New Association Aims to Educate Consumers Considering Plastic Surgery
Do you know who your surgeon is? Do you know where they were trained and even more importantly, were they trained at all? What questions should you ask and what are some definite "red flags" to watch for?
Scottsdale, AZ (PRWEB) February 19, 2007 -- Dr. John J. Corey, Executive Director, officially announced today the launch of the Association for Plastic Surgery Awareness, or APSA, a not-for-profit organization whose goal is to raise mainstream consumer awareness and provide the information, tools and resources for potential patients to research the background of a plastic surgeon before going under the scalpel. "The association we've started is to try to give patients the education they need to find out who's doing my surgery, how were they trained, what is their experience, what was their residency in - and then patients can decide if they want to carry on with that doctor," commented Dr. Corey in a recent interview (1).
Today's culture of beauty in the United States is increasingly approaching the state of frenzy and no where is this more evident than in the area of Cosmetic Surgery. From the "lunch hour" face lift to Botox parties, from Med Spas to medical tourism, the public is being bombarded with images and options.
It is increasingly difficult to separate the quality from the quackery. But patients aren't the only people scrambling for services. Many doctors, wanting out of the 'traditional' insurance model they are in, favor instead the cash-based business of plastic surgery and want a slice of the pie. This desire drives many doctors to begin the practice of plastic surgery even though they have no formal training or experience in the area.
Dr. John J. Corey MD, Executive Director of APSA, in Private Practice since 1993 and Board Certified by the American Board of Plastic Surgery, and member of the American Society of Plastic Surgeons and the American Society for Aesthetic Plastic Surgery, formed APSA to help raise awareness of this startling new trend.
But aren't all surgeons "properly trained?" Don't individual States and even the AMA regulate that sort of thing?
Sadly, the answer is no. It is a little known fact that hundreds of plastic surgery procedures are conducted each day in the United States by doctors who's background is not in plastic surgery at all. Many doctors in the United States who purport themselves as "Plastic Surgeons" are, in fact, not board certified in Plastic Surgery but instead in a myriad of other specialty practices. Many patients each day are receiving breast enlargements, liposuction, and other plastic surgery procedures by Oral Surgeons, Podiatrists, Gynecologists, and OB/GYN's, to name a few. Even more amazing, this practice is not illegal in most states. In most states, an Oral Surgeon who feels he is qualified to perform plastic surgery can simply open a plastic surgery clinic and call himself a 'cosmetic' or 'plastic' surgeon.
Take the case of Andrea F. who sought out Dr. Corey. Intelligent and well spoken, with a Master's Degree, Andrea thought she did all the right homework and trusted her doctors to perform Liposuction and a Tummy Tuck. They were M.D's. They had self proclaimed "expertise in….body cosmetic surgery." They were "Board Certified" with their own surgery center.
Only after developing post operative problems requiring hospitalization did she discover that her doctors were not "Plastic Surgeons" but rather "Oral Surgeons with combined Medical and Dental degrees." One was Board Certified…in Oral Surgery, and the other was not. After being admitted to the hospital, her doctors could not be located and the only covering physician they had arranged for was a General Surgeon. Andrea is now facing the prospect of further surgery.
As in many states, this type of practice was not illegal in the state where Andrea F. lives. Just having a medical license and an office is all that is needed.
"It was after this encounter, and many others like it, I decided it was time to do something, and formed APSA," Dr. Corey explains. "On our website you will be able to find explanations about doctors training, a forum where potential patients can have their questions answered, tools to check a doctor's credentials and training, and free assistance with this research, we can even perform phone calls to those doctors on behalf of the patient to find out what their training and background is."
"APSA's mission is to assist patients in their research so they can make informed decisions. After that, the choice is theirs. But at least, it's an informed one," Dr. Corey concludes.
(1)"Not all Plastic Surgeons are What They Seem" - Audio Interview with Dr. John J. Corey, Executive Director. Listen online at: http://www.apsaworldwide.org/apsa1.m3u
About the Association for Plastic Surgery Awareness
Formed in 2006, and officially launched in 2007, APSA (The Association for Plastic Surgery Awareness), was developed to help prospective patients understand how to find a qualified surgeon who has been properly trained. The site warns consumers that many procedures performed each day are performed by doctors who have received little to no formal training in those areas. APSAWorldwide.org is a resource designed to help consumers distinguish the difference between a "Board Certified" surgeon and a doctor who has been board certified by the American Board of Plastic Surgery. For more information, please visit www.APSAWorldwide.org.
About Dr. John J. Corey
Doctor John J. Corey is the Executive Director of the Association for Plastic Surgery Awareness (APSA) and an Aesthetic Plastic Surgeon who has practiced in Scottsdale, Arizona, since 1993. Board certified by the American Board of Plastic Surgery and a member of the American Society of Plastic Surgeons, he was Chief of Plastic Surgery at Good Samaritan Regional Medical Center in Phoenix from 1994-1999. Dr. Corey performs all types of cosmetic surgical procedures.
He lectures at Arizona State University, Gateway Community College, and helps in the instruction of residents in plastic surgery at the Mayo Clinic. He is an Affiliate Assistant Professor at Midwestern University. He is one of the most respected and sought-after faculty members at the Osler Institute which provides hands-on review for practicing plastic surgeons nationwide who are preparing for their own Board certification. In 1998, Dr. Corey was voted one of the top doctors in plastic surgery by Maricopa County physicians in a CBS Channel 5 poll.
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