Doctor808 Plastic Surgeon Honolulu Hawaii

I wanted to tell you about Japan from my perspective. I have been there often,  as an invited  teacher and lecture of Plastic Surgery and just for fun. Other times I have passed through on the way to another part of Asia and stayed just one or two nights like on this trip. 

Japan is one of the most interesting places to visit as its people and its culture are far different than any other culture I have known. The Koreans and even the Chinese are somewhat less confusing to the western mind I think. I have had friends from Vietnam , Thailand , Cambodia both Korea’s as well as Taiwan. These were not casual acquaintances but people I have known for years and very well and at least to my thinking I believe these cultures are very close to the American way of thinking. I am sure many of you will disagree but it will take a lot of convincing for me to change my mind. I will simply say that the Japanese are the most detailed and type A personalities I have ever known.  If you study the Japanese tea ceremony and understand  that , you will agree and understand what I am saying. 

Now back to the trip, as we can discuss  Japan as a culture forever and write an entire book on the smallest aspect of that. Once we arrive in Shinjuku station we have to find the Hotel. It was the Hotel Star (Hoteru Star). A pleasant but inexpensive place only 122 US dollars per night  for a large room by Japanese standards. I have stayed at the Southern Tower a much nicer hotel but at over twice the price but since I am only there as a stop over why waste the money?  The reason i like Shinjuku area is its central to many things and easy to get around Tokyo. There are trains leaving Shinjuku station to everywhere.  

The first thing to do in Japan is for me to find the most hole in the wall ramen place I can. There I have found the best ramen noodles as opposed to a fancy looking place. You have to listen to slurps of Japanese men sucking up these noodles. The louder the sounds the better the noodles I suppose.

Ramen at Hole in wall

There are many of these places around Tokyo and they are great eats. Probably some secret recipe that has been in the family for years or maybe not. Yet i like to pretend it is so it taste more exotic.  There is the type where you buy a ticket from a machine and then hand it to the staff or  the other type and which you simply pay the cashier. I am not sure why the difference. Yet its interesting when you try to figure out by comparing Japanese written language to picture of the food so you get what you want. The machine you order does not have a picture and the only way is to compare written language which I cant read or write yet. So I say to myself, ok this first character is the same as this one on the machine, then down the line comapring characters from the menu with pictures to the machine buttons with only written japanese. So far I have always been right. I cant wait until I actually can read Japanese so I dont have to do that anymore. Then it will be a simple , Ok this says beef with ramen noodles–very simple right?

Now remember I said you have to look for a hole in the wall type place and there you will find the best I think. You can see the alley I found which has good ramen. This alley looks like it has been there about 100 years but the building surrounding it are all modern which is one reason I like Japan , it mixes the old and the new very well.

A great alley with Ramen hole in the wall

This alley like I said,  looks like it has not changed in 100 years. Right next to it is a very modern building which I will show you in a picture as well. 

The other thing I really like from Japan is electronic music. The Atom Club in Shinbuyu I visted this trip. Its a little young crowd but what do you expect for trance crowd. I had a great time and the young jet set Japanese dont seem to mind an old guy party along with them when I was the only foreigner in the crowd. I will post one picture here but you can find out more about Atom Club by searching on Youtube. Well that is all I will write now. I will continue about this later. There is much to write about the Japanese Muay Thai scene and kick boxing gyms there. I have been to many and actually met some friends from my Muay Thai Gym in Thailand there. Well until next time.

Atom Club In Shinbuya great electronic music

As is typical I had last minute patients to see exactly 20 minutes before I had to be at the airport. I stopped by the office quickly before I went to the plane. Understand plastic surgery patients for the most apart are not emergency type patients so my last minute having to see a patient is nothing more than my staff causing me a headache. Certainly they could see the RED -DOCTOR LEAVNG DO NOT SCHEDULE on our computerized scheduling program. Yes this staff member who scheduled saw that but choose to ignore it I suppose.  It never ends the schedule. 

