Selection of Your Surgeon


The process used to select your surgeon should be as thorough as your selection of your spouse. This selection is a process of choice. Choosing whom will perform your surgery is perhaps the single most important factor in determining a successful outcome to your surgery.

Successful outcomes in plastic or cosmetic surgery are quite different from other surgical procedures because while the surgical performance may be adequate, the result may not meet the expectations of the patient.

Certainly complications may initially spoil the "result." Infections, bleeding, scar formation, immunity, psychology-all have a component in the equation of the "result."

Other factors may play a role in cosmetic surgery giving it an aura of unpredictability. The psychology of cosmetic surgery is not well understood, nor is it well documented.

Psychological factors which give cosmetic surgery a mystical tinge also make the patient and surgeon selection process most important in determining the adequacy of the result, as it pertains to you, and hopefully to your surgeon. Remember, cosmetic surgery is purely for appearance and the improvement in appearance MAY result in a successful experience, if all of the conditions are met.

Your relationship with your surgeon involves many factors-trust, mutual respect, openness, honesty, personal commitment-just to name a few. Perhaps cosmetic surgery will prove to be the last medical/surgical specialty where the doctor-patient relationship may survive the onslaught of the HMO’s and Medicare and ideally last a lifetime!

Surgeons, particularly, cosmetic or plastic surgeons are quite different from other specialists. Confusion remains as to what they are and what they are qualified to do. Plastic surgeons are certainly the most qualified to perform cosmetic surgery, since they have the most training and are certified by a specialty board which is world recognized-and they know it! Cosmetic surgery arose from the need of a small select group of society who could afford it and needed to look their best. Obviously, this group was highly selective and money was not an object. This included actresses and actors and the wealthy who wanted to rid themselves of obvious racial or developmental characteristics. With the invention of motion pictures and close-ups, changes in nasal profiles and facial characteristics were essential to success, as Hollywood defined it. In those days, cosmetic surgery was secretive and available only to a few, but as anesthetic and surgical risk was minimized, and greater technical prowess was achieved ( a direct result from war time experience), cosmetic surgery began to flourish, albeit in a quiet sort of way.

Now, as we approach the next century, cosmetic surgery is the most rapidly growing medical field, commanding the greatest portion of the public’s attention. With the elimination of private insurance and the socialization of other fields of medicine, many other specialists are trying to portray themselves as qualified , even though they may never had much prior experience in this seemingly simple but highly complex field.

Therefore, the selection process recommended when choosing your surgeon should include the following basic steps:

  1. Research: narrowing the selection of your surgeon to five individuals.
  2. Interviewing:
      A. Prospective staff
      B. Former patients
      C. Physician referrals (primary care providers)
      D. Local magazines, publications
      E. Yellow page advertisements
      F. Professional organizations
      G. The American Board of Plastic Surgery
      H. The American Society of Plastic Surgery
  3. Analyzing
  4. Informed Choice

Finding the right surgeon may be as easy as getting a referral from a friend or as difficult as interviewing several surgeons who treat you like a vain, irrational person.

Interviewing may be time consuming but it will allow you to objectively determine who and when, what and where, without the "heat of the battle" or the "swoon of the night" sway your decision.

Analyzing will put YOU in the decision making seat.

Finally, making an INFORMED choice is the goal of all patients-and hopefully all surgeons.

Why use the selection process?

Avoid unnecessary risk!

You may be attempted to go with the surgeon whom you just met. Surgery is not love at first site. Do you choose your attorney that way?

You will be tempted to cut short the process because: "You (I) want my implants right now."
When in doubt - DON’T!
Your continued good health and an attractive post-operative result are well worth the time invested in this process.

(INSERT): Take for example A's story:
A prematurely aged thirty-something presents herself to a surgeon with a history of heavy alcohol intake and heavy smoking. Her prospective surgeon determines immediately that she is not a "good risk," and thoughtfully wishes her to stop smoking and discontinue drinking. Laboratory tests are abnormal. The surgery must be delayed. More money is offered. Still the surgeon declines. The patient goes to another country and has her implants "Put in." Days later there is infection. Many implant surgeries later, the infection is raging. Finally the implants are removed. The infection remains. There is severe hemorrhage, since the infection now has eroded through her arteries.
Now the patient is fighting for her life-without implants!

While the general public feels that doctors are trained to screen patients, no such training exists in the cosmetic surgery field. Hence, misjudgments can occur on both sides-from mismatched surgeons and inappropriate patient-candidates for surgery.

Cosmetic surgeons are in particular jeopardy since a "bad result" is often more of a personality conflict than bad surgery. Poor listening or chastising a patient for self-destructive behavior can result in a law suit, since the standard applicable to cosmetic surgery is often a subjective one.

Patients are at jeopardy too, since the field has been left to "weed itself."

Turf battles over who is most qualified to perform cosmetic surgery have resulted in a plethora of misinformation, unsanctioned "boards" claiming legitimacy, advertisements from various other specialties claiming "woman’s surgeon," special expertise (specialist in breasts, faces, etc.) all making clear decision making more difficult.

Don’t let the trees get in the way of the forest.

Surgeons are in great need of patients who will broadcast their trade, contributing most positively to their reputation not only with a successful surgical outcome, but also with potential referrals.

Patients are in great need of surgeons who can offer the greatest potential for success (not guarantee it!). Professional competency, training which substantiates their ability to perform the surgery, personal stability, and a willingness to devote their personal time and energy to the positive outcome of your surgery, are some of the key factors in determining the "success" of your breast augmentation.



Essential Information
Breast Implants
Breast Lift
Breast Reduction
Peri-operative guide
Glossary