Posted on Thursday, Nov. 16, 2005
NewBeauty.com

Safe Surgery

Content courtesy of NewBeauty
http://www.newbeauty.com/

 

When it comes to cosmetic surgery, your safety is in your hands.

By Marie Kuechel and Robert Singer, MD, FACS

Cosmetic surgery is just one of many medical treatments in which surgery is often performed outside the hospital setting. According to the American Society for Aesthetic Plastic Surgery, 46 percent of procedures were performed in office-based facilities in 2004, 29 percent in freestanding surgical centers and only 24 percent in hospitals. What is the attraction of surgery in a nonhospital facility? Here is the information prospective patients need to feel confident about surgical facility choices.

Patient advantage

Aside from often being more cost-effective than a hospital, the intimate setting of an office-based or ambulatory surgical setting can help maximize the comfort and privacy of a cosmetic patient. Your pre- and post-operative care may take place in a very private and often well-furnished setting to make the experience feel a lot more comforting than any typical hospital surgery. The staff may be better trained to understand your desires and expectations than hospital-based surgical staff, who deal with a variety of patients and surgical objectives.

Most office-based and ambulatory facilities are for outpatient surgeries. However, in the event that you don't want to or cannot recover at home, transfer to a special overnight-care facility after surgery is an option. In the case of certain procedures or health concerns, a hospital may be a better solution, or required by your physician. Hospitals are not restricted to inpatient surgery.

Caution and confidence

Surgery is performed every day in physicians' offices and, unfortunately, even in hotels. In most states nothing requires these facilities to be accredited, reviewed or inspected for even the most basic health and safety standards. To protect yourself, you must make certain that the facility where you will have surgery is fully accredited. Accreditation in many states is fully voluntary, but if your surgeon is a member of the American Society for Aesthetic Plastic Surgery or American Society of Plastic Surgeons, he or she, as a condition of membership, must operate only in a facility accredited by one of the following:

American Association for Accreditation of Ambulatory Surgery Facilities (AAAASF): aaaasf.org; 888-545-5222

Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations (JCAHO): jcaho.org; 630-792-5800

Accreditation Association for Ambulatory Health Care (AAAHC): aaahc.org; 847-853-6060

American Osteopathic Association (AOA): osteopathic.org; 800-621-1773

In addition, individual state licensing and Medicare certification of surgical facilities can be considered in lieu of accreditation.

Ask to see the accreditation certificate for the facility where you will have surgery, then contact the organization to make certain that the accreditation is active and in good standing. Each accrediting organization has defined individual standards for its member facilities. In general, accredited facilities MUST: