Plastic Surgery Deals? Watch for Misleading Ads!

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With a dampened economy at hand, the American Society for Aesthetic Plastic Surgery (ASAPS) is cautioning consumers to look past the deals offered in splashy marketing. The ASAPS recommends your procedure is being performed by trained, experienced plastic surgeons.

The warning is doubled when it comes to involved, extensive procedures like:

• Breast augmentation
• Face lift surgery, especially rhinoplasty
• Liposuction
• Tummy tuck
• Buttocks augmentation

When responding to coupons, “two-fer” offers, fire sales and special mark downs for high-ticket procedures, your first consideration should be your health. Plastic surgery is real surgery and you don’t want to take short cuts.

As for saving money: if your surgery is done by unqualified hands and the result is not good, it can set you back two to three times the cost of the original procedure for a re-do.

What’s really expensive is having plastic surgery by somebody who does not know what they are doing! If money is tight – as it is for everybody- read a blog post about finding discounts with your plastic surgeon.

In today’s economy, it only makes sense to price shop among plastic surgeons to find the best price available. But do your shopping among board-certified cosmetic plastic surgeons.

To make sure you are on to quality and not misleading promises, ask your surgeon the following:

• Is the cost of my procedure, the total cost, including anesthesiologist, surgery room fee and other costs?

Some ads only mention the surgeon’s fee, not the other charges which can double the total price you pay.

• How long will my procedure last?

Many offers of “lunch-time” or “one hour” face lifts do not have a good track record. A good face lift doesn’t take place in 60 minutes. Most plastic surgeons tell their patients that minimal efforts yield minimal results. Quality plastic surgery is not done in a snap.

• Who will be performing the procedure?

So that all your questions can be answered, the person who conducts the first consultation about surgery should be the person who is actually performing the surgery. But in some places, a marketing or sales person is the first to discuss the surgery.

• Where do you advertise?

Professional societies for plastic surgeons recommend that surgeons expand their patient base by joining school boards, churches, synagogues, rotary clubs, symphony and museum groups and breast cancer fund raisers.

It’s also O.K. for surgeons to offer promotions to current patients who refer their friends.

What plastic surgery ads have you seen?

admin @ March 24, 2009