Going Outside the country for plastics

Hi Sarah,

I'm beyond 100% happy with my results from Dr. Alejandro Quiroz @ CosMed in TJ Mex. cosmedclinic.com

The expertise, quality and care was excellent. Dr. Quiroz is an artist/surgeon. These surgeries are extensive. Most patients going through the kind of surgeries we do as bariatric patients are unique and complex cases due to our body types and former fat storage. All results are unique. You need to communicate to you surgeon exactly what you're looking to achieve as well as your fears.

There are a number of very happy patients coming out of CosMed. I can give you names/contacts through PM.

Okaaaay...

Jennifer, thanks for the link above that lists PS in Mexico. That is not a link to board-certified individuals, however. It is AMPCER (Asociación Mexicana de Cirujanos Plásticos), which is a membership society.  Like a club.

How is that different from a certifying board ? Well, a membership society requires a certain educational background, recommendations, and other things.  But they do not administer tests and have no supervising body or agency. 

Specifically, this society has

No oral or written test requirement
No review of the doctor's caseload
No ethical review of the doctor's billing and advertising practices
No proof of requirement for continuing education.

Membership in this society is in no way comparable to obtaining Board Certification in the U.S. which requires all of the items above, and then some.

Since we are all here to provide helpful facts, I thought this distinction would help individuals who want to "do their homework."

Hi Panda.  You are certainly welcome.  I have been on these boards for one purpose, and it's to try and get good information out there to a most deserving and inspiring group of patients.

My intentions  sometimes get taken the wrong way, and I know it's never out of malice, but rather an overwhelming sense of loyalty and trust some patients have for their individual surgeons.

That's a great thing to share here too, but it's also important to clarify a point if it stands in the way of the facts.

Here is the email I received back from Dr Sauceda explaining everything and giving proof to his certifications.

The "Consejo Mexicano de Cirugia Plastica" and the "Asociacion
Mexicana de Cirugia Plastica" (AMCPER), are in the same building,
actually in the same office.
Flamencos 74
Col. San José Insurgentes
México, D.F.
Tels. 5615 49 10 y 5615 49 11
Fax. 5615 49 23
Lada sin costo 01 800 711 87 32



Actually if you put in google "Consejo Mexicano de Cirugia Plastica", it is going to show you the Asociacion Mexicana de Cirugia Plastica web site.  They are not the same thing, the Consejo Mexicano de Cirugia Plastica has to watch over the 13 plastic surgery programs on the all country, and has to put  the final exam on the residents who have finish their course. This is a hard exam, in my case, it  was written and oral exam, but after some years they only require the
written one. The AMCPER is the association which make the national congress of
plastic surgery.

But to be on the Asociacion Mexicana de Cirugia Plastica, you have to pass this exam. Now, I don't know how it is in the states, but here in Mexico for a plastic surgeon if he or she is the biggest plastic surgeon association you have to be on the board.  Anyway, here is the link of the Consejo Mexicano de Cirugia Plastica in there you can find my name.

 http://www.consejocpr.org.mx/principal.htm

On the Medicos Certificados there are the all abc, you have to click on the big S, and then click several times on siguente ( because  on the S, there a lot of plastic surgeons.)

Also I am in the FILACP, ( FEDERACIÓN IBERO LATINOAMERICANA DE CIRUGÍA
PLÁSTICA Y RECONSTRUCTIVA),  which is the ibero latinamerican federation of plastic surgery.

http://filacp.org/directorio/index.cgi

In there you have to put my last name and my name.


Hope that helps!

Jessica

First of all, let me thank every one of you for your replies. I'm a little nervous about plastics, and it seems like I'll get some great input and opinions on this board.

As for homework, well, I feel that I will do just as much research on a surgeon inside the United States as I will with one outside of the U.S. Anyone messing with MY body gets a thorough going over. I am researching all of my options, though for financial reasons, going out of the country seems more viable for my pocketbook. I do realize, however, that financial constraints should not deter me from receiving the best care possible.

When I say "look outside the country" for my plastics, most of my friends expect me to go to some shady place and come back without my kidneys. I know that competent doctors with exacting standards and excellent facilities exist outside the U.S., and it behooves me to consider all of my options.

I was looking for a starting place, some suggestions, and some considerations to mull over that I had yet to think about. You have given me so much! I'm off to start researching.

Thank you for your posts!!

Sarah

There are skilled and unskilled surgeons both stateside and abroad. Both options must be thoroughly researched. I choose to travel to Brazil for  my surgeries, based on viewing the outcome of other peoples surgeries.

Aftercare is important....however if your PCP gives you a release for surgery letter, that implies the physician will treat you should anything come up after you return stateside. The argument that you are given legal options if you stay stateside is somewhat misleading.  Bad results do not give you a free reign to sue the physician.

Don't make a decision solely on price, search for the best surgeon you can afford.

I agree....filing a lawsuit over poor results would be a last-ditch remedy, although I have served as an expert witness in several cases where that exact issue happened.  And it was not malpractice in one case, but rather a medical device issue.

The state medical boards, national cerrtification boards, and to a lesser degree the trial lawyers serve as a very real reminder that a doctor is subject to oversight and posible action for poorly-rendered care.

Again, these agencies are put in place to protect the public.  I just feel that not everyone is aware that they give up those protections when leaving the country.

"Again, these agencies are put in place to protect the public.  I just feel that not everyone is aware that they give up those protections when leaving the country."

That is precisely why I stressed research, research, research.......and also stressed follow up. Even the best surgeons will not do a perfect reconstruction.  A surgeon is not God.  But a good, conscientious surgeon will  CHEERFULLY correct any imperfections or problem areas.  This is why one has to do thorough research.  Learn all you can about a surgeon you are considering.  How do they handle an unhappy patient?  Are they willing to work with you?

To go abroad for surgery requires a special person..if you are a seasoned traveler it is easier. I've seen people thrive and people fall apart.....but they may have done the same stateside...who knows?   You must be prepared to stay from four to six weeks.  This may seem like a long time, but if you are facing a lifetime of much improved body contours, then that time out of country will quickly pale.  And aren't your worth it?

For one to automatically assume that going out of country is done by naive people looks condescending. 

Jennifer, thanks for the links on the process in certification process in Mexico.

The process here is a bit easier to decipher (just Google American Board of....)  so I am sure your links will make it easier for others to do their homework before surgery.

There is quite a difference between the process here in the U.S. and Mexico.  I will list them in a separate post, where no doubt I will be accused of  "bashing" !