Beauty Doc Blog

Getting plastic surgery performed to correct a physical deformity or improve an imperfection is your first major decision as a patient.  Your next major decision is choosing the right plastic surgery facility for your procedure.  Consider the following facts to made an education decision about a plastic surgery facility.

An increasing number of plastic surgery procedures are performed in an ambulatory facility on a same day basis.  You arrive and leave the facility on the same day the operation is performed.  The ambulatory facility may be part of the plastic surgeon’s office, a surgical suite next to the office, a freestanding surgical building or part of a hospital.  Basically, an ambulatory facility is where outpatient surgery is performed.  You should find out if the ambulatory facility is accredited before you have a procedure done there.

First of all, a patient should feel confident about the plastic surgeon and their staff.  The facility should be comfortable and convenient so the patient feels reassured.  Often ambulatory facilities offer cost savings along with greater privacy and personalized care.  The pleasant setting in an ambulatory facility is attractive to patients and their families.  An ambulatory facility eliminates the need for an overnight stay, which many patients prefer.

Patients should always inquire to find out if an ambulatory facility is accredited, which is an indication of the quality of their operations.  The facility must pass strict guidelines for staff, anesthesia administration, equipment and hospital access.  Doctors performing surgery at the facility must have privileges to do the same surgery at an accredited hospital.  Patients can ask their plastic surgeon to find out if a facility is accredited.  Usually an accreditation certificate is prominently posted in the ambulatory facility.  Accrediting facilities include:

-The American Association for Accreditation of Ambulatory Plastic Surgery Facilities (AAAAPSF);
-The Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations (JCAHO); and
-The Accreditation Association for Ambulatory Health Care (AAAHC).

All of these groups have specialized programs to provide inspection and accreditation of outpatient surgical facilities.  To find out if a plastic surgeon’s facility is accredited, patients can check with the American Association of Plastic Surgeons (ASPS) at telephone number 1-800-635-0635.

The AAAAPSF has rigorous standards for inspection and accreditation for safety, patient care and quality.  The facilities must be owned or directed by plastic surgeons certified by the American Board of Plastic Surgery (ABPS).  The ABPS requires plastic surgeons to graduate from an accredited medical school and complete five years of residency training, two years of plastic surgery and pass comprehensive oral and written exams.  Facilities may be classified as A, B or C.  Local anesthesia may be administered at Class A facilities.  At Class B facilities, intravenous sedation may be administered.  General anesthesia may only be administered in Class C facilities.

Health insurance does not cover elective surgery but may cover reconstructive surgery.  Ambulatory facilities make health care more affordable while ensuring quality services to patients.