Plastic Surgery Safety: Mitigating Plastic Surgery Risks

September 30, 2013

How You Can Check Your Plastic Surgery Clinic for Proper Accreditation

At the Plastic Surgery Clinic, patient safety during cosmetic surgery is of the upmost importance. The Canadian Association for Accreditation of Ambulatory Surgical Facilities (CAAASF) is a national organization formed in 1990 by physicians to establish and maintain standards to ensure that surgical procedures done outside a public hospital are performed safely. The CAAASF has established accreditation standards for staff, in-house quality assurance, medical records, peer- review and quality control, health standards, and facility requirements.

Recently, Dr. Lista and I coauthored a study examining demographic and procedural information for ambulatory surgery facilities accredited by the CAAASF to gain insight into patient safety and standards of care in Canadian ambulatory surgery facilities. We recently presented the findings of this study at the 40th Surgery (CSAPS). CSAPS is the largest organization representing Canadian plastic surgeons with a special interest and expertise in cosmetic surgery. There are almost 70 ambulatory surgery facilities in Canada accredited by the CAAASF. Our study found that over 40,000 procedures are performed in these facilities each year. In these facilities, procedures are performed while maintaining an exceedingly low complication rate. The vast majority of CAAASF accredited facilities apply strategies to prevent complications during surgery. We conclude that the following four factors form the basis for safe and effective ambulatory surgery:

• • Appropriate accreditation of ambulatory surgery facilities.
• • Well-established patient safety related standards of care.
• • Careful patient selection.
• • Procedures performed by qualified health care professionals with appropriate certification practicing within the scope of their practice.

In addition to the CAAASF, the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Ontario (CPSO) has a provincially mandatory Out-of-Hospital Premises Inspection Program (OHPIP) to oversee facilities in Ontario that are not hospitals, where certain procedures are performed.

The Plastic Surgery Clinic in Mississauga has been accredited by the CAAASF and also passed the OHPIP inspection by the CPSO.

All facilities that have been accredited by the CAAASF are listed at: http://caaasf.org/

Additionally, you can check the inspection status of any facility in Ontario on the Out-of- Hospital Premises Listing at the CPSO website at: http://www.cpso.on.ca/publicregister/

• Posted by Dr. Jamil Ahmad, MD, FRCSC