Posts Tagged ‘cosmetic surgeons’
Society Memberships
Membership in a professional society means that a surgeon has agreed to maintain certain professional standards. Many physicians belong to one and sometimes to several societies. Even though the AMA is the most well known physician organization, specialists tend to be more active in societies devoted to their field of interest. Although professional organization names may be confusing or the information overwhelming, there really is a simple rule to follow when evaluating society memberships of a cosmetic surgeon: Place the most value on a surgeon’s membership in professional organizations that require a certification by an ABMS-recognized Board that makes sense for the body part and the procedure that you are considering.
Plastic Surgeons
The ASPS is the largest plastic surgery specialty organization in the world, with more than 5,000 member surgeons, and represents 94 percent of the board-certified plastic surgeons in the United States and Canada. Membership requires board certification by the American Board of Plastic Surgery or the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons in Canada; regular participation in continuing education activities; maintenance of a strict code of ethics; and agreement by the surgeon to perform all surgeries requiring anything more than minor local anesthesia in an accredited, licensed, or Medicareapproved facility. Plastic surgeons may also belong to the ASAPS, which has similar membership requirements. Because these wellestablished organizations now require their members to operate in accredited facilities, a surgeon’s membership in one or both of them implies that he or she is committed to a higher standard of care. Read the rest of this entry »
Providers Dictate, but Producers Rule
Even in those stories constructed around a single participant, one never gets the feeling that the patient on a reality show has all that much input into the treatment plan. It is unsettling to watch a patient undergo nine hours of surgery that includes procedures she did not ask for. It is equally dismaying to watch the even more common scenario in which the patient relinquishes her autonomy and the doctor accepts, often without batting an eye, the unshared role of decision maker. The viewer can sense the nervous excitement of the patient who says, after listening to the doctor explain what is to happen, “Whatever you say doctor; I am in your hands.” It is hard to image a worse message to send to potential patients in the viewing audience. (When I hear those words in my practice, I always feel that the patient may not really understand what is proposed and that we need to back up a bit.) Yet this message of blind faith and miracles has sent many a customer to the local cosmetic surgeon’s door. Read the rest of this entry »
BUSINESS OF COSMETIC MEDICINE
We can no longer use only the term “cosmetic surgery” to describe the wide and increasing array of medical procedures available for the purpose of enhancing appearance. Therefore, I use the terms cosmetic medical care, cosmetic medical service, cosmetic medicine, cosmetic intervention, and cosmetic procedure to refer to any operation or less invasive medical procedure that is performed on what most people would consider normal features, usually for the purpose of lessening or enhancing their prominence, correcting minor irregularities that would be too minimal to qualify as reconstructive surgery, or reducing the signs of childbearing or aging. In general, people seek cosmetic interventions to change aspects of their bodies that they consider unfl attering. Read the rest of this entry »