Patients Suffer When Unqualified ‘Doctors’ Perform Cosmetic Surgery

NY Rhinoplasty Cosmetic Surgery Credentials As cosmetic surgery has become more popular, more common and cheaper, it has begun attracting practitioners who lack the training and credentials necessary to perform facial plastic surgery safely and successfully (see our previous post). Unsuspecting consumers are paying the price, some suffering permanent disfigurement and occasionally dying at the hands of unscrupulous cosmetic surgery scammers.

Public acceptance and growing demand for cosmetic surgery procedures have led many consumers to forget that cosmetic surgery is a complicated and exacting medical specialty that requires years of specialized medical training and practice.

Stories of Tupperware-like Botox parties give consumers the incorrect impression that cosmetic procedures are no more dangerous than applying eyeliner and mascara. Society’s failure to properly consider the potential risks of cosmetic procedures has opened the door to a growing number of uncredentialed practitioners who offer cut-rate — and often bogus — cosmetic surgery procedures in shopping malls, store fronts and office buildings.

The American Society for Aesthetic Plastic Surgery recently recognized USA Today for a recently-published series of well-researched and informative articles about cosmetic surgery in the U.S. and current unhealthy trends that should concern consumers. Today, we continue our discussion (see our previous post) about those disturbing new trends in facial cosmetic surgery and the challenges they present.

Some cosmetic surgery clinics have intentionally misrepresented patient risk when scheduling procedures and many fail to obtain a complete medical history to determine whether the patient is a viable candidate for cosmetic surgery.
Numerous complaints have been filed against some national cosmetic clinics and spas by dissatisfied patients but that information is never disclosed to prospective patients. USA Today reported instances of companies writing their own patient testimonials and employees posing as satisfied patients to share their “experiences” with prospective patients.
Cosmetic surgeries are being performed in non-medical (strip malls, office buildings) facilities that are not accredited as surgical centers.