“Dr. Body” (Beverly Hills board-certified plastic surgeon Stuart Linder, M.D.) and his blogging colleague “Dr. Face” (who, in real life, is a Beverly Hills board-certified cosmetic plastic surgeon Robert Kotler, M.D.) keep a weather eye on new rules proposed and passed worldwide that would make American plastic surgery even safer.
Here’s their take on plastic surgery and New Rules.
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Dr. Face (Dr. Kotler): By now, everybody knows that California now requires – under the so-called “Donda West law” — a physical exam for every patient going under the knife of a plastic surgeon or a cosmetic surgeon.
Dr. Body (Dr. Linder): That is basically just good medical practice, supported by the American Association of Plastic Surgeons (ASPS), The American Society for Aesthetic Plastic Surgery (ASAPS) and others to make sure that a cosmetic plastic surgery patient is healthy enough for surgery.
Dr. Face: But I noticed a new law in New York State that requires all plastic surgery procedures to take place in a certified facility. (For a quick reminder of the certifications a surgical center can have, take a quick look at our previous blog post about plastic surgery center certifications.)
Dr. Body: Unfortunately, in America, there is no national law requiring surgeries to take place in certified facilities.
Dr. Face: So the consumer has to check it out on his or her own. But it’s an important consideration because many private American doctors have operatories within their office complexes.
Dr. Body: And if you look around at some new rules and laws worldwide, you’ll see a few more things that could make plastic surgery even safer.
Dr. Face: For instance?
Dr. Body: In Canada, a court has upheld the right of the college overseeing doctors to send inspectors into private clinics to examine their practices.
Dr. Face: So the college that oversees my specialty, head and neck surgery, could send a professor to see how I do things?
Dr. Body: Right!
Dr. Face: Not a bad idea. I recently read that the College of Cosmetic Surgery in Australia requires plastic surgeons to fully explain the risks of all procedures and to standardize the way before and after plastic surgery pictures are taken.
Dr. Body: That’s also good idea and something that any American plastic surgeon would be pleased to do.
Dr. Face: I can think of a few new rules, I would like to add.
Dr. Body: Such as?
Dr. Face: Any cosmetic surgeon performing surgery should have hospital privileges. That means the physician must have at least one hospital appointment so that, in an emergency, he can immediately get his patient into a full-service environment.
Dr. Body: Yes, and speaking of hospitals, prospective patients need to know that hospitals are expert in credentialing. Choosing a plastic surgeon who has excellent hospital privileges means that doctor has been fully cleared to perform the procedure – the face lift, the breast augmentation or whatever – you are considering.
Dr. Face: Another new rule I would like to see is one that requires physicians to advertise their specialty only if they have board certification in that specialty.
Dr. Body: I’ve noticed that, too. Some cosmetic plastic surgeons advertise they are “board certified.” But the certification is in gynecology, internal medicine, neurology or some other discipline not related to the cosmetic plastic surgery arts.
Dr. Face: Muddying the waters even more are non-boards like the Board of Laser Surgery. But the American Board of Medical Specialties (ABMS) only recognizes 23 major medical specialties.
Dr. Body: So it’s up to the consumer to check on the board or ask a potential surgeon during the first consultation: “Which board has certified you?”
Dr. Face: You can also do that on your computer. Just go to the ABMS website, (http://www.abms.org) register and type the first and last name of the plastic surgeon you are considering into the box on the left that reads “Is Your Doctor Certified.”
Dr. Body: Consumers should do all this because, in America, any physician with a proper medical license can offer plastic surgery.
Dr. Face: Maybe we need another new law! Just look at all the extra training required to be certified in head and neck surgery: the physician must have – after getting the M.D. degree — two years of general surgery training and another four in head and neck surgery.
Dr. Body: To be board certified in plastic surgery, the physician needs three years general surgery training after getting the M.D. degree and then three to five years more training in plastic surgery.
Dr. Body: To receive the certification, a three to five person board of professors and other super specialists examine two years of the applicant’s cases, business practices and character.
Dr. Face: And then it’s written and oral exams every ten years for re-certification.
Dr. Body: Is it any wonder we have gray hair by the time we start our practices?
Dr. Face: If we have any hair at all!
Read more about the cosmetic plastic surgery training of Dr. Face.
Here is the page about Dr. Body’s education and training in plastic surgery.