First let me review the first leg of the journey and share with you how I do these trips and maybe you can learn from my misadventures. Well I like Japan Airlines, service is good, movies are good and I have never had a problem in  the years I have flown with them. My wife likes them as well and since she makes most travel arrangements we do that one. In trips where she does not go she still does that one for me. 

When I travel I always wear shoes that can come on and off quickly because of security here in the USA. They always make us take off ours shoes. So I have serveral sets of shoes which are like slippers designed much like operating room shoes. These are pictured below. These shoes are made in Italy. I use them in the operating room as well for my plastic surgery cases.

Shoes in TSA basket for X-Ray

These are easy to slip on and off.  They are comfortable to wear and you can take them off easy during the plane ride easy as well. These surgeon shoes can be ordered online. Then  we get inspected by the TSA guy as shown looking at my stuff with blue gloves on. The line went quickly and then on to Japan. I fall asleep or watch movies is how I kill time. I like to stay over at least a night or two in Japan to break up the long flight to Thailand. I like Japan for the food and culture so I soak that up when there. I have very good plastic surgery buddy in Tokyo as well, so we usually visit.

The Narita express is the train from Narita airport to Shinjuku Station as I like to stay near there. Easy access to many places from Shinjuku. It takes about 90 minutes to get to Shinjuku. When you leave the Shinjuku station the sounds are city and rush of people all around. I like that!

sign in Japan

Well Japan is excellent place for observing people trying new food and looking at a culture which is really different than the west. One minute you will see kimono clad woman and the next thing you will see a Obama Costume hanging in store. I could write about Japan for ever as its so Henano!

Obama Costume in Shinjuku Store

The swine flu has hit Hawaii as many of you know with the center for disease control reporting 26 confirmed cases. There have been no deaths in Hawaii but nation wide they report a total of 8 deaths. The world health organization reports a total of 80 deaths world wide and over 10,000 cases world wide. The disease appears to have lost most of its mortality as it becomes further remove by transmission from Mexico where 72 deaths were reported. 

I will traveling to Thailand which reported two cases, no mortality so I am not concerned. However the plane ride over is always a concern. I always get sick after breathing in plane air it seems. I think it my contamination by being in cramped quarters. So this trip I will be wearing a respirator style surgical mask. I am determined not to get sick.

I believe these will cut down on my catching every germ on the plane as usual. The mask are not too expensive and may prevent some down time , If you are around people who are sick or going to travel you may consider a small purchase of these which you can order online as seen in my earlier post. click here and scroll down for purchase of these mask— Swine Flu Update Hawaii

I usually work most Saturdays for one half a day.  Saturdays in Hawaii are good days. Mostly family day,  where the locals go to da beach and hang out eating lau lau or eating something else I do not like. After over 20 years here I am still such a Haole Boy.

So typically on Saturday,  as far as plastic surgery goes I see a few patients who are post procedure, and maybe a few new consults. Mainly Saturday is my catch up day from the busy week. I will look over patient charts, troubleshoot management issues. I will spend special time with staff to go over issues or train them the way I want. They learn from others many times in the practice and sometimes that means the wrong way. So Saturday is a good day to directly interact with my staff as their is less business to take care of and I have time.

A plastic surgeons office in Hawaii is a very interesting thing in that such a wide range of cultures and ethinic issues arise. We have Japanese from Japan, local Japanese, military from Texas , Vietnamese, Korean, British , Russian and on and on. Hawaii is like that and we as plastic surgeons we learn all the nuances of a multiplicity of cultures. This Saturday my receptionist was from main land china, other days my tech is from Japan, my other tech is Filipino and my other receptionist is Korean. This is required to deal with all the languages and cultural issues.

Today I spent teaching my newest receptionist who is from mainland china, she is smart so its easy. Saturday is generally a no surgery day so its easy., I saw all the patients myself and corrected some documentation. It was really a boring day…..but thats ok. I need that by Saturday in my plastic surgery office—now off to the gym.

