Outpatient Surgery Center Safety for Cosmetic Surgery
It’s no wonder patients are sometimes concerned about having surgery in an outpatient clinic. Media reports using terms like “trail of death” (in this USA Today article) don’t exactly instill confidence in someone considering cosmetic surgery.
The use of one-day surgical centers is booming. According to the article in USA Today, they now outnumber hospitals across the country. And, in a study conducted in partnership with Kaiser Health News, the USA Today Network says that the growth in the industry is partly due to some troubling trends:
• Some surgery centers take on procedures that are too risky
• High risk patients with health problems accepted for surgery too often
• Some centers skimp on training and lifesaving equipment
• Centers located in rural areas can be far from hospital emergency rooms
Given this kind of reporting, why are we so confident in our outpatient cosmetic surgery center in New York?
What You Should Know
The first thing to know about the horror stories you may read is that very few of them relate to cosmetic procedures performed in a fully accredited ambulatory surgery center. Many of the cases reported on involve complex procedures, such as spinal surgery, that perhaps should be performed in a hospital, and/or cases where patients have an underlying medical condition like high blood pressure.
The American Society of Plastic Surgeons (ASPS) maintains that accredited outpatient centers for cosmetic surgery have an excellent track record for safety. The mortality rate for these facilities is 1 in 57,000, and the rate of serious complications is less than 1%. For more information, you can read a recent study by plastic surgeon Dr. Rod Rohrich that examines the track record of plastic surgery centers over a period of more than two decades.
When you think about safety, it makes sense that accredited ambulatory surgical centers used by reputable plastic surgeons would be as safe or even safer for cosmetic procedures than surgery in a hospital. Cosmetic surgery patients are generally healthier than hospital patients, for one thing. And since the operating team focuses on one person at a time, patients have at least one medical professional at hand at every moment. Not only that, the chances of infection in surgical clinics are generally lower than in hospital environments.
What You Can Do
When choosing a cosmetic surgeon, there’s nothing more important than being an informed patient. Here are some basic steps you need to take to help ensure your doctor is focused on your safety:
• Make sure your plastic surgeon is a member of the ASPS and/or the American Society for Aesthetic Plastic Surgery (ASAPS). Both organizations require their members have board certification AND accredited surgical facilities.
• Find out about the credentials of the surgery center. The Ambulatory Surgery Center Association lists accrediting organizations here.
• Make sure your plastic surgeon has privileges at a fully accredited hospital nearby in the rare case of an emergency.
Our New York Cosmetic Surgery Center
We are proud of our New York cosmetic surgery facility—its gleaming, modern equipment includes state-of-the-art lifesaving technology. What’s more, the center is approved by the Joint Commission, regularly undergoing one of the most rigorous review processes in the industry.
Our surgical staff has been together for many years, offering patients the advantage of a group of people who know each other well, support each other and operate seamlessly as a team. Our anesthesiologist, Dr. David Calvello, is also a fully licensed medical doctor who has worked with us almost his entire 30-year career.
If you’re considering cosmetic surgery in New York, we would love to meet you and show you our facilities. We know you will be pleased to learn about every step we take to ensure you have a great experience!
