Columnist · Editorial staff

Hiram Velasquez

Edits the publication's service journalism on plastic surgery and assigns its reader-question pieces.

12 stories by Hiram Velasquez

A large analog wall clock in a quiet hospital corridor, pale morning light, empty seating along the wall, calm institutional interior.

The time budget: how long your combined procedure plan actually takes

Operative duration is one of the few risk variables in cosmetic surgery that a patient can influence before booking, and it is the one nobody quantifies at consultation. You can build the number yourself out of four questions, and the number will change what you ask for.

July 30, 2026 · 8 min · Hiram Velasquez

A pair of graduated compression stockings folded on a bed beside a packed hospital bag, calm bedroom light, early morning.

Safety

Clot risk before cosmetic surgery: how to score yourself before the consultation

Venous thromboembolism is the complication that turns an elective operation into an emergency, and the risk factors that drive it are almost all things you know about yourself and your surgeon does not, unless you say them out loud.

July 27, 2026 · 8 min · Hiram Velasquez

A physician reviewing a patient chart and an electrocardiogram tracing at a desk in a bright medical office

Safety

Medical Clearance Before Cosmetic Surgery: What Your Primary Care Doctor Is Actually Signing

Patients treat clearance as a formality and a signature. It is neither. It is a specific risk assessment about your heart, your airway, your blood, and your medications, and knowing the five things being evaluated is what turns a rubber stamp back into a safety check.

July 25, 2026 · 7 min · Hiram Velasquez

A plain breast implant sample, a neutral fabric drape, reading glasses, and a closed notebook on a marble consultation desk in soft window light

Safety

Capsular contracture: why breast implants harden, and what can be done

The most common reason breast augmentation patients return to the operating room is not the implant failing. It is the scar capsule around it tightening. Here is what causes it, how surgeons grade it, and what actually treats it.

July 22, 2026 · 7 min · Hiram Velasquez