Amiya Prasad, MD, chief Oculofacial Plastic and Reconstructive Surgeon of New York’s Prasad Cosmetic Surgery & Medi-Spa addresses the criteria for prospective patients choosing a cosmetic surgeon. For those opting for cosmetic surgery of the face, eyes, or body, Dr. Prasad stresses the importance of doing research before choosing a doctor for surgical procedures is necessary to achieve optimal results.  An innovator and author, Dr. Prasad shares his twenty years of knowledge in the field of plastic and reconstructive surgery and lends this to determining the factors for choosing a specialized cosmetic surgeon.

Expertise in Plastic Surgery is a controversial issue.  Many surgeons simply claim to be the “best” or advise that if you “Ask for a board certified surgeon” you have completed your research. However, if you want to determine a physician’s level of expertise, follow this straightforward assessment. The first level of expertise is based on the formal training pursued by a surgeon. For example, a neurosurgeon has expertise in brain surgery based on formal training. A neurosurgeon can be easily regarded as having a higher level of expertise in brain surgery when compared to a General Surgeon who had less exposure to neurosurgery during training and did not pursue this type of surgery after he or she finished training.

Eye plastic surgery training is specialized compared to general plastic surgery. This extra focused training as a specialist has served as the foundation for my expertise in Cosmetic Eyelid Surgery. As an Eye Plastic Surgeon, I have spent much more time than a general plastic surgeon on advanced eye plastic surgery and have spent many years instructing other eye surgeons on the topic.  A second level of expertise is based upon types of experience. This can be quantified by the type of training pursued after residency, the number of years spent during and after formal training on specific types of procedures and whether or not the person has engaged in teaching others his craft.

In addition, an experienced cosmetic surgeon has numerous before and after photos and can produce a list of patients who have undergone the same procedure you are inquiring about  who would be happy to speak to you about their procedure.

Finally, the last level of expertise to inquire about is the professional development that the surgeon has pursued in his career. Has he written books on his topic? Does he attend professional meetings and make presentations there? The field of cosmetic surgery, as in all disciplines, requires the pursuit of continued professional education, constant refining of our skills and knowledge and an unlimited curiosity to learn about the newest and most modern technologies available.

EXPERIENCE

Formal training is an excellent foundation for expertise. Experience, however, can bring expertise to a higher level. For example, a highly experienced pilot landed an airplane in an emergency situation onto the Hudson River. Would a recently trained pilot have been able to do the same?

Experience as a Cosmetic Eyelid Surgery specialist helps the clients who are considering eyelid surgery feel more secure about having a surgeon who has the “miles” to be more than familiar with their procedure. Author Malcolm Gladwell who wrote “The Tipping Point” and “Outliers” states that to master any skill requires “10,000 hours” of practice in order to be successful.  The same rule applies whether it is becoming a virtuoso performer, an Iron Chef, a master sculptor or a skilled surgeon.  Performing eyelid surgery daily for 17 years has enabled me to reach and surpass the “10,000 hour rule”.  Another mark of expertise is how well esteemed an artist is among his peers. It is important to ask whether a surgeon is called upon by others in his field to perform “revision surgery” or to fix undesired results. A surgeon who has been practicing for many years and is well respected by his peers will be able to describe to a patient the types of revision surgery he has performed over his career.

ARTISTRY

Any true artist will say that artistry is intrinsic, not learned.  The medical field uses a training structure which tends to attract more “square” personalities, that is people who are intelligent, detail-oriented and organized, but not typically creative and artistic. This essentially means that many plastic surgeons are not artists but rather surgeons who follow a visual formula for each problem. In some ways this explains the often seen “plastic” appearance found in many people who have undergone cosmetic surgery. As an artist, I recognized during my training that there was a certain disconnect between patients’ desires to look fresh and youthful and the results of the plastic surgeons’ procedures. I have learned to appreciate the “true character” of a person’s face and understand the balance of features so that I can create a more natural appearance instead of a “manufactured face”. I have found that the judgment of beauty and balance is intrinsic and an awareness  of the planes of the face and the dimensions of balance is difficult to communicate but easy to perceive.

COMMITMENT

Commitment in plastic surgery means that you will do your utmost to ensure that your patient achieves desired results. In order to accomplish that, you have to practice your craft ethically.  By that I mean that you have to listen to your patients and understand their aesthetic goals and their deep seated fears. You have to discuss honestly and openly how you will address all related issues. If a patient has unrealistic expectations, you need to tell them. If they are asking for a procedure that is outside of your expertise, you need to refer them to the right specialist. You should always encourage a second opinion.  And most importantly, never push a patient into a procedure if they don’t want it or don’t need it. It is imperative to be available for questions or concerns before and after surgery. The best cosmetic surgery practice provides all levels of care to its patients to make sure that they always look their best. We have an on-site spa which provides non-invasive skin care and we have our own line of skin care products to protect your skin and keep it healthy.

