Buyers Beware
By COLLEEN LEONARD
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| The goal in general is to make someone look in harmony with how they feel.
— Dr. Anthony Terrasse, board-certified plastic surgeon. |
Many consumers may not realize that any physician legally can practice in the plastic surgery field.
But because some doctors are not qualified in this specialization, consumers can fall prey to “white-coat deception.”
“Unfortunately, there isn’t any law that prevents somebody from doing a particular operation once they have a medical degree,” says Dr. Anthony Terrasse, a board-certified plastic surgeon serving the northwest suburbs and the North Shore, and a spokesman for the American Society of Plastic Surgeons.
As a result, consumers can be deceived when they see ads for specialized services, such as plastic surgery, because they don’t know whether the doctor portrayed in the ad has gone through proper training.
So, how does one find a doctor — a certified, trustworthy physician — if he or she is interested in plastic surgery?
Local doctors recommend finding plastic surgeons that are certified by the American Board of Plastic Surgery to ensure that they are qualified to perform cosmetic and reconstructive surgery.
This certification, which is a voluntary process, guarantees that a doctor has graduated from an accredited medical school and has completed at least five years of residency training, according to ABPS.
The certification also requires a doctor to pass comprehensive written and oral exams.
The ABPS website states that doctors receiving certification since 1995 have to recertify every 10 years.
To maintain certification, they earn continuing education credits, evaluate cases and take an exam.
Doctors certified before 1995 have lifetime status, but are encouraged to participate in the maintenance program.
The website of the American Society of Plastic Surgeons, www.plasticsurgery.org, lists board-certified surgeons and locates doctors by zip code. The ABPS also verifies a surgeon’s certification at its website, www.abplsurg.org.
Medical websites, such as www.healthgrades.com and www.vitals.com, provide background information on doctors and ratings from patients.
Another resource is the office medical staff of a hospital. Office staff members can help patients find out if a doctor has credentials to perform plastic surgery in a hospital setting, Terrasse says.
Although doctors can perform plastic surgery in a private office, they are required to be properly trained in procedures to perform them at hospitals and certified facilities, Terrasse says.
“Just because someone advertises that they have the equipment or they do a procedure, that doesn’t mean they’re certified to do so,” he says.
Ask questions
After finding potential doctors, patients should interview the physicians to learn about the procedure in which they are interested, including its costs, limitations and risks. They also should speak with former patients and ask the doctor for before and after photos.
The cost of cosmetic surgery is high and varies, depending on fees from the surgeon, anesthesiologist and hospital. For example, facelift surgery can cost $6,000 to $8,000 when all of these fees are considered, Terrasse says.
Breast enhancement can be as expensive as a facelift. When breast and abdominal procedures are combined, surgery can cost $7,000 to $15,000, says Dr. Gunnar Thors, a board-certified plastic surgeon in Algonquin.
The combination of these two procedures is often called a “mommy makeover,” which restores breasts and reduces fat and stretched skin from pregnancy.
Doctors view patients as good candidates for plastic surgery if they are healthy, have realistic expectations, are well-educated about the procedure and have a support system at home for recovery.
Patients need to be realistic about the process and the outcome, which includes recovery time, discomfort, wound healing, scars and the potential for complications.
Thors says he has refused patients because he believed that they were unrealistic or suffered from body dysmorphic disorder. Someone with this disorder obsesses over a minor or imaginary flaw and may want numerous cosmetic procedures.
“The patient has to have something that is fixable, something that you can actually improve,” says Thors, who serves the Fox River Valley.
“And the patient, of course, has to be in good health.”
Botox® Cosmetic and dermal fillers are nonsurgical facelift alternatives. They cost less than plastic surgery, but have temporary results. Doctors charge different prices, but Botox® can be done for $200 to $300 and certain fillers cost $500 to $600 a treatment.
Botox® is a popular way to reduce crow’s-feet, frown lines and forehead wrinkles. The drug is injected into muscles to block nerve impulses. Because the muscles can’t contract, wrinkles are diminished.
Allergan, which manufactures the product, claims that it lasts four months.
Fillers are used to soften wrinkles or plump up lips. Doctors say the results last three to 10 months, depending on the kind of filler injected into the skin.
Thors says most of his patients receive nonsurgical treatments because they are more affordable and less invasive. Skin care treatment starts at $50 to $100 a visit and should be done every six weeks, he says.
Plastic surgeons recommend facials, chemical and fruit acid peels, lasers and microdermabrasion as affordable, nonsurgical treatments to rejuvenate skin.
The goal is to make people “look in harmony with how they feel,” Terrasse says.
“If someone feels inside that they’re youthful, that they’re energetic or that they have a positive attitude about things, they don’t want their outside to look downtrodden, fatigued, weary or angry.”
