Research

NEW FACES, NEW OUTLOOKS

Artist-Surgeon Hamid Massiha
Builds Enviable Reputation in New Orleans Area

There are many grateful "graduates" of the Magnolia Surgical Facility of Metairie, LA, who have undergone the surgical artistry of Dr. Hamid Massiha. Dr. Massiha has a distinguished record of academic positions (he is the current president of the Louisiana Society of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgeons), a Diplomat of American Board of Plastic Surgery and holds the Physician Recognition award from AMA and has maintained a prolific publication schedule on papers which have been read before various prestigious American Societies of Plastic Surgery. In off-hours, Dr. Massiha is not suprisingly, an artist. His particular forte is sculpture.

Patients of the Magnolia Surgical Center have also benefited from its Free Standing basis. The total amount of time spent at the center, from anesthetic to wake up is usually less than half a day and the recovery rate from the operation, according to data supplied by the Department of Health and Human Resources, is actually less than that of those who choose in-patient hospital surgery. The Department of Health Attributes the speed of recovery, in great degree, to the lower risk of hospital-acquired infections and to the lower medication requirements of facilities such as the Magnolia.

Yet another salient feature of the Magnolia Facility is cost. "We are definitely less expensive than hospitals" says Dr. Masshia, comparing his same-day operations to in-patient hospital surgery. "One minute of in-patient hospital surgery cost $10. Here we charge by the case. If an operation takes longer, we charge the same amount." The Health Department has reckoned these savings to be as much as thirty percent less than in-patient care in many instances, and points also to the patients shortened time off the job.

To be licenced by the state, a free-standing center such as the Magnolia must be within 15 minutes from a hospital that will admit its patients in emergencies. The only patients discouraged by Dr. Massiha are those with no one to care for them at home; but other alternatives can be found.

The Magnolia Surgical Facility specializes in a variety of ambulatory surgery procedures. These include general surgery, E.N.T., eye, plastic orthopedic, GYN, urology, podiatry and many more. The facilities provide general or local anesthesia, two fully equipped operating rooms, recovery rooms with additional space and R.N. on duty.

Among Dr. Massiha's list of publications are such somber titles as "Dermal Ischemia in Thermal Injury; The Importance of Venous Occlusion," which was first presented to the American Burn Association in 1972. "Cosmetic Surgery of the Breast" followed in 1975. Eleven other titles follow these two, dealing with skin transplants, suction lipectomy, mammoplasty, facial rhytidectomy, cartilage grafts, all the solemn and challenging tasks of repairing damage from burns, accidents, and making restorations in the case of cancer patients.