The unlicensed Bronx cosmetologist who was convicted of criminally negligent homicide in the case of a client who came to her for silicone injections in her buttocks—and died of a silicone embolism in her lungs—was sentenced to nine months in jail. Prosecutors described Elsa Then, 58, as a “cold and calculating” manipulator who used Bounty paper towels, Band-Aids and Krazy glue to close victim Fiordaliza Pichardo's wounds. more ›

For Real Housewives and porn stars, it's practically part of their professions. Sexy banker had two of them in hopes of transforming herself into "Tits on a stick." But it seems that everyone in America is into boob jobs...except maybe when they get four breasts out of it. more ›

Well, this data from the state Health Department has certainly made us terrified of ever getting invasive surgery. In 2008 and 2009, New York surgeons left 292 foreign objects inside patients, a 12 percent increase from 2006 and 2007. Nationwide, it happens about 3,000 times a year. But it's OK, because doctors are now utilizing the advanced technology of metal detecting to figure out what they left in there. more ›

According to Saudi Arabia’s royal palace, King Abdullah is doing fine after two successful back surgeries and has left New York Presbyterian Hospital. The palace announces that King Abdullah will remain in New York while he recuperates from surgery for slipped disk and a blood clot pressing on the nerves in his back, as his 85-year-old half brother Crown Prince Sultan runs the country in his absence. It's unclear how long it will take King Abdullah to recover, but we assume he is nice and comfy in his bogarted Waldorf-Astoria suite. more ›

Saudi King Abdullah had a second surgery yesterday at New York-Presbyterian Hospital, and his royal palace says it was a success. The 86-year-old leader of the world's top oil-producing country will now start physical therapy... which means he'll be sticking around the VIP section of the hospital a little while longer. more ›

Whoever stole this money is going to hell: $8,000 in cash and checks were stolen at a fundraiser for a Putnam County boy who has Hemifacial microsoma, a congential disorder that results in an underdeveloped face. Aidan Sullivan has no right ear, and this money was going towards creating one from rib cartilage. Aidan's family has insurance, but, since their doctors don't take it, they rely raffles to raise money for surgeries. Aidan's father, a FDNY lieutenant told the Journal News, "People were reaching out to help our son," and his mother said, "I don't understand how someone can take money from a kid who doesn't have an ear." Here's the family's Facebook page with info on how to donate. more ›

We won't mess with a perfect Post lede: "He went in for man-boob reduction surgery, and came out with numb nipples instead." Michael Bettinger is suing Manhattan cosmetic surgeon Dr. Lawrence Reed for allegedly leaving him with misshapen, numb nipples and chest scars after surgery to fix his gynecomastia (male breast enlargement) in 2007. Bettinger initially believed the surgery would give him a "more masculine chest." According to Wikipedia, the word "gynecomastia" comes from the Greek gyne meaning "woman," and mastos, meaning "breast." more ›

In what's being considered a successful operation, doctors amputated a woman's big toe to replace her left thumb. Long Island woman Shannon Elliott lost three fingers in November after picking up an M80 firework that had been thrown at her leg, which then exploded in her hand. Doctors at Stony Brook University suggested replacing her thumb with her big toe, saying she would gain use of her hand will little change to her ability to walk or run. She told reporters the decision was a "no brainer." more ›

An NYU Medical Center doctor was fired for anonymously calling lap-band patients the night before their surgery to warn them that they might die. Surgical resident Neelu Pal saw one patient die from the surgery in 2006, and took it upon herself to warn patients about the procedure—even if she had to lie about her identity! One patient told the Post Pal disguised herself as an operating room nurse and told her she "had watched many patients die from the procedure" and said to "think about having the surgery someplace else." more ›

The families of two New York women who received lap-band surgery—a procedure meant to help severely obese people lose weight—are suing the respective hospitals where their kin received the surgery, after both women died due to surgical complications. Both Rebecca Quatinetz, 27, and Danielle Delango, 25, died two months after their surgery; Quatinetz's suit claims her lap-band was defective. more ›

This is kind of cool, we guess: a new study from Dartmouth shows that Manhattanites are the most likely people in the country to make it past 65 without needing a knee replacement. Obesity is the number one reason why knee and hip joints wear out, which constantly walking city folk usually aren't plagued with. According to the Hospital for Special Surgery, only 4 in 1,000 Medicaid patients in NYC needed knee replacements in 2006, compared with 15.7 per 1,000 in Lincoln, Nebraska, which was actually rated the best city for women to live in for their health—now presumably excluding the knees. more ›

A Queens spa owner was charged with second-degree assault, unlawfully practicing medicine and first-degree reckless endangerment for performing "butt enhancement" surgery. Barbara Nieto, owner of Perfect Image Stethics in Corona, performed the surgery on Augusta Velez. According to Queens DA Richard A. Brown [PDF], Nieto removed fat from Velez's stomach and re-injected it into her buttocks, and allegedly injected her with a pain relieving substance. more ›

The cop wounded by a gunman inside a Bronx apartment fired the rounds that killed the perp, police investigators believe. Even though Officer Robert Salerno had been hit twice—his Kevlar vest halted a third shot to the chest—the three-year NYPD veteran unloaded his 16-round clip, striking Santiago Urena in the the abdomen, shoulder, and temple, police officials told the Post. more ›

