Cosmetic Surgery Chains

You will hear people mention the "art of medicine" or the "art of surgery", although these terms are used infrequently by those who want to homogenize medicine and are more comfortable with the term "health care providers" than the terms "doctor" or "physicians". Nevertheless, there are clearly differences between physicians as well as well as between physicians and non-physician "providers". There is considerable skill that is required for the proper performance of many procedures, and this is especially true of cosmetic surgery. That makes the existence of cosmetic surgery chains problematical.

The advantages of chains are that they can offer cost savings due to volume purchases and they can offer uniform products. When you go to MacDonalds in North Dakota, you can be assured that your Big Mac will be very similar to the one you got in Southern California. However, can these concepts be applied to cosmetic surgery?
There is a facelift chain we'll call the XX-Lift. When their major expense is salaries, are they really able to save money through volume purchases? Or do they just find physicians and staff who will work for less and are unwilling or unable to practice without the support of a big advertising budget?
They say they hire only physicians trained, but not necessarily board certified in certain specialties. Do they actually test the skills of these doctors? I'm sure they don't. Can they assure good, uniform results across the country?  It's impossible!
We recently saw a patient who had a facelift performed at an XX-Lift office in the San Francisco area. She was unhappy, with good reason.  The next photo shows her chin area, marked for filler placement, with a very unnatural appearance. Click on the image to enlarge. The second photo shows a scar by the left ear
that most surgeons would consider to be unacceptable. This
woman had been discharged from care by the surgeon who had performed the procedure.
As I have stated previously, it's important to check the reputation of the physician who is performing your procedure. Mistakes can be difficult or impossible to correct.

Gerald N. Bock MD
California Skin and Laser Center
Stockton & Lodi, CA

 

Comments

[Jamie]

What a good article!It is so true that you have to find the right person to get the job done properly!I recently went to Cape Town(South Africa) for a cosmetic surgery(I am not going to mention which one though:p).They have some of the best facilities and surgeons in the world!not to mention the unique vibe of that beautiful city.I went there because it's cheaper and a favourable exchange rate made it even cheaper.A company called Surgical Bliss which helped me in organising almost everything! If you interested, go and have a look. I hope my info has helped those who want to lead a better life.Go to www.surgicalbliss.com for more info.

[Skin Care]

Thanks for such wonderful post..