New Englanders, here’s the body part we ask plastic surgeons to fix the most

If you could change any part of your body with plastic surgery, what would it be? New Englanders answer that question differently than people going under the knife throughout the rest of the country, according to data released by a medical society for plastic surgeons. (The data doesn’t reflect those who answer, “None thanks, get that scalpel away from me.”) Breast augmentations reigned supreme for […]

Maine seeing record cases of chickenpox among children

A record number of Maine schoolchildren have been infected with chickenpox this school year, according to state health officials. From September 2014 through mid-May 2015, 84 cases of the highly contagious virus were reported in children, according to the Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention. That’s nearly double the 44 cases reported during the same period of the 2013-14 school […]

Vital Signs newsletter: Mercy to close addiction recovery clinic

Mercy Hospital announced Wednesday it will close its addiction recovery center in Westbrook and transfer services to its State Street location. The move will affect about 250 patients and 90 employees at the Westbrook clinic, which provides Suboxone treatment and counseling for patients recovering from heroin, prescription painkiller and alcohol addiction. While Mercy patients will […]

Vital Signs newsletter: Vaccine debate draws crowd to Augusta

A parade of speakers packed a legislative committee room on Monday, drawn to Augusta to debate Maine’s vaccination program. Among them was Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who’s been making the rounds in other states weighing vaccine legislation, hawking his book about the supposed dangers of immunization. Lawmakers are considering three bills on the issue, two that would […]