First up was Janice who came to the clinic about her breasts. Janice had a mastectomy and subsequent breast reconstruction in 1996 as part of her fight against breast cancer. At the time Janice opted out of having a new nipple constructed as it would have been made using tissue from her vulva or anus. Furthermore the reconstructive surgery left Janice’s breasts particularly assymetric. After discussion with Dr Christian she decided to under go further surgery to correct the asymmetry with new implants, as well as having a new nipple constructed out of her breast tissue. The process was completed with a tattooist applying colour to the nipple area to create an areola. To hear more about Janice’s story you can go to her website.
To see Janice’s operation in more detail, watch our extended video guide
38 year old Robert had been suffering for 10 years with ulcers in his mouth and on his penis that lasted for several months. Dr Dawn swabbed for the herpes virus but the results were negative so, suspecting Behcet’s Syndrome (a rare auto-immune condition), sent him to see consultant rheumatologist Dr Alison Jordan who confirms the presence of the genetic condition. Returning to Dr Dawn, Robert tells of how the ulcers completely cleared up after a course of prescribed medication.
This episode saw the mobile clinic land slap bang in Brighton. First through its doors was David with his dry, itchy, cracked, bleeding hands. After discussing David’s occupation as a chef and his frequent contact with anti-bacterial soap Dr Christian diagnoses contact dermatitis stemming from an allergic reaction. Dr Christian suggests ditching the current soap to see if that improves things and if not to apply steroid creams at night as well as putting gloves on to prevent scratching and wiping the cream off.
Next up Dr Pixie met Laila who, having recently has a case of constipation, was subsequently experiencing bleeding whenever she moved her bowels. On examination Dr Pixie notices a small tear in the anus sometimes known as an anal fissure, which should heal within a couple of weeks. If a tear doesn’t heal within that time, consult your GP for a checkup.
Dr Christian met Chris who having suffered from tonsillitis frequently in his twenties was still experiencing smelly, swollen, pus filled tonsils that were constantly getting trapped with food. On inspection Christian notices a large hole in the tonsils and suggests consulting an ear, nose and throat specialist to discuss the possibility of tonsil removal.
Back at the clinic Lois dropped in with a severe case of thrush that had been persisting despite various treatments, for nine long years. Dr Christian took some swabs of the discharge that Lois was consistently experiencing to send off for tests. The swabs were analysed by microbiologist Val Edwards-Jones, who found no signs of the regular thrush yeast so Lois was sent to see consultant dermatologist Dr Jennifer Yell. Dr Yell found signs of eczema and recommended a cream to apply twice a day as well as substituting soap for Aqueous cream. Three weeks later Lois returns to tell Dr Christian of the vast improvement in her symptoms.
After asking women to discuss their vagina hygiene habits Dr Christian raised awareness of good vaginal health and tackled some of the more common myths regarding the female genitals – they’re self cleaning for starters so excessive ‘douching’ can upset the balance of your most delicate areas!
24 year old Paul was next to see Dr Pixie who had never developed pectoral muscles on the right hand side of his body, leaving him with a peculiar chest appearance. Dr Pixie diagnoses Poland’s Syndrome a rare condition more commonly affecting males. The main symptoms of the condition are purely cosmetic so Paul goes to see cosmetic surgeon Dr Yannis Alexandrides. After discussion with Dr Alexandrides Paul opted for a temporary but less invasive solution to surgery which involved injecting a cosmetic filler into the affected side of the chest to give the illusion of chest muscle. After the swelling had gone down Paul returned to Dr Pixie to show off his newly acquired pec.
To see Paul’s operation in more detail watch our exclusive extended guide >
The doctors headed back to Brighton where Dr Pixie was out to relieve some party animals of their dreaded hangovers whilst raising awareness of the guidelines for alcohol consumption. In an attempt to uncover what actually goes on in our brains when under the influence Dr Pixie took part in an experiment with neurologist Dr David Lewis. As she drank six units of vodka Dr Pixie’s brain activity was monitored which revealed notable, reduced functionality in her brain causing her to rethink some of her past assumptions about the effects of alcohol.
This weeks ‘Living With…’ strand followed a young sufferer of Parkinson’s Disease – a disorder of the central nervous system characterised by shaking, stiffness and difficulty with co-ordination, walking and movement. Whilst Parkinson’s isn’t fatal it does get worse over time and can affect the whole body. Despite all this she manages to live a normal, happy life.
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