There
was a time when if you had a health concern, you would make an appointment and
“ask the doctor.” Your doctor was a kindly, unassuming figure dangling a
stethoscope and wielding a cylindrical little rocket that he inserted in your
ears. Then he shoved the tongue depressor down your throat, made you say,
“Ahhh…” and declared “Nothing that a few days rest won’t take care of.” But
that was then.
Today,
when something’s wrong you fortify yourself with a snack and hunker down in the
glow of the Internet, indulging in uncertainty, conjecture and self-diagnosis
only to emerge hours later with a headache and the name of a specialist. He (or
she) will not only peer down your throat but also order a battery of diagnostic
tests. Two weeks later, when results are in, you return to the specialist who
will probably tell you, “You need a couple of days of rest.”
Cosmetic
surgery is a specialty apart from all others. Endoscopy, colonoscopy and
appendectomy are not advertised as life changing procedures, but plastic
surgery is. There’s a constant barrage of Internet, TV and print ads that
suggest you will enhance your life if you sculpt, enhance, whittle and lift
your various body parts. Ads offer plastic surgery vacations, bargain basement
liposuction, noninvasive miracle procedures, Botox parties and the
do-it-yourself Botox kit.
On
the other hand, the press bombards you with plastic surgery horror stories.
Recent plastic surgery headlines involve a breast implant scandal in Europe involving unsafe implant materials, reports of
butt augmentations gone wrong and stories about unqualified practitioners
practicing in less than hygienic surroundings.
Another
problem peculiar to plastic surgery is that industries such as laser companies
advertise direct to the consumer, so patients seek out the machinery first with
little thought of who is operating it. This sets the stage for disaster because
many of the newer procedures are highly technician-dependent; as a consumer,
you need to understand that the equipment is only as good as the person
operating it.
If
you are at all similar to the 8.4 million women in the United States who
underwent cosmetic procedures in 2011, according to the American Society for
Aesthetic Plastic Surgery (ASAPS), and anywhere between the ages of 18 and 80,
you spend a significant amount of time wondering what you can do to improve
your appearance….and men are jumping on that bandwagon too.
Once
you make the decision to undergo a cosmetic procedure, you can’t simply go to your
neighborhood surgeon (those days are gone), but there’s no reason to get
overwhelmed with advertising or plastic surgery in the media. Professional
medical organizations, such as ASAPS www.surgery.org, will provide you
with simple tools for selecting a surgeon, a surgical facility and the
procedure that is right for you.
Plastic Surgery 101
The
only way to deal with plastic surgery advertising is to be a safe and educated
consumer. An educated consumer is not vulnerable to charlatans, false
advertising and unrealistic promises.
Here
is the most important plastic surgery advice: Your cosmetic procedure must be performed by a licensed physician withproper credentials operating in an accredited facility. Do not get stuck on
the Internet pursuing plastic surgery offers. Instead, seek out a professional
organization for information and referrals. ASAPS is one such organization;
their mission is “educate the public that in the right hands, in the right
setting, and on the right patient, cosmetic surgery can have profound physical
and psychosocial benefits.”
If
you’re confused about finding a plastic surgeon, you’ve got good reason.
Anybody can claim to be a doctor, cosmetic surgeon or plastic surgeon. Your
first priority is to check a physician's credentials to see that his training
and certification is appropriate for the procedure you want. Certification by
The American Board of Plastic Surgery (ABPS) ensures in-depth surgical training
in all aspects of plastic surgery. U.S. or Canadian membership in The
American Society for Aesthetic Plastic Surgery (ASAPS) means a surgeon is
ABPS-certified and has met additional requirements for continuing education and
experience in cosmetic surgery.
The right setting
Accredited
office-based facilities have a safety record comparable to hospital ambulatory
surgery settings. If you select a board-certified plastic surgeon from the
ASAPS database “Find-a-Surgeon,” you can be sure that the member-surgeons use
accredited office-based surgical facilities. Otherwise, ask these questions to
make sure your office-based cosmetic surgery is performed in a setting that is
safe:
- Is the
office-based surgical facility accredited by a nationally or state
recognized accrediting agency, or is it state licensed or Medicare
certified? Nationally recognized accrediting agencies include the American
Society for Accreditation of Ambulatory Surgery Facilities (AAAASF), the
Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations (JCAHO), and
the Accreditation Association for Ambulatory Health Care (AAAHC).
- Does your
surgeon have privileges at an accredited acute care hospital for the
specific procedure you are undergoing?
- If your
procedure involves sedation, will it be monitored by registered nursing
personnel? If general anesthesia is used it must be administered by a
board-certified anesthesiologist or certified registered nurse
anesthetist.
- Are the
emergency equipment and anesthesia monitoring devices in the surgical
facility equivalent to those that would be necessary for the same surgical
procedure performed in a hospital or freestanding ambulatory surgery
center?
- Are provisions
made for hospital admission in the event of unforeseen complications? There should be a separate recovery area with monitoring
equipment equal to that required by a hospital or ambulatory surgery
facility.
- Will there be
a doctor and a registered nurse at the site until you are recovered?
- Will the
surgeon determine when you are discharged?
The right patient
If
you suffer from obesity and consult with a plastic surgeon about liposuction as
a way of removing excess pounds and giving you the body you dream of, a good
plastic surgeon will tell you to go home and go on a diet. Similarly, if your
face is weathered and heavily lined from years of sun exposure and you think a
little Botox is your answer the right surgeon will suggest a more realistic
treatment. Even more important, the right doctor will not operate on you unless
he gets medical clearance from your internist, heart doctor or anyone else who
is treating you for a serious medical condition. Simply, as consumers, we are
not always the best judges of whether or not we are the “right patient” for a
procedure. Remember, you need to be in the right hands in a safe setting, but
you also need to be a good candidate for the procedure you’re undergoing. Your
first step is consultation with a board-certified practitioner.
Good
weather never makes top headlines and neither does good plastic surgery. Good
plastic surgery is a specialty that rarely gets notice because it is not very
noticeable. And that ideal, pursued in a safe setting, is what you’re seeking.
Links:
ASAPS Checklist for plastic surgery:
Procedures:
