Jan 11 2011
Have You Selected A Real Plastic Surgeon?
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A good plastic surgeon is part doctor and part artist and they can create striking improvements in the patients appearance with sometimes very small alterations in their features. The best surgeons have the ability to make changes to the patient that look totally natural.
Sadly, today many surgeons have very little or no experience at all in plastic surgery, but they are still advertising themselves as plastic surgeons. Without realizing it, you may have selected a surgeon who has only done your procedure a few times or, potentially, none at all.
You may think that this sounds far fetched, but here is why this type of thing can happen to you if you are not careful. The first thing you need to know is that, in many states, a surgeon does not have to have any specialized training in plastic surgery to perform plastic surgery procedures. That means that, really, anyone who has a medical degree can legally advertise themselves as a plastic surgeon.
To understand why any doctor would do this, you first need to look at things from their viewpoint. Most of what a surgeon does is paid for by HMOs and insurance companies so they regulate tightly what the surgeon can charge for the procedures. But plastic surgery is usually elective, or optional, so insurance companies do not pay for someone to have these types of procedures. Since they are optional, the surgeon can set whatever price they want on plastic surgery procedures.
Many surgeons feel that plastic surgery is the only area left where their fees are not heavily discounted by the insurance companies. Even if the surgeon is not qualified to do plastic surgery, this creates a very strong economic incentive for them to move into this type of procedure.
So it is vitally important that, when you are considering a surgeon, you make absolutely sure that they have certification from recognized boards like the American Board of Plastic Surgery or the American Board of Facial Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery. You should also be aware that there are certifications out there from unrecognized or self-designated official sounding boards that really mean nothing. I had no problem finding several Santa Monica Plastic Surgery clinics to choose from with qualified surgeons and I bet it would be the same way in the nearest city to your location. Im looking specifically at liposuction and I found that there are also several Santa Monica liposuction surgeons that specialize in this procedure, so you should also be able to find some local specialists.
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