Well its friday and my weight is down to 180Lbs!!  I feel good and ready to take on my opponent who will be a kick boxer from another gym. Muay Thai style verses American Kickboxing is what the fight will be about I believe,  but who knows.  These series of fights at Tiger Muay Thai gym are to raise money for the Tiger Muay Thai Team to travel to the world championship in the fall. The events are held once a month and really rather exciting. This will be my first fight at this gym,  but the ones I have seen are exciting, and intense.  The action starts at 6pm at the Tiger Muay Thai gym about 1/2 mile down Sand Island access road, but see the webs site for directions.  The web site is TigerMuayThaiHawaii.com.

180 lbs finally

Hawaii has its three possible cases reported of the swine flu. The governor announced this yesterday stating that the CDC has been sent samples so its not confirmed. This means they are not 100% sure yet. Stay tuned …as of this writing the Center for Disease Control has not listed Hawaii among the States with confirmed cases. Lets hope its a false alarm.

Doctor808

What to wear???

In surgery some times surgeons and other members of the team have some interesting conversations. We commonly talk about music, local events , and each others lives. I mentioned to the anesthesiologist who has been working with me that I had a Muay Thai fight coming up soon. The first question he had for me was “do you know what you want to wear yet?”  he said with a sarcastic chuckle. It seems that there is a running joke in the plastic surgery office about my Muay Thai avocation in that I am allegedly over concerned with my kick boxing fashion and fight music.

I don’t think I am. It is important to look well dressed in a Muay Thai ring. The music which is played when you first appear is also important. I mean what would it look like if I just showed up in any old shorts. People would think I was an MMA fighter which is a sin. Even if they knew my discipline was Muay Thai,  I have pride and want to look nice. As all plastic surgeons know appearance means a lot. If my opponent noticed that my Muay Thai shorts were not properly pressed , he may get the idea that I am someone not up to par.  Nothing could be more damaging to the all important psychological aspects of a fight than show up with dirty or or unpressed shorts. The color one chooses is a also important and should reflect your mood as well.  If I am feeling aggressive and want to be on the offensive I prefer black or a dark color. If I am in a sneaky mood , I prefer blue or white as I think it distracts my opponent. One of my favorite colors is pink, a soft pink almost pastel. This lulls my opponent into a calm which amy make him less attentive to  details. 

Music is equally important. One can choose  heavy death metal sound, rock and roll or  or something different.  Again this is all designed for how I want to appear at the ring. Perhaps if my mood is aggressive,  I would choose something like “bodies” by drowning Pool  This has a nice effect sorta of a “I am going to kill you type theme”.  If you really want to confuse your opponent perhaps  Japanese techno or pop may be interesting though I have not fought with this music yet.  I was thinking it might be fun. Here since most Americans are unfamiliar with this genera of music it may give your opponent the idea that I am some kinda of  science fiction type fighter with far advanced futuristic skills,  rather than a brutal killer. I like this in that the futuristic fighter has a nice appeal and would go really well with pink Muay Thai shorts. I think Dream Fighter or Electroworld by Perfume is a good choice.

I have  a few days to decide about these issues , but I will put considerable thought into this. It is very hard decision and I certainly think my office staff and that anesthesiologist who made such comments are simply rude and have no fashion or style , what so ever. Really !  What would doctor 9o210 say?

I will be consulting with one of my favorite fighters Mayhem Miller over this as I am sure he will understand,  as well as some other local fighters and friends who will be more understanding of me than  my staff. I am not sure such an important decision can be made alone. Please make your comments known and help me decide!

doctor 808

I have been following the swine flu across the news here in Hawaii and World Wide. I will summarize for you what I have found. The following will provide more information than you need. In case you do not want to visit the CDC site yourself I will summarize what I found as of today’s date MAY 3 2009.

