Subtleties of choosing a plastic surgeon
When choosing a specialist, you may have difficulties due to the fact that in Russia there is no official licensing for such a specialty as plastic surgery.
A large number of practicing surgeons are licensed as “surgical cosmetologists.”
For this document you must have at least 2 years of experience in oral and maxillofacial surgery. But such a short experience is clearly not enough to obtain a full qualification.
Therefore, you will have to collect and check information about plastic surgeons yourself.
Personal consultation with a plastic surgeon
Most specialists provide an initial consultation free of charge. Therefore, at this stage it is important to look for a surgeon, so to speak, to your liking.
During the consultation, do not hesitate to ask all your questions. A competent, experienced specialist will answer all your questions clearly and without lyrical digressions. Be careful! If the surgeon insists on an operation that you did not plan, this is also a reason to think about it.
Collecting information
Step 1. List of plastic surgeons
First of all, make a list of plastic surgeons who must meet two main parameters:
- perform the operation you need,
- be in your city.
The list will be large if we take into account large cities.
Step 2: Find out the facts
So, after compiling the list, you need to thin it out. Find out exactly what the basic facts are behind the flashy advertisements.
Check your qualifications and experience in the field of plastic surgery, draw conclusions about the quality of the work done, etc.
Your task is to remove half of the list!
When choosing a plastic surgeon, study not only the information available on the Internet, but also attend 5-8 consultations in person.
POPULAR PLASTIC SURGERY: RHINOPLASTY
Rhinoplasty, as nose surgery is called in plastic surgery, involves giving the nose a different, improved shape. Rhinoplasty is a rather multifaceted operation, as it can consist of correcting the curvature of the nose and removing the hump, as well as reducing or enlarging it. In some cases, rhinoplasty is performed for medical reasons to make it easier for the patient to breathe through the nose. However, most of these operations are related to the patient’s desire to change the shape of the nose, since this operation allows you to change the appearance completely. It is noteworthy that rhinoplasty is one of the most popular plastic surgeries for both women and men.
We study the quality indicators of a plastic surgeon
The main quality indicators when choosing a plastic surgeon are:
- higher education;
- work experience and qualifications;
- speciality;
- examples of previously completed work;
- patient reviews;
- price policy.
Education
Plastic surgery was approved as a specialty relatively recently.
Based on this document, any person who has experience from the list below can be called a plastic surgeon in Russia.
Has a higher education in one of the following specialties:
Pediatrics,- Dentistry or
- Medical business.
He completed residency in the following specialties, and also completed professional training in the specialty of Plastic Surgery :
- Obstetrics and gynecology,
- Plastic surgery,
- Pediatric surgery,
- Surgery,
- Urology,
- Thoracic surgery,
- Maxillofacial Surgery.
At least once every 5 years he improved his qualifications in the specialty of plastic surgery.
Set of documents
Therefore, the minimum list of documents that confirms the surgeon’s right to perform plastic surgery should be as follows:
- Diploma of Higher Education;
- A plastic surgery specialist certificate is required;
- certificate of advanced training in the specialties of plastic surgery.
These documents will not be enough to fully develop professional skills.
In addition, it is important to have a certain specialized education.
This ensures that the plastic surgeon is knowledgeable about the anatomy of the body parts they will be working on.
It is desirable that the plastic surgeon performing rhinoplasty has some ENT training, and the doctor specializing in male intimate plastic surgery has in-depth knowledge of andrology and urology.
Experience and qualifications
Plastic surgery is mastered by error, trial, and experimentation. That is why, when choosing a specialist, you need to clarify how long, where and under whose leadership this doctor went through these stages of training.
When choosing a plastic surgeon, you should pay attention to his professionalism and experience.
Only extensive practice distinguishes a high professional from an amateur. Therefore, a plastic surgeon at a clinic with two or three years of experience, in principle, cannot call himself a professional.
On average, a surgeon must have at least 10 years of experience.
And most importantly, a well-known clinic will not be a guarantee for a plastic surgeon. When choosing a specialist, be guided only by his personal work list.
But it will be very difficult to find out how many operations a particular surgeon has performed. Only the surgeon himself can answer this question, but there is no 100% guarantee of his sincerity. But of course it is necessary to find out this information.
A plastic surgeon must be a member of the Russian Society of Plastic Reconstructive and Aesthetic Surgeons (OPREH). This organization has a number of strict requirements for the qualifications of surgeons.
Currently, many surgeons act not entirely honestly, assigning themselves the status of a member of the OPREH, but in fact they are not one, so this information must be carefully checked. The list of surgeons-members of the OPREH can be found on the website of this organization, and the fact of membership can be clarified with its secretary.
In addition to qualifications, a plastic surgeon must have certificates of completion of various training courses and seminars. These certificates are issued by various organizations. Therefore, it is quite difficult to assess their reliability, and choosing based on the principle that the more certificates the better is completely wrong.
Certificates, diplomas and patents displayed on the website of the clinic where the plastic surgeon works, as well as on his door and inside the office itself, can create the image of a true professional. Although, as a rule, they do not reflect the real semantic load.
