Know who is performing your surgery

Dear Dr. McCollough: I have heard that in some teaching centers, trainees sometimes perform surgery that was scheduled under the name of their professor. Is this true?

Dear Reader: Who will perform my surgery? This is one of the most important questions a client can ask a potential surgeon, for several reasons. What you have heard is correct. In some university teaching centers, a senior surgeon might do portions of the surgery and allow doctors in training to do other portions. As long as the patient is fully aware of this, everyone is fine. The problem is that more often than not, the patient does not know who is doing what.

At the McCollough Plastic Surgery Clinic, when you schedule surgery with a particular surgeon, that is the same surgeon who will actually perform your surgery. There are, however, times when several procedures (i.e. facial surgery and body surgery) are done at the same time, so different surgeons may perform different portions of the surgery. For instance, I do strictly nasal and facial plastic surgery, while my colleagues do comprehensive plastic surgery. So in some cases, I may perform facelift and eyelid procedures, while one of my colleagues performs a breast augmentation, tummy tuck, or body liposuction.

Sometimes the cost of surgery is an obstacle for patients who desire cosmetic surgery. Because of this, we have established a way that plastic surgery is available to people from all walks of life. At The McCollough Plastic Surgery Clinic, we provide postgraduate training (fellowships) for doctors specializing in facial plastic surgery. After the doctor has spent six (6) months in the fellowship, he or she is allowed to perform surgery on patients who choose for him or her to be their surgeon.

In any case, whether one of the senior surgeons or one of the fellowship doctors is consulted, the patient knows which surgeon will be performing the operations for which he or she has contracted.

The foregoing represents the professional opinions of the writer. If you would like information, or a FREE copy of our latest book, call 850-967-7000 or visit www.mccolloughinstitute. com.