New Jersey Plastic Surgeons

With the advent of more and more “medical spas” or “medspas” over the past several years plastic surgery has become something that is not always limited to a doctor’s office or hospital. Medical spas are essentially combining two different businesses: day spas and minor outpatient surgery centers. While there’s no real definition of what constitutes a medical spa and what doesn’t, most medical spas can be identified as being a business which offers a large variety of spa treatments such as facials, massages and mud wraps with a mix of mostly non-invasive cosmetic surgery procedures including skin abrasion, derma smooth, laser hair removal and even some types of liposuction.

Are medical spas performing plastic surgery legally?

The initial concept of joining traditional spa services with cosmetic surgery procedures under one roof is believed to have started nearly ten years ago. The International Spa Association reports that there are now over 1,800 medical spas in the United States, which is an amazing 84% increase from July 2007 through December 2008. And while most medical spas bill themselves as being clean and safe, there has been very little close study of the safety or even legality of the practice.

The September death of 37-year-old Mrs. Kah-Orukotan in the Florida Weston Medspa brought some of these safety and training issues to light. There are some charges that the type of operation Mrs. Kah-Orukotan was undergoing was not strictly allowed to be performed in a non-medical facilities. The investigation is still ongoing. Now lawmakers in several states, including New York, Massachusetts, Florida and Utah are now considering laws to formal define a medical spa and to begin regulating what they can and can’t do. New Jersey, which has the nation’s only plastic surgery tax (or “Botax”), may be the inspiration for a measure in some of the upcoming healthcare bills that would create a tax on cosmetic surgery procedures performed at medical spas.

Are medical spas safe for plastic surgery?

The medical spas themselves point out the fact that they have paid medical doctors on staff and that the vast majority of their patients have a safe and effective cosmetic surgery experience. Critics point out that some of those doctors actually started out in one field and moved into performing plastic surgery procedures for a number of different reasons. Some of the doctors may not have all the training and experience that established board certified plastic surgeons usually have.

Working at a medical spa can be attractive to a doctor for several reasons. First, it can add variety to a doctor’s normal routine of seeing the same patients with the same ailments week in and week out. Second, many doctors report that working in a medical spa is a more rewarding and less stressful experience than working in a busy practice or hospital. Third, working in a medical spa often requires less time filling out insurance paperwork for doctors because the business is largely paid for with “out of pocket” money from patients which completely avoids the numerous medical insurance claims and beauracracy that’s often found in a regular doctor’s office.

This payment system is also a big reason why medical spas are becoming so popular among their clinetele. Some medical spas offer the ability to just walk in off the street and receive a variety of spa treatments and surgical procedures, sometimes all in the same day. This convenience and immediacy appeals the baby boomers who want plastic surgery but don’t want to deal with the usual procedure of dealing with a busy doctor’s office.

The prices of many of the plastic surgery procedures at medical spas can also be quite attractive. Many medical spas take advantage of the latest technology and some staff members require less training than in a traditional doctor’s office. These efficiencies and cost savings are often reflected in their prices.

The safety of medical spas for plastic surgery procedures is still a hotly debated topic. It’s buyer beware when you’re choosing a plastic surgeon or picking a medical spa, so you’ll probably want to do your homework. You should probably check references if possible, make sure the medical spa and surgical areas are clean and well maintained. Just as when you’re looking for a cosmetic surgeon, you’ll want to investigate the experience of the doctors as well as any complaints there may be against the doctor or medical spa in question.

For some people the convenience and attractive price may be too much to pass up, while for others the more traditional method of having plastic surgery in a doctor’s office or hospital may be much more comforting. It’s ultimately a personal decision to have any sort of cosmetic surgery done in at a medical spa.

This isn’t your mother’s liposuction!

Liposuction, the popular plastic surgery procedure which removes fat and cellulite build up from under the skin of various parts of the bodies is starting to have a make-over of it’s own and one New Jersey plastic surgeon is leading the way.

