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Rhinoplasty
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Choosing a Plastic Surgeon for your Rhinoplasty
Choosing the right plastic surgeon to perform your rhinoplasty surgery is one of the most important decisions you will make. FaceForum has assembled a variety of resources to assist you in your search.
This section of FaceForum begins with a brief introduction into the factors which one should consider as one selects a cosmetic plastic surgeon to perform one's rhinoplasty surgery.
Top Tips for Choosing a Plastic Surgeon to Perform Your Rhinoplasty Surgery:
- Verify that the surgeon is board certified by the American Board of Plastic Surgery. - You can check to see if your rhinoplasty surgeon is board certified in plastic surgery by using the American Board of Medical Specialties website at www.abms.org or by calling them toll free at 1 (866) ASK-ABMS.
- Check the status of the rhinoplasty surgeon's medical license. - FaceForum has assembled medical license verification information from all fifty U.S. states and the District of Columbia to assist you. Each state has its own information page on our website. You can find the links by scrolling down this page.
- Check for disciplinary actions and malpractice judgments. Many of the state websites (see links below) have information on disciplinary actions. A few have information on malpractice judgments. If your state doesn't list malpractice judgments on its website, you may be able to obtain that information from the clerk of courts for the county in which the doctor practices. Keep in mind that a malpractice lawsuit is different from a malpractice judgment. An accepted rule of thumb is that three malpractice judgments in a period of five to ten years indicates a warning sign.
- Ask about malpractice insurance. - Should something go wrong, you want to make sure that your surgeon has current insurance coverage.
- Verify the doctor's credentials and training. - While some of the state websites (links below) give you this information, not all do. Ask your doctor's office for information on the surgeon's training and education. For most plastic surgeons, you can also get this info from either the American Society of Plastic Surgeons (ASPS) or the American Society for Aesthetic Plastic Surgery (ASAPS). Roughly 97% of all board certified plastic surgeons are ASPS members. The ASPS website is at www.plasticsurgery.org.
- Ask the surgeon how often he or she performs rhinoplasty and what his or her the complication rates are. - Be skeptical if no one knows the answers or if you are told that a particular physician has never had any complications.
- Check whether or not the surgeon has hospital privileges. - You want to know this even if you are not having surgery in the hospital. Why? In the rare event that something happens during surgery, you may have to be admitted to the hospital for care. Ask the doctor's office about hospital privileges. Call the hospital to verify.
- Ask for references. - Ask for before and after photos. If you feel comfortable talking to other patients on whom the plastic surgeon performed rhinoplasty, do so.
- Ask your doctor. - What kind of opinion does your family doctor or primary care physician have of your plastic surgeon?
- Ask about anesthesia. - Make sure that your anesthesia is being administered by a properly certified registered nurse anesthetist or an physician anesthesiologist. Extra Tip: Many state websites have anesthesiologist and nurse anesthetist certification information.
- Check the accreditation of the surgical facility. - States require hospitals to be certified. Most states do not require that out-patient (ambulatory) surgical facilities or office-based surgical facilities be certified. Luckily, there are national accrediting organizations which inspect and certify them. They are the American Association for Accreditation of Ambulatory Surgery Facilities (AAAASF), the Accreditation Association for Ambulatory Health Care (AAAHC) and the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations (JCAHO). You can look up AAAASF facilities at http://www.aaaasf.org/Facilities/. You can search for AAAHC facilities at: http://www.aaahc.org/accreditation/search.shtml. JCAHO accreditation lookups can be performed at: http://www.jcaho.org/qualitycheck/directry/directry.asp.
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State by State Resources to Help with Your Rhinoplasty Research:
AK - Rhinoplasty Alaska Surgeons
AL - Rhinoplasty Alabama Surgeons
AR - Rhinoplasty Arkansas Surgeons
AZ - Rhinoplasty Arizona Surgeons
CA - Rhinoplasty California Surgeons
CO - Rhinoplasty Colorado Surgeons
CT - Rhinoplasty Connecticut Surgeons
DC - Rhinoplasty Washington DC Surgeons
DE - Rhinoplasty Delaware Surgeons
FL - Rhinoplasty Florida Surgeons
GA - Rhinoplasty Georgia Surgeons
HI - Rhinoplasty Hawaii Surgeons
IA - Rhinoplasty Iowa Surgeons
ID - Rhinoplasty Idaho Surgeons
IL - Rhinoplasty Illinois Surgeons
IN - Rhinoplasty Indiana Surgeons
KS - Rhinoplasty Kansas Surgeons
KY - Rhinoplasty Kentucky Surgeons
LA - Rhinoplasty Louisiana Surgeons
MA - Rhinoplasty Massachusetts Surgeons
MD - Rhinoplasty Maryland Surgeons
ME - Rhinoplasty Maine Surgeons
MI - Rhinoplasty Michigan Surgeons
MN - Rhinoplasty Minnesota Surgeons
MO - Rhinoplasty Missouri Surgeons
MS - Rhinoplasty Mississippi Surgeons
MT - Rhinoplasty Montana Surgeons
NC - Rhinoplasty North Carolina Surgeons
ND - Rhinoplasty North Dakota Surgeons
NE - Rhinoplasty Nebraska Surgeons
NH - Rhinoplasty New Hampshire Surgeons
NJ - Rhinoplasty New Jersey Surgeons
NM - Rhinoplasty New Mexico Surgeons
NV - Rhinoplasty Nevada Surgeons
NY - Rhinoplasty New York Surgeons
OH - Rhinoplasty Ohio Surgeons
OK - Rhinoplasty Oklahoma Surgeons
OR - Rhinoplasty Oregon Surgeons
PA - Rhinoplasty Pennsylvania Surgeons
RI - Rhinoplasty Rhode Island Surgeons
SC - Rhinoplasty South Carolina Surgeons
SD - Rhinoplasty South Dakota Surgeons
TN - Rhinoplasty Tennessee Surgeons
TX - Rhinoplasty Texas Surgeons
UT - Rhinoplasty Utah Surgeons
VA - Rhinoplasty Virginia Surgeons
VT - Rhinoplasty Vermont Surgeons
WA - Rhinoplasty Washington Surgeons
WI - Rhinoplasty Wisconsin Surgeons
WV - Rhinoplasty West Virginia Surgeons
WY - Rhinoplasty Wyoming Surgeons
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