Outpatient plastic surgery as safe as in hospital, study says

July 21st, 2008, 6:18 am · Post a Comment · posted by Colin Stewart

A new study of 1.1 million plastic-surgery procedures from 2001 through 2006 concluded that the risk of deaths in accredited outpatient plastic-surgery clinics is similar to the risk from surgery at a hospital.

The researchers reported their finding in this month’s Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery, the medical journal of the American Society of Plastic Surgeons, saying:

Deaths were infrequent, occurring 2.02 in 100,000 procedures or 0.002 percent, which is comparable to the overall risk of such procedures performed in hospital surgery facilities.

The vast majority of deaths were due to pulmonary embolism (a blood clot that travels to the lungs, blocking major blood vessels). Pulmonary embolism is an uncommon cause of death associated with any type of surgery whether elective or medically necessary.

The study covered clinics with accreditation from the American Association for Accreditation of Ambulatory Surgery Facilities, which requires doctors to be board-certified and have hospital privileges as surgeons.

Of the 11.8 million cosmetic surgery procedures performed last year in the United States, 59 percent were done in medical offices, 21 percent in outpatient surgical centers, and 20 percent in a hospital, the plastic surgeons’ society said.

Two prominent plastic-surgery-related deaths in November and March occurred after outpatient surgery, but the society’s report on the study did not state whether those procedure were performed at AAAASF-accredited clinics.

A high school cheerleader in Florida died in March after breast augmentation surgery at an outpatient clinic.

Donda West, the mother of rapper Kanye West, died in November after breast reduction surgery at her doctor’s clinic in Los Angeles.