Hawaii still has not reported a case of swine flu.
Mexico has reported 397 confirmed human cases of infection, including 16 deaths. The higher number of cases from Mexico in the past 48 hours reflects ongoing testing of previously collected specimens. The United States Government has reported 160 laboratory confirmed human cases, including one death.The following countries have reported laboratory confirmed cases with no deaths – Austria (1), Canada (51), China, Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (1), Costa Rica (1), Denmark (1), France (2), Germany (6), Israel (3), Netherlands (1), New Zealand (4), Republic of Korea (1), Spain (13), Switzerland (1) and the United Kingdom (15).

Washing Hands and Wearing Surgical Respirator Type Mask , avoiding crowds in an area with Swine Flu appear to be good protective measures.
You can purchase surgical mask below:

Meet My Coach!! Or in Muay Thai language MY KRU—-

My Kru Doug Owens

My Muay Thai coach is a funny guy. It is 4:30 pm and I am on my way to my Japanese Language class and I see I have a voice mail on my iphone. I check that voice mail and its my coach. ….  “Give me a call”   -Ok I call him back and only a few words were said..”Doc I want you to fight next month”.  I answer : “Ok coach no problem” ,  that means I have 6 weeks to really turn on the training….6 weeks plenty of time.

Coach : ” how much you weigh now? “   “I weigh 190 lbs coach”- at 5 feet 10 inches…..not bad, but I fight at 180lbs. Next thing he says is  “ok doc lose ten pounds I want  you to fight at 180″ .

Thats easy I think,  ten pounds in 6 weeks not hard ?  Plenty of time , get ready for fight next month, June is 4 weeks away and the fight is about 6 weeks away. Right?

Now for the surprise. The inevitable twist in plot or the turn in events. I failed to notice one thing,  today is April 31st !!  So here it comes  ”Oh doc the fight is in 9 days , you know next month is May”–great great great—that is insane to get ready for a fight in 9 days. I mean when I was 20 maybe , but at my age now —-its going to be a challenge.  I have to lose ten punds in 6 or 7 days. @#$%^&*()_+!!

Let me think. What is ten poiunds?

Well here are two pictures. which come to mind.

Fighting weight of 180 lbs

The above picture is what I look like when I am in  fighting shape. The picture below is what  I look when I am fat like now–So I think the idea is to look like the guy above rather that the guy below—all in less than 9 days according to my Kru. He is a funny guy indeed!!

Me now at 190lbs

Coach being patient-Mr Nice

Well today was the first formal Japanese class I have ever taken. I have studied on my own for a few years and learned a little yet i finally decided to truly discipline myself and take formal training. I had to tell my Muay Thai Kru , that I would not make training on Tuesday and Thursday but promised him to do other training those days. He nodded his tacit approval……I am not sure what that means yet.

Michael san wa gakusei desu

Well the class is made up of 5 individuals who all seem very interested in this study. There is the young business man, the filipino gal and another white guy who I am not sure what he does yet. The most interesting fellow is the pony tailed rastiferin looking chap. As these characters develop I will let you know. 

The first class was easy for me as I have learned most of this of this by self teaching. There were a few words I needed clarification on pronoucing. The teacher helped me with that. However I will forget within a few hours as these words are appareently blocked in my brain from learning. Why I am not sure but they appear so.  The first word is ” Oyasuminasai” which is the romanji spelling in japanese  of  english  ”good night”.

Oyasuminasai for some reason is one of my blocking words which I can never pronounce correctly it seems. I try it slowly Oya-sum-in-a sai but maybe its Oya-su-mina-sai.  I dont know, it drives me crazy it could be Oy-as-um -in -sai, I listen to the tape many times slowly dissecting what they are saying and trying to mimic the way they pronounce it. I always end in failure it seems.

Oyasuminsai– I try to say it quick and that seems best,  because no one can hear my bad pronunciation that way. I have tried that with my japanese friends so  I know that it works. The problem is I have many blocking words—another one is “okaerinasai” this means welcome home. I cant spell it in romanji sometimes so I make up my own pronunciation. Thats stupid but unless I have someone around to correct me I do it!!!

Well now I must study so all I can say is Oyasuminasai