Yesterday, the Daily News was the first to reveal that Jets coach Rex Ryan had lap band surgery on Saturday. How did the Post react? By sending a reporter to his house in NJ for an "unannounced visit." more ›

A Staten Island mother won a court case against a plastic surgeon who left her with a "double bubble" deformity that made her appear to have four breasts. Maria Alaimo convinced jurors that Dr. Keith Berman ruined her chest—and her marriage—when she went under the knife. "I hope this does give other women the courage to step forward to say something happened," said Alaimo. "They shouldn't have to hide behind the big scarves and the big turtlenecks." more ›

Haitian earthquake survivors, ambitious young interns, Harlem restaurateurs, and centrist Democrats can all breathe easy this morning: William Jefferson Clinton, America's first black president, was released from the hospital this morning after a successful procedure to clear a blocked artery. "He's out of the hospital and in the car back enroute to his home,'' former DNC chairman Terry McAuliffe told CBS this morning. "And if I know President Clinton, he'll be on the phone ... calling people asking for more help for Haiti and where he can get pickup trucks so they can deliver food or generators. If I know Bill Clinton, he'll be raring to go in about 35 minutes.'' Chappaqua, lock up your daughters, Bubba's back in the saddle! more ›

The Daily News ends the year on an uplifting note, putting a young Brooklyn woman who survived a rare five-organ transplant surgery on the cover this morning. 22-year-old Kristin Molini is eating real food for the first time since 2005, when her rare medical condition, intestinal dysmotility, intensified. The malady paralyzed her digestive organs, and she had to rely on an IV feed that destroyed her liver. "The first thing I ate was a piece of saltine cracker and a Cheerio, and that was like, 'Oh, my God!'" Molini tells the News. "You start out [eating] like a baby, but you're like a kid in a candy shop." more ›

Ed Koch just loves his moments in the sun. A week after the former mayor was sharing about cursing out New Yorkers heckling him in the grocery store, last night he was going off about his wild hallucinations at Columbia Pres while recovering from his recent quadruple bypass surgery. Koch told a crowd at the 92nd Street Y Monday, ”I thought I was captured by Japanese terrorists...When they cut off my thumbs, I knew it wasn’t real because there was no blood and no pain. I was daydreaming. I apologize to the Japanese. I know they’re great allies. I’m only telling you what I experienced.” CityRoom says Koch also mentions the terrorists spoke to him with a Yiddish accent. It sounds like if you ask the Columbia doctor's "how he's doing" in terms of showing his gratitude for the intensive surgery, they'd say pretty well. Koch is taking his 20 doctors out to dinner at Peter Luger Steak House in Williamsburg tonight. (One declined because he's Kosher.) As for the 72 nurses and technicians who aided him, they got the gift of an obligatory read with Koch sending them one of the 16 books he's written. more ›

Look, it's not brain surgery—if you've got an important appointment, make a note of it in your calendar. Yet one big shot neurosurgeon at North Shore University Hospital on Long Island apparently had better things to do on April 10th, when he left his patient all prepped for surgery with nowhere to go. (To be fair, it can be difficult to get a good tee time at Fresh Meadow Country Club.) Dr. Paolo Bolognese, who reportedly makes about $2.4 million a year, was suspended for two weeks from the hospital after leaving his anesthetized female patient out cold on the operating table with her head shaved. It's unclear where exactly he was, and when staffers failed to locate Bolognese, they turned to chief of neurosurgery Thomas Milhorat ($7.2 million a year). But he refused to step in because the patient wasn't his. So Milhorat was also suspended, but the two MIA MDs seem to be making the best of it; a hospital receptionist tells the News they're in Italy attending a medical conference and, naturally, can't be reached. more ›

It's barely March, but it's fair to say that Alex Rodriguez is not having the best year ever. After reports surfaced yesterday that an MRI showed that tightness he was experiencing in his hip stemmed from a cyst, now word is that the cyst will require surgery that will keep A-Rod out for ten weeks. ESPN learned of this from his brother who told them that surgery to remove the cyst is scheduled for Monday in Colorado. Joe Rodriguez said, "It's a big blow for the whole family. Alex is destroyed. But the most important thing is to have a successful surgery so that Alex may continue his career." The procedure obviously means that A-Rod is out for the World Baseball Classic as well as more than a month of the Yankees inaugural year in their new ballpark. And to add insult to injury, just today the Daily News ran a feature of A-Rod's 10 biggest foot in his mouth quotes—our favorite being his allusion to nightly slumber parties with Derek Jeter. more ›

The bad news: The Mets' closer Billy Wagner needs surgery to repair his torn MCL in his left elbow, which MLB.com writes will possibly end "his season and possibly his career," since recovery time is "approximately one year." The (sort of) good news: Mets fans won't be tortured by his inconsistent outings. General manager Omar Minaya said, "That was a scenario that I was not expecting," and Wagner had said yesterday that he felt a lot better. Wagner's contract runs through next year (which is worth $10.5 million), and there's also an option for 2010 ($8 million). The Daily News point outs that while Wagner will be missed, "they have played well without him for the past month, too." more ›