What to Look For in a Plastic Surgeon by William F. DeLuca, MD

What
to
look
for
in
a
Plas/c
Surgeon
By
William
F.
DeLuca
Jr.,
M.D.
F.A.C.S
Board
Cer9fied
Plas9c
Surgeon
and
Member
of
the
American
Society
of
Plas9c
Surgeons
(ASPS)
and
American
Society
of
Aesthe9c
Plas9c
Surgeons
(ASAPS)

Part
1:
“Must
Have”
&
“Should
Have”
Traits
www.DeLucaPlas9cSurgery.com

The
“Must
Haves”…
1.
Board
Cer/fica/on
in
Plas/c
Surgery
2.
Hospital
Privileges

The
“Should
Haves”

1.
Experience
Odds
are,
the
more
your
surgeon
has
the
beSer
off
you’ll
be
Rickie
Fowler
The
“next”
genera9on.
Lot’s
of
talent
but
s9ll
very
erra9c
and
prone
to
errors.
Phil
Mickelson
The
“old
guard”.
Clutch
under
pressure.
His
results
over
the
past
19
years
as
a
pro
do
most
of
the
talking.

2.
References
Get
references
and/or
reviews
from
other
pa/ents
&
doctors
Do
not
trust
only
your
ins9ncts
when
a
scalpel
is
involved

3.
Pa/ent
&
Safety-‐First
Philosophy
How
do
they
define
what
a
successful
experience/outcome
for
“May
I
always
act
so
as
to
preserve
the
finest
tradi9ons
of
my
calling
and
may
I
long
experience
the
joy
of
healing
those
who
seek
my
help.”
-‐
Hippocrates
(460–370
BC)
The
importance
of
first-‐class
pre-‐procedure
&
post-‐surgery
care
can
not
be
understated.
you
will
be?

3a.
Pa/ent
&
Safety-‐First
Philosophy
My
process
for
selec9ng
the
best
procedure
for
YOU

3b.
Pa/ent
&
Safety-‐First
Philosophy
My
Decision
Matrix
for
Surgical
vs
Non-‐Surgical
•
Price
•
Age
•
Expecta9ons/Desires
•
Down9me
available
for
recovery

4.
Reasonable
Prices/Rates
When
choosing
a
cosme9c
surgeon,
does
more
expensive
always
=
beSer?
Why
do
plas9c
surgeons
in
NYC
cost
so
much
more?

5.
Training,
Vision,
Talent
&
Technique
Surgeons
that
have
high
levels
of
the
above
• Minimize
traits
are
surgeons
who:
scaring
• Minimize
down9me,
speed
up
recovery
• Minimize
post-‐opera9on
complica9ons
(key)
• Deliver
consistent
&
reproducible
results
(i.e.
what
you
see
in
the
before
and
aher
photos
is
what
you
can
reasonably
expect
to
get)

6.
Knows
What
to
Do
to
Achieve
the
Opitmal
Result
It’s
your
Surgeon’s
job
to
know
what
the
best
op9on
is
when
there
are
more
than
1
op9on
(which
is
ohen
the
case).
“His
surgeon
choose
poorly…”
-‐
Temple
Knight,
Indian
Jones
In
plas9c
surgery,
there
are
ohen
several
ways
to
address
a
cosme9c
issue,
but
in
most
cases,
one
way
is
superior
to
all
the
rest
–

7.
Consistently
Achieves
GREAT
Results
Do
they
consistently
produce
great
work?
How
many
“average
or
just-‐ok”
movies
has
Steven
Spielberg
directed?
Not
many.
Are
their
results
natural
and
a]rac/ve?

Part
2:
Shortcuts,
Gimmicks
&
Tricks

Shortcuts:
Non-‐Invasive
≠
Long
Las/ng
Especially
when
it
comes
to
cosme9c
surgery
• Examples:
“Weekend
facelihs”,
“lifestyle
facelihs”,
etc.
• “Achieve
instantaneous
perfecEon”
…
Really?
• Healing
takes
9me
–
Las9ng
results
require
healing
• The
pa/ent
has
to
be
commi]ed
to
the
procedure.
• You
need
to
follow
post-‐op
care
instruc9ons
• If
you
want
to
have
a
facelih,
there
is
going
to
be
2-‐3
weeks
of
healing
involved.
It’s
not
overnight.
Surgeons
who
give
the
impression
that
it
isn’t
a
big
deal
should
not
be
taken
at
their
word.

Gimmicks:
The
Oprah
Effect
Why
the
‘latest’
media
darling
isn’t
always
the
greatest
or
safest.
• “Thread
Lic”
-‐
aka
single
s9tch
“weekend”
facelih
• Thermage
-‐
non-‐surgical
skin
9ghtening
using
radio
frequency
•
“SmartLipo”
-‐
aka
‘laser
liposuc9on’
for
large
areas
• Breast
Augmenta9on
through
the
belly-‐buSon
(“scar
free!”)
• “Twilight
Surgery”
-‐
aka
using
local
anesthesia
for
major
procedures
like
liposuc9on

Tricks:
Limited
Post-‐Procedure
Care
• Salesman
Great
surgeons
provide
Surgeon
vs
Ar/st-‐Engineer:
You
should
great
care
never
feel
like
you’re
being
“sold”
during
any
part
of
the
consulta9on.
Good
salesmen
focus
on
the
sell.
Good
MDs
focus
on
the
result.
• What
does
their
personal
fee
cover
in
terms
of
pre
&
post-‐op
care??
In
my
prac/ce:
ü Pa9ents
can
call
me
any9me
(especially
aher
surgery).
Our
phone
system
forwards
to
my
cell
phone.
ü Aher
surgery,
I
offer
pa9ents
as
many
follow-‐up
visits
as
they
need
or
want
at
no
addi9onal
cost.
If
there
are
any
complica9ons
aher
surgery,
what’s
your
surgeon’s
revision
policy?
both
before
&
acer
your
procedure.

In
Other
Words…
Seek
out
a
surgeon
more
like
Captain
Sully
(or
Viper)

In
Other
Words…
*Of
course,
many
Vipers
started
out
as
Mavericks.
The
difference
is,
they’ve
added
wisdom
&
experience
to
their
arsenal
of
confidence,
ins2nct,
passion
and
talent.
And
less
like
Maverick*

Thanks
for
listening.
Ques9ons
or
comments?
Please
don’t
hesitate
to
contact
me
any9me
at:
Office:
(518)
724-‐2444
Email:
info@delucaplas9csurgery.com
DeLuca
Plastic
Surgery
5
Ulenski
Drive
Albany,
NY
12205

What to Look For in a Plastic Surgeon by William F. DeLuca, MD

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