Patient safety in surgery has long been important in the lengthy education and training of surgeons. Plastic surgeons typically have 4 years of medical school, 5 years of general surgical residency and additional years of plastic surgical residency or fellowship. The American Society of Plastic Surgeons is a national organization that emphasizes patient safety in many ways. One of them is the requirement for ongoing specific patient-safety education, another is the requirement that member surgeons only operate in accredited surgical facilities.

ACCREDITATION is the process which recognizes that the facility meets detailed standards. The process is similar to that for hospitals and out-patient surgical centers, but tailored to the size and scope of the office facilities. The process includes complying with standards (architectural, equipment, staffing training, reporting, etc.). Our center is accredited by the American Association for Accreditation of Ambulatory Surgery Facil

Dr. Graham has emphasized safety and patient comfort for almost 20 years performing cosmetic surgery. Our patients receive thorough medical history evaluation and perioperative teaching, appropriate physical examination, and evaluation of our physician anesthesiologist prior to surgery. We contact our patient's primary care doctors, and occasionally cardiologists, to request relevant health information prior to surgery. This is nothing new.

Following an unfortunate well publicized tragedy in California, a local legislator held a public contest to request suggestions for laws. As

Recently the Wall Street Journal ran an article stressing the importance of safety and accreditation in office-based surgery (including cosmetic surgery). (July 21, 2009) We couldn't agree more.

The article highlights that many facilities lack oversight, regulation, etc. Potential patients should be aware that the American Society of Plastic Surgeons saw the importance of facility accreditation several years ago. The ASPS requires that all of its members only operate in accredited facilities. Members are also board-certified in plastic surgery.

Our office surgical facility was carefully designed from the outset with safety in mind. It has been nationally accredited from the beginning by the American Association for Accreditation of Ambulatory Surgery Facilities (AAAASF). This includes annual review, on-site visits, staff training and certification, back-up equipment and safety systems. Our facility meets or exceeds state laws and regulations. All anesthesia is per

Safety in surgery and anesthesia are extremely important to us at the Aesthetic Center. We have a nationally accredited in-office surgery facility with all anesthesia provided by our board-certified physician (MD) anesthesiologist. This facility and its staff is unique in the Carolina upstate. http://www.expertplasticsurgeon.com/html/about.html#nationally-accredited-facilities

The news about the death of performer Michael Jackson has included mention of Propofol (diprivan) a potent sedative normally used in anesthesia, being used for insomnia treatment by a home care physician. We do not want adverse news or

The safety of both anesthesia care and surgical procedures has improved greatly in the past 25 years. The number and complexity of out-patient surgery across all surgical specialties has increased several fold. All surgery involves risks, but risk reduction is accomplished in many ways.

In 2007, according to the American Society of Aesthetic Plastic Surgeons, 54% of all cosmetic procedures were performed in office surgical centers, and another 28% in out-patient surgical centers. That leaves only 17% having been done in hospitals. Surgical procedure statistics showed 8% increase from the prior year. (http://www.surgery.org/)

National accreditation is one important assessment of the dedication and quality of a office surgical facility. The American Association for Accreditation of Ambulatory Surgical Facilities evaluates our facility(http://www.aaasf.org/). We undergo annual assessment requir