Plastic Surgery – “It’s Like The Wild West Out There”

This is the warning being offered by a board certified plastic surgeon who contributes to MSNBC about the many unqualified doctors who are doing plastic surgery today.  http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/44677628/ns/health-skin_and_beauty/  In most states, once you have a medical license, you can do any plastic surgery procedure you want.  You may not be able to do it in a hospital where you have to have demonstrated some competence in order to get hospital privileges but you can do it in your office or in an outpatient surgicenter.  An Arizona doctor just got sentenced to prison for killing patients during outpatient liposuction procedures he was doing in his office.  He didn’t know what he was doing and didn’t properly care for his patients when they began to get in trouble after the operation.

In our practice, we see many cases of botched plastic surgery.  We aren’t the only ones.  There are whole web sites dedicated to showing pictures of botched plastic surgery procedures.  It is difficult for us to take these cases because most of the procedures were elective and the attitude of many jurors today is that people who get these operations and have bad results are getting what they deserve.

So where does that leave you if you are considering plastic surgery?  It leaves you having to take care of yourself beforehand.  When deciding on whether to have a procedure or not, be sure you understand the risks.  Every procedure has risks, no matter what anyone tells you.  In fact, if a doctor tells you there are no risks to the contemplated surgery, find another doctor.  If you have had surgery in the same area before, those risks are increased because now the surgeon has to deal with the scar tissue from the previous surgery or surgeries.  Scar tissue doesn’t heal the same way fresh tissue does.

Once you have decided that you are willing to accept the risks associated with the procedure, find a doctor who is well-qualified.  Always look for doctors who are board certified in plastic surgery.  Always ask how many of the procedures the doctor has done over the last six months or year.  The statistics are clear that the more often a doctor does a procedure, the less likely he or she is to screw it up.  Check the local medical board and see where your doctor was educated, whether he or she is board certified and whether he or she has been disciplined and, if so, for what.

There is no way to eliminate all risk but you can eliminate most unnecessary risk by being careful before you go for the surgery.  It is easier to avoid a plastic surgery problem beforehand than it is to fix it afterward.

Posted in Doctors, Plastic Surgery |