Blog

january 16, 2010

Choosing the Right Surgical Facility: Your Health Depends On It

With the prevalence of non-plastic surgeons providing in-office cosmetic surgery procedures, it is more important than ever to do your homework when choosing where to have your surgery. You may have seen ads for lunch hour liposuction, quick face lifts, or even tummy tucks performed right in a doctor’s office. Buyer Beware.

Having surgery in your doctor’s office is not the same as having surgery in an accredited surgical facility. Although all surgery carries some risk, surgical center accreditation is designed to ensure the safest possible patient experience during surgery. The three most respected ambulatory surgical suite accredition organizations are AAAASF, AAAHC, and JACHO.

Our surgical suite maintains full accredited by AAAASF. AAAASF was started by plastic surgeons and maintaining accreditation requires that the participating surgeon uphold the most stringent standards of patient care, safety, and emergency response procedures.

In addition, AAAASF requires that the participating surgeon maintain hospital privileges for each procedure that s/he provides in their surgical facility. This requirement is important because it ensures that the surgeon is qualified to perform the surgery and that if a complication were to arise, the patient could be admitted to the hospital. AAAASF surgical facilities are frequently inspected in order to maintain their accreditation. If the facility does not uphold AAAASF standards it will lose accreditation.

To find out if your physician’s surgical facility is accredited, visit the websites of AAAASF, AAAHC, and JACHO. If you would like more information about our surgical facility, please contact our office.