Standard “tumescent” liposuction breaks up body fat with an injected sterile saline solution and a cannula (liposuction wand) is used to literally suck out the excess and broken down fat. After suction the cannula is removed and the incision is closed, allowing the body to begin healing. While the standard practice of saline liposuction is a fairly advanced surgical procedure in itself, there are some plastic surgeons who are now employing even more advanced techniques to this already modern surgery.

Board-certified New Jersey plastic surgeons like Dr. Richard D’Amico and Dr. William K. Boss are some of those surgeons who are on the cutting edge of cosmetic surgery procedures. Some NJ plastic surgeons are now using lasers, ultrasonic and even radio waves to perform liposuction surgeries in place of the normal sterile saline.

Each new form of liposuction breaks up the fat under the skin and separates it from the muscle so that it can be sucked out. These new types of liposuction offer some advantages over the standard ways.

Ultrasound Assisted Liposuction (UAL) – In this cosmetic surgery procedure a saline solution is used to break up the fat under the skin but then a cannula which transmits ultrasonic energy is used to practically liquefy the excess fat deposits, which makes it easier to suck out of the body. There is even a procedure now which calls for ultrasonic energy to be applied externally that allows the body to handle the dissolved fat without the need for sutures or an incision.

Laser Liposuction – Like the other forms of liposuction, this procedure first requires the fat in the body to be broken down, but instead of using a saline solution a laser or ultrasonic heat energy from a tiny instrument is used to essentially melt away the fat. The procedure requires no sutures, leaves a very small scar, requires only local anesthesia and usually involves a minimal amount of bleeding. Recovery periods are often much less than traditional liposuction techniques.

Radiofrequency Assisted Liposuction (RFAL) – This technique uses radiofrequency energy to melt away the fat under the skin by using an external and internal probe to apply a uniform heat which can melt away fat molecules. The procedure is reported more comfortable than some others and shows promise as being a less painful alternative to some other forms of liposuction.

While there are many plastic surgeons in New Jersey who can perform liposuction, you’ll want to be sure that the plastic surgeon you work with is well-versed in the traditional as well as more advanced types of liposuction. Lipo is one of the more common cosmetic surgery procedures performed in the United States and it’s getting easier and less dangerous as new technology emerges.

Pundits are calling it the “Botax” but the reality of electric plastic surgery procedures being taxed in New Jersey may soon become a nationwide idea. Congress is looking into the tax on cosmetic surgeries, which is said to be a $12 billion industry, as a way to help pay for the healthcare overhaul. Elective cosmetic surgeries might be taxed, while it’s unlikely that medically necessary or less elective surgeries would fall into the same category. Supporters of the plan say that these elective plastic surgery taxes could help pay for the life and death medical treatments of others while critics of the plan aren’t sure if the tax revenue would be worthwhile.

There’s no word on exactly how much the tax would be, but numbers from 5% to 10% have been thrown around as possibilities. Some members of congress have suggested that the tax on elective cosmetic surgeries would essentially amount to nothing more than a “luxury” tax on expensive procedures, though critics argue that it is “normal” people of modest means who often save up to pay for the majority of the plastic surgery procedures done in the United States.

Critics of the idea, such as the American Society of Plastic Surgeons, argue that it’s unfair to tax some fields of business more than others. One plastic surgeon who is against the proposal has stated that his average patient is a middle class woman between the ages 19-64 who makes about $50,000 a year. Fueling the argument against implementing a plastic surgery tax is the one state that actually already has a tax in place: New Jersey.

New Jersey implemented a 6% tax on most elective cosmetic surgeries in 2004 and it has not raised as much money as initially hoped. The unpopular New Jersey cosmetic surgery tax has been close to being overturned several times, but has always remained law by several close votes.

There is yet no word on what would happen to the New Jersey plastic surgery tax if a national plastic surgery taxation plan was put into place. Other states are also looking at New Jersey’s plastic surgery tax model and considering implementing the same tax, even if the tax does not become nationwide.