The death of Donda West, mother of rapper Kanye West, following cosmetic surgery last fall has fueled the creation of two California bills, SB 1454 and AB 2968, that are quickly progressing through the legislative process.

A recent court ruling could be interpreted as a cautionary note to cosmetic surgeons who market their services via infomercial or on the Internet: Take great care in formulating your marketing message, one expert tells CST.

If you're considering opening a medspa, or have an interest in one, these detailed steps will help you to stay trouble free in an environment in which regulators and medical boards are struggling to keep up.

Legislation recently proposed in Califormia seeks to bar corporations from medspa ownership, while an Illinois proposal would bar medspa procedures performed without on-site physician supervision.

MD-JDs share provocative lessons they learned from looking at medical practice from an attorney's point of view.

Apparently I was the only person in America who did not know who Kanye West was until news broke on November 12th. But CNN, Fox News and E! set me straight. For those of you still hiding under rocks, or returning from a trip to Antarctica, here is what the country heard. The Mother of a famous rapper had two plastic surgical procedures and she died. Ms. West's surgeon, Dr. Jan Adams, accepted an invitation to "tell his story" on Larry King, and my thoughts are limited to that decision.

In a specialty in which expectations of miraculous transformations are set by the media, the reality of a not-so-perfect outcome may not only result in a patient's disappointment, but also in legal action.

For many years now, the aim and goal of those who watch over industry standards for prevention of injuries have been to adopt and perpetuate a policy of "zero tolerance." As plastic surgeons, it's time for our industry to think like so many other groups that have adopted zero tolerance to negative outcomes.

Dr. Niamtu responds to the article "Performance Anxiety: Non-M.D.s may perform cosmetic surgery, says New California Law" published in the November/December 2006 issue of CST.