My new me, www.tummytucktalk.ning.com ( forum for tummy tuckers)

Cosmetic Surgeons in Toronto fall into two groups: those with proper training, and those who only claim to have proper training.  The cosmetic surgery business is very lucrative, and it has understandably attracted a lot of doctors who are fed up with OHIP and are looking for a way to get out.  Unfortunately, one of the ways out is to enter a field which has virtually no regulation.  The result can be disasterous, such as the death of a young healthy woman who underwent liposuction by a family doctor.  This tragedy has sparked a public outrage, and has forced the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Ontario to act.  Unfortunately, the best they could do was to make a statement that a person without surgical training cannot call themselves a surgeon.  It is a very weak and ineffective move, by a body that seems to be paralyzed by the legal system to protect the citizens of Ontario.

Following the death of the patient in the hands of a family physician, the Canadian Society of Plastic Surgeons and the Ontario Society of Plastic Surgeons has attempted to bring change to the way doctors are allowed to practice cosmetic surgery.  Once again, little was possible to achieve.  However, what did happen was increase in awareness and discussion of this topic.  Online this issues has been discussed on many forums, it has been the topic of many TV and newspaper articles.  In response to this, doctors who practice without proper training have developed their own counter strategies.  Spending a tremendous amount of money on advertising, marketting, and attempts at diverting attention from surgical training.   Their marketting has been pretty clever, and can easily confuse the average patient.  Here are some examples:

A doctor states that he has spent years at a reputable university in Plastic Surgery assisting.  Being an assistant is not training.  It’s like a pilot claiming that his training included years of being a flight attendant.

In another instant a doctor claims that Plastic Surgeons don’t get training in cosmetic surgery either.  Thus, her lack of training is not any worse than that of a plastic surgeon.  In another words she is just as qualified.  That’s about the same as a flight attendant claiming that a pilot didn’t fly planes until he graduated from flight school, thus he is no more trained than a flight attendant.

Some doctors like to show certificates of various different Cosmetic organization.  This is very confusing for most people because most do not realize that there are many different “Organizations”, “Societies”, and “Academies” that require nothing but membership dues.  For example the “American Society of Cosmetic Liposuction” or “The Academy of American Breast Augmentation” may be groups that hand out fancy looking diplomas for a fee, without the requirement to prove any competence.  For a Canadian patient, the organization that truly matters is the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada.  It is the body that must certify all Canadian Physicians before they are allowed to practice medicine.  It is this certification that will tell you truly what the doctor’s training is.  If the doctor has a Royal College certificate for Cardiology, it doesn’t matter what fancy diploma-like certificates may hang on his/her wall and what he/she may tell you… they are not a cosmetic surgeon.

And finally comes the argument for the dummies.  On various sites, people come out and claim that a family doctor should be able to do cosmetic surgeries if they’re a good doctor.  Frankly, I don’t believe normal people would argue this.  I think all these posts are by family doctors and their marketing staff.  How can you possibly argue that being a ‘good doctor’ is suffient qualification?  Anyone who thinks this should go out and have their hip replacement surgery done by their favority opthalmologist!  Or how would anyone feel if their orthopedic surgeon did their coronary bypass?  It just seems too silly to me, yet there are people out there that think it is ok for anyone with an MD to perform Cosmetic Surgery.

I hope this article has shed some light on this topic, and that it will generate a healthy discussion.  It is a confusing marketplace for cosmetic procedures.  Contact the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Ontario if you need more information.  The Canadian Society of Plastic Surgeons is the official body representing Canadian Plastic Surgeons.

About the Author:

Dr. Jugenburg is a Plastic and Reconstructive Surgeon certified by the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada. Dr. Jugenburg practices Plastic Surgery in Toronto, Ontario. For more information on cosmetic surgery and how to choose a Plastic Surgeon, visit www.plastica.ca

Article Source: ArticlesBase.com – Toronto Cosmetic Surgery – Choosing Your Doctor