SURGICAL CENTER PHOTOS	SURGICAL CENTER

WHAT ARE THE BENEFITS OF AN ACCREDITED SURGICAL CENTER?
WHERE SHOULD A COSMETIC SURGERY BE PERFORMED?
HOW DO I FIND OUT IF A FACILITY IS ACCREDITED?
WHERE SHOULD A COSMETIC SURGERY BE PERFORMED?
WHY DO SO MANY SURGEONS USE UNACCREDITED FACILITIES?

Dr. Chugay performs all surgeries in his state-of-the-art FULLY ACCREDITED AAAHC surgical facility. VIEW THE CERTIFICATE. In many cases, surgeons use their back office as a surgical facility. This does not by itself constitute negligence; in fact performing surgery in an office is quite legal. HOWEVER, DO YOU WISH TO RUN ADDITIONAL RISKS?

WHAT ARE THE BENEFITS OF AN ACCREDITED SURGICAL CENTER?

They relate to such areas as quality of care and quality management and improvement, clinical records, pharmaceutical services, facilities and environment, governance, administration, and professional development.

An accredited facility will have:

• Safe and clean facility
• All surgical equipment in great working condition
• Extensive array of life-support equipment
• Staff trained in handling medical emergencies and life support
• Excellent Anesthesia Equipment and Staff

Remember your safety is our prime concern. Akin to a good hospital, our accredited facility will help make your surgery as safe as humanly possible.

Surgery is a consistently serious endeavor. There are always risks. However, risks are minimal when surgery is performed by a QUALIFIED SURGEON in a QUALIFIED SURGICAL FACILITY.

A 1997 survey (Morello, D.C., Colon, G.A., Fredericks, S., Iverson, R., Singer, R. Patient safety in accredited office surgical facilities. Plast. Reconstr. Surg. 99: 1496, 1997.) based on more than 400,000 operations performed in accredited facilities found that:

• The rate of serious complications was less than half of 1 percent.
• The mortality rate was extremely low - only one in 57,000 cases.
• The overall risk of serious complications in an accredited office surgical facility is comparable with the risk in a freestanding surgical center or hospital ambulatory surgical facility.

WHERE SHOULD A COSMETIC SURGERY BE PERFORMED?

Do your homework. Make sure that your surgery will be performed in a safe and competent environment.

Such environment can be found at:

• A facility accredited by a national or state-recognized accrediting agency, such as the Accreditation Association for Ambulatory Health Care (AAAHC), American Association for Accreditation of Ambulatory Surgery Facilities (AAAASF), or Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations (JCAHO)
• A facility certified to participate in the Medicare program under Title XVIII
• A hospital licensed by the state in which the facility is located

HOW DO I FIND OUT IF A FACILITY IS ACCREDITED?

To find out about a facility's accreditation status, contact the AAAASF at 1-888-545-5222 or www.aaaasf.org the AAAHC at 847-853-6060 or www.aaahc.org the JCAHO at 630-792-5005 or www.jcaho.org.

WHY DO SO MANY SURGEONS USE UNACCREDITED FACILITIES?

Remember, certification is voluntary. Some facilities cannot be certified. Some would require significant investment in equipment and fixtures. Training personnel is also expensive. Maintaining certification is costly for the doctor. However, it is paramount for you, the patient!