Specialization
When choosing a surgeon, you need to make sure that the operation you require is his main and priority. It is one thing for a surgeon to operate frequently, but it is quite another to specialize in performing it, performing it every day.
Don't choose a plastic surgeon who only performs the surgery you need twice a year. In this situation, he can hardly be called professional. A good surgeon operates often and a lot, and not occasionally.
Portfolio
Almost every plastic surgeon has a portfolio of his operations. For reasons of confidentiality, you will not be able to view his work on the website, only during a personal consultation.
Looking at a plastic surgeon’s portfolio, three main conclusions can be drawn:
. A large number of photographs indicates a large number of operations performed. It would be strange if a surgeon with many years of experience does not have at least hundreds of photographs of the operations performed.
Plastic surgeon experience- Quality . Looking at the photos of operations and the results after should show you whether this doctor is doing a good job. If you don't like the pictures after surgery, contact another specialist.
- Individual approach . When considering a portfolio, it is also worth paying attention to how individual the final result after the operation is.
If a surgeon has a video portfolio, that’s great. It is worth familiarizing yourself with it, because by observing the operation you can understand how responsibly this specialist approaches his work.
Reviews
This is the most difficult part. A large number of positive reviews from the surgeon does not mean anything.
We advise you to trust the reviews of your friends and acquaintances, or those people with whom you personally know. When communicating with these people, you can be confident in what you will hear. It is worth noting an important point: we must talk specifically about the same plastic surgery.
If we consider online reviews, then a large number of positive responses relate to the so-called custom reviews.
At the same time, it is quite difficult to distinguish a real review from a fake. It happens that a custom review is written by a person who even posts before and after photos, and also actively communicates in the chat, but in reality it is just a fake.
Therefore, it will be extremely difficult to draw the right conclusions when choosing a surgeon based on positive reviews on the Internet.
Everyone knows that we like to praise less than to complain. Therefore, there are also a large number of negative reviews on the Internet. And a good review may not appear online at all.
Education
Before becoming a practicing specialist, every plastic surgeon studies for many years, then practices in a team with an experienced surgeon, and only then begins independent operations. Therefore, you should pay close attention to certificates, licenses, and diplomas. The plastic surgeon's certificate is renewed every 5 years. Be careful!
You also need to pay close attention to the clinic where the operation is planned. She must also have proper licenses and certificates. If you are not presented with documents at the clinic, this is a serious reason to think about it.
How to choose a clinic for rhinoplasty
At your first visit to the clinic, you should make sure that the institution has a license for all types of activities it carries out. It is necessary to conclude an agreement for the provision of medical services with the clinic where the operation will be performed. Of course, when choosing a center, the external surroundings do not play a decisive role, however, it indicates the class of the clinic and the availability of modern equipment, which largely determines the cost of the procedure.
A good clinic is characterized by a fairly large list of services, which includes the latest achievements in the field of plastic surgery. It will also offer complex reconstructive surgeries that eliminate the consequences of diseases and injuries. Such a clinic undertakes to treat possible complications, and it has all the conditions for the implementation of postoperative measures.
5 tips for choosing a clinic
- Availability of an official, legally confirmed certificate regarding the ability to engage in this type of clinical activity in general and a doctor’s diploma of appropriate qualifications in particular;
- When modeling the future shape of the nose on a computer, a qualified specialist will never claim that the picture on the monitor fully corresponds to reality. This simply cannot be - the shape of the nose always varies by several millimeters;
- The procedure for mandatory medical examination of the upper and lower respiratory tract before rhinoplasty surgery;
- Availability of a catalog for preliminary review and use during the operation of high-quality medical products, proven to be used in medicine. An advertising campaign of so-called “new products” that have not been used before, but now... is not recommended.
And the last criterion. Of course, depending on these conditions, the cost of a procedure such as rhinoplasty will also fluctuate. On average it ranges from 800 to 5000 USD. Surgical intervention cannot be cheap a priori.
If all of the above indicators do not cause you distrust, then you have made the right choice.
mca61.ru
A plastic surgeon is a specialist who will change your appearance forever and will bear full responsibility for this. This category of surgeries is not an emergency because you have time to make an informed decision about choosing a doctor.
In Russia, the specialty “plastic surgery” was introduced relatively recently, and many specialists have the right to practice “surgical cosmetology”, and for this it is enough to have two years of experience in maxillofacial surgery. Obviously, such a short experience is not enough to acquire full qualifications.
Thus, you will have to collect and analyze information about plastic surgeons yourself. How to do this correctly? First, you need to determine a list of candidates, each of which must meet two important parameters:
- Experience in performing your specific operation
- A doctor constantly practicing in your region (preferably in your city.)
If the list is large, then you need to understand more thoroughly, find out what exactly is behind the loud advertising slogans.
Assessing the qualifications of a plastic surgeon is not an easy task. To begin with, you can analyze the information available in the public domain. Then visit at least 2 specialists, get detailed information about all possible options for surgical intervention, approximate rehabilitation periods, possible complications and options for eliminating them. At the same time, it is not necessary to reveal all the cards, which is what the previous consultant said and recommended. Do not hesitate to consult with different specialists within the same clinic (as a rule, each doctor has his own specialization).
