New York, NY (February 27, 2004) — According
to American Society for Aesthetic Plastic
Surgery (ASAPS) statistics, in 2003, 52%
of all cosmetic procedures (surgical and
nonsurgical) were performed in office-based
surgical facilities (another 23% of procedures
were performed outside the hospital setting
in free-standing surgicenters). Published
data have shown that accredited office-based
facilities have a safety record comparable
to that of hospital ambulatory surgery settings.
However, the alarming fact is that most
office-based surgical facilities are unaccredited.
ASAPS encourages prospective patients to
make sure their office-based cosmetic surgery
meets the following requirements:

• The operating surgeon is certified by
  the American Board of Plastic Surgery.
  
• The office-based surgical facility is
  accredited by a nationally or state recognized
  accrediting agency, or is state licensed
  or Medicare certified. Nationally recognized
  accrediting agencies include the American Association for Accreditation of Ambulatory Surgery Facilities (AAAASF), the Joint Commission
  on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations
  (JCAHO), and the Accreditation Association
  for Ambulatory Health Care (AAAHC).
  
• The surgeon has privileges at an accredited
  acute care hospital for the specific procedure
  being performed.
  
• Patients undergoing procedures that involve
  sedation are appropriately
  
  monitored by registered nursing personnel.
  If general anesthesia is used, it is administered
  by a board-certified anesthesiologist or
  certified registered nurse anesthetist.
  
• The emergency equipment and anesthesia
  monitoring devices in the surgical facilities
  are equivalent to those that would be necessary
  for the same surgical procedure performed
  in a hospital or freestanding ambulatory
  surgery center.
  
• Provisions are made for hospital admission
  in the event of unforeseen complications.
  
• There is a separate recovery area with
  monitoring equipment equivalent to that
  which would be necessary for the same procedure
  performed in a hospital or ambulatory surgery
  facility.
  
• Until the patient is fully recovered,
  a physician is at the site, in addition
  to a registered nurse.
  
• Discharge from the facility is always
  determined by the responsible surgeon.

Ensuring patient safety is key to ASAPS’
mission. As of July 2002, all ASAPS members
have agreed to perform surgeries that require
anesthesia (other than local anesthesia
and/or minimal oral or intramuscular tranquilization)
only in an accredited, state-licensed or
Medicare-certified facility. It is the Society’s
position, backed by published data, that
when the above guidelines are followed,
office-based surgery is a safe, convenient
and cost-effective option for properly selected
patients.

This document was updated from September 8, 2003.