue [...]]]> Why Hire a Concierge? 

By Katharine C. Giovanni

Why should you hire a concierge?  I can think of a hundred reasons actually. Here are just a few…

People around the world are trying to squeeze thirty-six hours into a twenty-four-hour day, and when you do that you don’t do it very well. If you continue to do it on a regular basis, then eventually your body will resent it and you’ll get sick. Concierges are here to give you your health back. They’re here to give you the extra hours that you have been craving and will do what has to be done, so that you can do want to do like spending more time with your children or spending a few extra hours at work.

Companies around the world are also getting into the act. They are not only starting to use concierge, but they are making them a part of their corporate benefit packages. They are reasoning correctly that the less time people spend running personal errands during the workday, the more time they can spend at their desks and, subsequently, with their families at night.

Still not sure you need a concierge?  Here are a few more reasons why you need to hire us …

• The average U.S. worker admits to frittering away more than 2.09 hours a day, not counting lunch, on personal business. This costs companies an estimated $759 billion a year.” – Salary.com and AOL Survey.
• The average worker skips 24 minutes of his or her lunch break every day, the equivalent of approximately two weeks more holiday per year (figures from Data Monitor).
• Since 1969, family time for a working couple has shrunk an average of 22 hours a week. U.S. Government
• Workplace stress is costing the Australian economy $14.81 billion a year. Medibank-commissioned research
• Stress related presenteeism and absenteeism are directly costing Australian employers $10.11 billion a year. Medibank-commissioned research
• According to the Health and Safety Executive, 6.5 million sick days are taken every year as a result of stress — costing £7m per week and £1.4m per working day.
• Approximately 13.7 million working days are lost each year in the UK as a result of work-related illness at a cost of £28.3 billion per year – National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence.

When looking at these statistics, it is easy to see why time has become the commodity of the century and will be even more so in the decades to come. The popularity of concierge services stems from the fact that people are stressed out, overworked, and need help dealing with life so they can spend their free time nurturing themselves and their families. As good workers become harder to find, businesses are looking for concierge services to offer as perks to keep valuable employees happy.

That being said, below is a list of 20 ways you can use a concierge (the real list of what a concierge can do for you is endless)…

1. Obtaining tickets to concerts, special events and sporting events
2. Transportation Services – train, plane or automobiles … concierge can get it!
3. Travel and Vacation Planning
4. Business Referral Service – need a landscaper or a plumber?
5. Restaurant Recommendations and/or Reservations
6. Pet services
7. Internet Research – need research done and you don’t have the time to do it?
8. Personalized shopping and delivery
9. Dry cleaning pick-up and/or delivery
10. Grocery shopping
11. Senior care
12. Picking up or returning a gift
13. Bill paying
14. Auto Maintenance
15. Home Organization
16. Notary Services – many concierge area a traveling notary and can actually come to you.
17. Delivering a Meal – breakfast, lunch or dinner
18. Prescription Pick-up and delivery
19. Repair and Service Calls
20. Sick Care – sick in bed? Call a concierge and they’ll do your errands, arrange for dinner to be delivered and can be on hand to help your family out

So get your life back!  Hire a concierge to do what has to be done so that you can do what you’ve always wanted to do.

Good Luck!

About the Author: Katharine is an award-winning author and the world’s leading concierge trainer and consultant as well as a Certified Concierge Specialist (CCS) and Speaker. She is one of the founders of Triangle Concierge and is the Chairman of the Board and Founder of the International Concierge and Lifestyle Management Association (ICLMA) as well as the author of several business books including her award-winning book Going Above and Beyond and The Concierge Manual.