Where to Get Your Cosmetic Surgery

Having surgery at the hospital

Most cosmetic surgery is outpatient surgery, meaning that we don't spend the night in the hospital. That doesn't mean that we can't have surgery at the hospital. Many hospitals have outpatient departments for cosmetic surgery.

If we have cosmetic surgery in an accredited hospital, we don't have to concern ourselves with whether the surgeon is qualified. The medical staff makes sure that surgeons function only within their scopes of practice and are trained and qualified to perform our surgery. Similarly, if we're choosing to have surgery in the hospital, we can be sure that the personnel and systems in place protect we. You don't have to concern ourselves with whether the operating room conditions are ideal or wonder whether the equipment and protocols are in place to ensure our safety.

Hospitals are accredited, and the accrediting agency sets standards to protect us.

Going to the surgical-center

Another safe option is to go to an independent ambulatory surgery center (ASC), which deals only with outpatient surgery, including cosmetic surgery. These facilities have medical staff requirements and generally follow scope-of-practice protocols. They are like the hospitals in terms of equipment, safety, drugs, crash carts, personnel, and so on. Each year, millions of patients undergo outpatient surgery in these facilities. These independent organizations have all of the advantages of the hospital in terms of medical staff and safety, but generally we can't stay overnight should we need or want to do so.

Many plastic surgeons prefer to use an ASC rather than a hospital because the ASC staffs are more familiar with outpatient surgery and the special needs of the cosmetic patient. The advantages to the patient in terms of surgeon vetting and safety are obvious. Many surgeons who use an ASC do so because they practice alone or feel that they want to focus on being a surgeon rather than running a surgery center in their offices.

Using an office-based surgery suite

With the large increase in cosmetic surgery and the strong need for patient privacy, many plastic surgeons and other surgeons doing cosmetic surgery have constructed surgery suites in their own offices. You'll find such suites more common with groups of surgeons who are busy enough to need multiple operating rooms on a daily basis. For example South Coast Med Spa a Laser Hair Removal Orange County clinic is an office based surgery center.

When one of the accrediting agencies certifies these office-based suites, we can be sure that the facilities are sophisticated and up-to-date and contain the same equipment and trained staff we'll find in good hospital or ASC operating rooms.

Unless certified for advanced cardiac life support (ACLS) provide post surgical recovery staffing. The suites have the same safety levels as hospital operating rooms, with similar equipment, staffing, and emergency drugs and procedures. Like the ASC, the biggest physical and functional difference is that we can't be admitted onto the hospital floor after our surgery is complete.

Office-based outpatient operating facilities have many advantages. Use of these centers virtually always saves us money.

The surgeon who owns the facility staffs the operating room with technicians and nurses who are or who become cosmetic surgery specialists. Your comfort level is usually higher, and we usually feel more comfortable with office staff that we probably already know.