FITNESS & BEAUTY · NOVEMBER 2018
The first thing you need to
do is interview a few plastic
surgeons who meet your
criteria (location, specialty,
insurance requirements,
etc.). He or she should
be board certified and
a member of related
professional organizations
- such as The American
Academy of Dermatology
- The American Academy
of Facial Plastic and
Reconstructive Surgery
- The American Society of
Plastic Surgeons
- or The American Society
for Dermatologic Surgery.
You may find surgeons
who belong to a great
many other professional
organizations, but those
listed above guarantee
that they're certified
in cosmetic surgery,
which is what you
want in a surgeon.
In addition to meeting the
professional organization
affiliation requirement, you'll also
want to gather recommendations
from friends who may have had
similar procedures done.
Gather opinions about the
care they received,
the staff, morale,
customer
service, and
post-surgical
care. Learn about their staff and
become familiar with them. Don't be
afraid to ask them questions about
the surgeon and the procedure you
want to have done. The staff can be an
excellent source of information about
the doctor's skills and demeanor.
Keep in mind that cosmetic surgery
is a highly competitive field and
surgeons know the competition is
stiff. They may tell you that they're
the only person who can do a
surgery or they may say they're
the very best in town. Remember
that that's often a marketing ploy
to make them stand out among
the rest in their field. Do you due
diligence and ask about their
specialized training, their
fellowship training, and any
additional training or expertise
FITNESS & BEAUTY · NOVEMBER 2018
they may have. Check with your
state's medical board to verify
their claims and to check out their
education, licensing, certification,
health grade, and patient feedback.
Most importantly, check to see whether
they've ever had any disciplinary action
taken against them.
After you’ve completed the above
steps, narrow your choices down to
one or two surgeons and prepare
to ask the right questions during a
consultation with each surgeon. Think
about what it is you want to know.
Ask:
- What their area of expertise is
- How long they’ve been in
practice
- How many similar
procedures have they
performed
- If the procedure
will be an inpatient
procedure or an
outpatient procedure
- How much the
procedure will cost in total,
including the surgeon's
fee, anesthesia, operating
room fees, medication
fees, and any other charges
associated with your care
- What is your financial
responsibility
Also, check
- if the staff is friendly and
easy to work with
- encourage questions
- and is open to dialogue
- Also, ask if you can see
before and after pictures
of patients who've had the
same procedure.
By Edward Pena, MD
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