Selecting your Plastic Surgeon
With significant weight loss - and indeed personal transformation - as your goal, every decision you make about your health and well-being is important. As you approach the post weight loss plastic surgery phase of your journey, selecting the right surgeon becomes one of the key choices ahead.
To ensure a good overall result and a positive experience, Dr. Kaufman offers these recommendations:
Select a surgeon who is, at minimum, certified by the American Board of Plastic Surgery (ABPS). The ABPS is the only organization authorized by the American Board of Medical Specialties to certify physicians as qualified to perform plastic surgery from head to toe.
To find out whether a surgeon is ABPS certified, you can visit www.plasticsurgery.org.
Evaluate your prospective surgeon's experience carefully. As you know, for a patient who has shed dozens or even hundreds of pounds, abdominoplasty isn't just a simple tummy tuck and breast surgery isn't just a routine augmentation. Members of the weight loss community have special health considerations that must be taken into account when planning plastic surgery after weight loss.
Two or three successful outcomes are not enough to allow a surgeon to claim expertise in the complex arena of body contouring surgery after weight loss, and not enough for you to feel certain you'll get good results and safe and efficient care. Dr. Kaufman suggests you ask to see a prospective surgeon's entire photo gallery and ask many questions about patient experiences and results.
Ensure there's a personality match. You and your plastic surgeon will have a long term relationship, so a good rapport between you and the surgeon is not a luxury — it's essential for establishing effective communication and mutual trust. You need to feel certain your physician will take good care of you before, during and after surgery.
As a bonus, you'll find that choosing a physician who cares about you will automatically widen your circle of supporters. Your surgeon will join those cheering you forward and encouraging your renewed sense of health and happiness.
Investigate your surgeon's support system — both the medical team and surgical facilities. Check with your prospective surgeon to make sure the anesthesiologist, the person who will be monitoring your vital signs in the operating room, is certified by the American Board of Anesthesiology, not a nurse anesthetist or nurse performing twilight anesthesia.
Also make sure the surgery center where your procedures will be performed is accredited by JCAHO (the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations), AAAHC (The Accreditation Association for Ambulatory Healthcare) or AAAASF (the American Association for Accreditation of Ambulatory Surgical Facilities). Most often, plastic surgery facilities are certified by AAAASF.
A Word About Cost
The cost of plastic surgery after weight loss can be significant. After all, you have shed pounds from practically every inch of your body and you'll probably want to consider more than one procedure to reshape your new self. If your insurance is typical, it will provide little to no coverage for body recontouring.
Avoid the temptation to settle for a plastic surgeon you have doubts about just to save a few dollars. And think twice before deciding to travel to another country where quality standards may be quite different than here in the U.S. You have already invested in making a big change for the better. When it comes to post-weight loss plastic surgery, the phase of your journey back from obesity that ultimately reveals the new you, keep making the smartest choices. Select an experienced plastic surgeon with the right background who makes you feel comfortable and excited about your surgical transformation. Your physician will work with you to design a surgical plan that makes the most sense for you and your budget.
Call Dr. Kaufman at 916-983-9895 so he can meet you and become a part of your transformation. He regularly works with weight loss patients from San Francisco to New York; from Alaska to Southern California. Schedule a consultation in his Folsom office soon.
