CA lawmakers push for tougher plastic surgery rules

Tue, 27 May 2008 06:59:54 -0400

Driven in part by the death of the mother of hip-hop star Kanye West, who was getting liposuction and breast implant surgery, California physicians and lawmakers are pushing to tighten up regulation of the cosmetic surgery industry in the state. Right now, such surgeries are increasingly being done in outpatient clinics, where doctors don't face rigorous reviews. However, as with doctors in other states (such as Florida), California legislators would like to see tougher oversight of doctors performing such procedures.

Legislators are being forced to take such steps despite their already being rules on the books designed to prevent safety problems during outpatient cosmetic surgery. More than 10 years ago, the state passed a law requiring cosmetic surgery centers to be recognized by the state, have resuscitation equipment and have procedures to transfer patients to a hospital. However, critics say the law hasn't been effective.

To learn more about this initiative:
- read this Los Angeles Times piece

Study: In-office surgeries are higher-risk

Tue, 01 Apr 2008 07:59:56 -0400

Increasingly, doctors are performing surgeries in their offices rather than hospitals--a win for patients, who get to avoid facility fees, and doctors, who capture more business. Such surgeries have shot up dramatically, from about 2 million U.S. outpatient surgeries in 1980 to more than 10 million last year. However, a new study suggests that this trend comes with risks.

The study concluded that when a surgery is performed in a doctor's office, patients face a higher risk of death and complications versus surgeries performed in other facilities, particularly where cosmetic surgery is concerned. The big issue is dealing with adverse reactions to anesthesia. Researchers, who looked at 31 deaths and 146 hospitalizations occurring in Florida after office surgeries from March 2000 to March 2007, found that cosmetic surgeries accounted for 61 percent of of the deaths and hospitalizations, with liposuction under general anesthesia causing a quarter of those adverse events.

To get more data from the study:
- read this South Florida Sun Sentinel article

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Liposuction

CA lawmakers push for tougher plastic surgery rules

Study: In-office surgeries are higher-risk