Don't rely on luck regarding your surgical outcomes

Choosing the right surgeon is the most important step you can take on your pursuit to cosmetic or reconstructive surgery.  Your results are important. Don't succumb to the illusion that you are a lucky person and "fingers crossed" everything will be fine.  Complications can happen, even in experienced hands.  You should also know that the risk of failure is extremely high and the complications can be very dangerous if you are not in the hands of an experienced, properly trained, and board certified plastic surgeon.

Groupon and other discount sites are the draw for people who want plastic surgery and fillers done at cut rates.  The problem is, that going this route can often be far more expensive in the long run.  Please know, it is your life and your body; we see complications of herrendous surgeries by doctors who have no business in performing these cases. These victims, as I would say, end up in the Emergency rooms fighting for their lives, nearing blindness, in the ICU or calling our office pleading for help.  That is when they come to the realization that it wasn't a good idea, after all, and that is when the real plastic surgeons, too often, first get called in.  We believe no doctor should be performing any surgery or procedure that they are not able to handle the complications of. That is where patients get into trouble, which can result in a permanent deformity, and sometimes even result in death.

Please also be wary of board certifications, there are actually doctors who have created their own boards to mimic the expertise of those who have gone through the proper training to be performing specific surgeries on you.  A tip for discovering if your doctor is legitimate in his field.  Ask the surgeon and his staff if he/she has privelages at any accredited hospitals for the specific procedure you are interested in.  Ask which hospitals, if they seem timid, you should as well. So my advice is simple, go board certified by the American Board of Plastic Surgery or go home.   Even with injections of fillers, you simply should not trust your face to anyone other than those trained specifically in anatomy of the face, including dermatologists and plastic surgeons.  

Here are a few of the legitimate boards to look for: American Society of Plastic Surgery, The American Society for Aesthetic Plastic Surgeons, The Rhinoplasty Society