This article is taken from The American Society for Aesthetic Plastic Surgery -
If you’re a Floridian whose bikini-clad body needs a little
tweaking, you will now have a much better chance of undergoing a safe liposuction
procedure. The April 27 Sun-Sentinel reports that Governor Rick Scott of
Florida just signed legislation mandating that doctors can no longer perform
most liposuction
procedures in unregulated offices. These tougher restrictions, which take
effect on January 3, were backed by plastic
surgeons, the Florida Medical Association and the Florida Board of
Medicine, which oversees doctors.
This may drive up prices of some Florida liposuction
procedures. Addressing the cost issue, the president of the Palm Beach County
Society of Plastic Surgeons said, “The idea is not to make people pay more. It’s
a safety measure to make sure people don’t die.” The medispas and doctor’s
offices that were charging less were able to do so because they cut corners to
bring prices down.
According to the Sun-Sentinel, in recent years some doctors
and unregulated beauty businesses performed liposuction without administering
appropriate anesthesia. Instead, they used sedative pills or creams. After 14
Floridians died as a result of medical distress during liposuction in the last
decade, Senator Eleanor Sobel filed the legislation.
The new law states that when a liposuction procedure removes
more than about two pounds of fat it must be performed in a regulated office.
Such an office is equipped with a doctor who has lifesaving training and
lifesaving equipment and procedures. Moreover, the office facility would have
to be inspected by the state or become accredited.
A Fort Lauderdale plastic surgeon speculates, “Some internists
and nonsurgeons who had been doing liposuctions at the unregulated offices may
choose to stop rather than try to meet the stricter regulations.”
According to the American
Society for Aesthetic Plastic Surgery (ASAPS), cosmetic surgery can be
safely performed in a hospital, a surgicenter or an office-based surgical
facility. Data shows that accredited office-based facilities have a safety
record comparable to that of hospital ambulatory surgery settings. But, most
office-based surgical facilities are not accredited. ASAPS requires its members
to operate in accredited, state-licensed or Medicare-certified facilities. To
ensure your safety, if you undergo surgery, make sure your surgery occurs in
such a facility.
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