Plastic Surgery Patients: Top 5 Things to Do

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While there are about 2,000 to 3,000 board-certified plastic surgeons in the United States, there were about 12 million cosmetic plastic surgery procedures completed during 2007, according to the American Society of Plastic Surgeons (ASPS.)

Does that mean every plastic surgeon is performing 4,000 to 6,000 procedures a year? Hardly!

What it really means: if you choose a cosmetic surgeon willy-nilly, you may wind up with a doctor not fully qualified to perform rejuvenation surgery.

There are many, many surgeons legally performing rejuvenation surgery who have not had all the extra training after medical school to become a board-certified plastic surgeon or head and neck surgeon. Your job as a patient is to separate the wheat from the chaff.

Here are Five Dos for people looking for a qualified plastic surgeon:

1. DO ask if the surgeon’s board certification is in plastic surgery.

Many cosmetic surgeons offer face lift, breast augmentation and other involved surgeries but without all the extra training and testing. Check the surgeon’s standing at The American Board of Medical Specialties website

2. DO request to see the surgeon’s plastic surgery before and after pictures and ask where his or her hospital privileges are.

If the surgeon does not have any before and after pictures, it’s usually because there are none. Hospitals do not grant privileges to incompetent surgeons.

3. DO be sure to ask about any possible risks connected to the surgery you want.

Every procedure carries a rare risk; some do happen, even in the best of hands.
A good question to ask: “Tell me about your most recent surgery that did not go well and what you did about it.”

4. DO call your surgeon if you think you may have a complication after surgery.

The five to seven extra years training means your surgeon has most likely seen your complication before and knows exactly what to do.

5. DO carefully read and understand your surgeon’s instructions about what to do after your procedure.

Healing routines are different for say, rhinoplasty, liposuction and tummy tuck. A good result after healing is affected by how well you take care of yourself afterwards.

admin @ March 26, 2009