Patient Safety: Check Your Doctor, Do Your Research

Most patients might know that to have surgery you should go to a board-certified surgeon, but with less invasive or nonsurgical procedures, they might be tempted to go elsewhere. In a study done last year, 47% of patients said they would have a more invasive procedure outside of a plastic surgeon’s office if their nonsurgical procedure went well. That means they could have an unlicensed individual injecting botox, fillers or doing even more extensive procedures like liposuction or fat transfer.

We’ve all seen the news – here are some important steps to take when selecting your surgeon:

1)     Check for credentials:

We’ve all seen the horror stories online from the women who went into a nail or hair salon and thought that it would be okay to get a buttock augmentation or injectable procedure done by an unlicensed individual. Completely fake doctors and injectors are out there, but so are non-core doctors who never learned how to properly inject or perform a procedure. Would you have a dentist do your heart surgery? Then, why have a dentist do your plastic surgery?

-        Woman's face infected, disfigured following medi-spa visit http://www.surgery.org/consumers/plastic-surgery-news-briefs/womans-face-infected-disfigured-medi-spa-visit-1038543

-        Med spas, spreading like wildfire in Florida, offer cosmetic procedures http://www.surgery.org/consumers/plastic-surgery-news-briefs/med-spas-spreading-wildfire-florida-offer-cosmetic-procedures-1037457

 

2)     Underground injections and Botox parties:

It may seem obvious not to go to someone’s home or hotel room to get a procedure done, but the individuals running these operations are convincing and they prey on vulnerable individuals who might not be able to afford procedures, nor have access to the internet or other resources and yet are desperate to improve their appearance. There are websites, phone numbers and organizations dedicated to checking on a person’s credentials. Don’t skimp on the research. 

-        Underground buttock injection leads to woman's death http://www.surgery.org/consumers/plastic-surgery-news-briefs/underground-buttock-injection-leads-womans-death-1038076

-        Backroom procedures not worth the risk [ASAPS Press Release] http://www.surgery.org/media/news-releases/patient-safety-alert-

 

                Project Beauty Videos: Related topics 

-        FOCUS ON PATIENT SAFETY: PT I - Importance of Board Certification http://www.projectbeauty.com/videos/watch/importance-of-board-certification/

-        FOCUS ON PATIENT SAFETY: PT II – Are Quick Fix Brand Surgeries Worth it? http://www.projectbeauty.com/videos/watch/are-quick-fix-brand-surgeries-worth-it/

-        FOCUS ON PATIENT SAFETY: PT III – How to Choose a Plastic Surgeon http://www.projectbeauty.com/videos/watch/how-to-choose-a-plastic-surgeon/

-        A word of warning: Do-it-yourself plastic surgery http://www.projectbeauty.com/videos/watch/a-word-of-warning/