The next criterion is:
- Education
- Specialization
- Experience (not general), namely in “plastic surgery” or “surgical cosmetology”
- Portfolio
- Reviews
- Cost of services
Surgeon education.
The specialty “plastic surgery” was officially approved by order of the Ministry of Health and Social Development dated July 7, 2009 No. 415. In accordance with this document, any person who:
- Has a higher professional education in one of the specialties: “General Medicine”, “Pediatrics” or “Dentistry”
- Completed residency in the specialty “Plastic Surgery” or residency in one of the specialties: “Obstetrics and Gynecology”, “Pediatric Surgery”, “Thoracic Surgery”, “Urology”, “Surgery”, “Maxillofacial Surgery” and professional training in the specialty "Plastic surgery"
- Has a specialist certificate (according to residency profile)
- Has a certificate confirming advanced training in plastic surgery
All these documents are provided to the patient upon request. In addition, it is important to have appropriate specialized education to ensure that the surgeon is aware of the anatomy of the part of the body with which he will be working. For example, it is highly desirable that a surgeon intending to perform rhinoplasty have additional ENT training, and a specialist in male intimate plastic surgery has a deep knowledge of urology and andrology.
Qualifications and experience.
Professional experience is what you should pay attention to first. Mastery is developed exclusively by practice, tens and hundreds of operations performed. Of course, a surgeon with 2-3 years of experience cannot have such experience in principle. On average, this period ranges from 5-7 years of active practice. It is important to understand that the famous name of a particular clinic is not a 100% guarantee of the professionalism of a particular surgeon, but only his personal “track record” is important.
Certificates of completion of various types of training seminars and practical courses are considered to be another confirmation of the professional skills of a plastic surgeon. These certificates are issued by dozens, if not hundreds of organizations - from fly-by-night companies to reputable international communities. However, it is extremely difficult to assess the significance of these papers without having information about the industry as a whole, and choosing a surgeon based on the principle “the more regalia the better” is completely wrong.
Diplomas, certificates and patents posted on the website, on the reception door and inside the office itself contribute to the formation of the image of a true professional, but often do not carry any real meaning.
Specialization of a plastic surgeon
When choosing a plastic surgeon, you need to make sure that the desired operation is one of the main, priority ones in his practice. It is one thing when a surgeon can perform a certain operation in principle, and quite another when he specializes in performing it regularly.
Plastic surgeon portfolio
Each practicing plastic surgeon has his own portfolio of photographs before and after surgery. It is not necessary that these photos will be presented on his website or in advertising materials (for reasons of confidentiality), but the surgeon is obliged to show them during the consultation.
Reviews about the surgeon
It would seem that it is simpler - the more positive reviews, the better. However, this is precisely what many not very conscientious “specialists” often use in the hope of attracting additional clientele.
It is preferable to trust the opinions of your friends and acquaintances, those people you know personally. By communicating with this category of people, you can get a real assessment of a specialist, and not well-paid advertising. And we should be talking about a specific operation, and not about the specialist as a whole.
You need to be very careful when evaluating reviews on the Internet. You must understand that most of the reviews presented here belong specifically to the “custom” category, including the presented “before and after” photographs, which may also be “borrowed” from other performers.
Of course, this does not apply to all reviews, and there are truly sincere words of gratitude expressed by patients. As a rule, patients who are satisfied with the work of a plastic surgeon do not often write reviews, but we like to complain much more than to praise, so if everything is good, then most likely there will be no reviews.
Cost of services
The surgeon’s pricing policy depends both on the popularity of his name and on the “appetites” of the clinic. In both cases, we are talking, first of all, about advertising budgets - it is advertising costs that are designed to “beat off” high price tags.
Breast surgery is one of the most established aesthetic surgeries. At a certain stage, all experienced surgeons perform it at approximately the same level. Next comes pure status. There are clinics in Moscow where the same mammoplasty costs a million or more, but this does not mean that the operation will be performed better there than where the pricing policy is lower.
In general, this is a normal situation in our time of market relations. It is important to understand that price should not be the determining factor when choosing a plastic surgeon or clinic, except in cases where it is clearly underestimated.
A high price cannot be a guarantee of quality. But the price shouldn’t be super low either. Do not buy advertisements about seasonal and other discounts on plastic surgeon services. This is a lie. Leading surgeons do not offer discounts as unnecessary, due to the consistently large flow of patients.
Choosing among candidates
After you have decided on the candidates, the second stage begins. Here you will have to choose among those very “lucky” ones who “passed the competition”. The selection criteria in this case are the following factors:
- Experience. This factor is especially important when choosing a surgeon. Many years of experience is an indicator of skill. Find out how many operations the doctor performs per month. Take the time to find out where the surgeon studied “the art of creating forms.”
- Certificates/techniques. Many plastic surgeons are the authors of patented techniques. This increases the doctor's prestige. If a “beauty sculptor”, after graduating from a specialized university, did not improve his skills, did not take part in various conferences and seminars, it is unlikely that you should stop there. Medicine is moving forward. A qualified surgeon must keep up with it.