It’s hard to teach ethics to someone. Ethics is just something you have. Unfortunately, there is no measure for ethics when you screen physicians. Medical training for ethics is quite variable and ultimately depends on the trainee and his own experience.  As surgeons, we all have to determine which ideals will serve our mission. Caring for my patients the way I would care for my own family has been the core value which guides how I practice. It’s based on this core value that I developed techniques which make my patients comfortable, look natural and recover quickly. When choosing a surgeon, you should get a “caring, compassionate, and professional” feeling from the surgeon as well as the staff and the office environment. In order to achieve this goal, I work with the most qualified and attentive staff and I have invested in my state-of- the-art facilities to provide a cutting edge care in a comfortable environment.

I am committed to providing my patients with the best care possible.

Cincinnati — Use of general anesthesia, performance of liposuction under general anesthesia, and combining surgical procedures significantly increase the risk for adverse events (AEs) in office-based surgery, a new review suggests.

A review of mandatory adverse-event reporting, derived from 10-year data from Florida and six-year data from Alabama, “confirms trends that have been previously identified in earlier analyses of this data,” wrote lead author John Starling III, M.D, of the University of Cincinnati’s department of dermatology.

Medscape Today reports that according to the study, which appears in the February issue of Dermatologic Surgery, more than two-thirds of deaths and three-quarters of hospital transfers were associated with cosmetic surgery performed under general anesthesia.

The study is especially critical of liposuction performed under general anesthesia, noting that while liposuction is one of the most common cosmetic procedures, no deaths occurred with local anesthesia. “Liposuction under general anesthesia accounted for 32 percent of cosmetic procedure-related deaths and 22 percent of all cosmetic procedure-related complications,” the researchers wrote.

In the Florida statistics, a total of 309 AEs were reported during office-based surgery, including 46 deaths and 263 reportable complications or transfers to hospital. Cosmetic surgeries performed under general anesthesia accounted for the vast majority of deaths in Florida, with liposuction and abdominoplasty the most frequently reported procedures.

In the Alabama data, 52 AEs were reported, including 49 complications or hospital transfers and three deaths. General anesthesia was implicated in 89 percent of reported incidents, of which 42 percent were cosmetic surgeries. Pulmonary complications, including pulmonary emboli and pulmonary edema, were implicated in many deaths in both states.

The authors noted one limitation in their study, which was that case logs of procedures performed under general and intravenous sedation are required in Florida, but are not in the public domain and so were unavailable for analysis. Also, researchers were unable to obtain data on the total number of liposuction procedures performed in either state, which prevented them from calculating the overall fatality rate.

Why LITE™ Anesthesia at Prasad Cosmetic Surgery

Anesthesia Safety

Leading anesthesiologists like Barry Friedberg, M.D. share our professional opinion that most, if not all cosmetic surgery procedures, can be performed safely under local anesthesia with IV or intravenous sedation. Despite this fact, a large percentage of people undergoing cosmetic surgery are subjected to the risks of general anesthesia.

Based on the work of innovators such as Jeffrey Klein, M.D. (inventor of tumescent anesthesia for safe liposuction) and Barry Friedberg, M.D. (inventor of PK anesthesia), Dr. Prasad modified his local anesthesia techniques and created LITE™ anesthesia. LITE™ anesthesia is an acronym for Local, Intravenous, Tumescent/Twilight with Ease of recovery.

Safe sedation using a brain monitor (BIS) monitor and Dr. Friedberg’s PK anesthesia techniques have been the cornerstone to LITE™ anesthesia. Sedation or “twilight” anesthesia helps people who come to our practice recover quickly and often “not remember” the surgery.

LITE™ anesthesia is used in our practice for procedures such as:

Browlift
Blepharoplasty (eyelid surgery)
Hair transplant
Facelift
Breast augmentation
Breast lift
Breast reduction
Tummy tuck
Cosmetic gynecology
Liposuction

Prasad Medical Skin Care was a celebrity favorite at this years’ Sundance Film Festival. Film Stars and Celebrities including Mimi Rogers,Wilmer Valderrama, Alexis Dzenia  and “Shameless” star William H. Macy and his wife Felicity Huffman had no shame in getting the Prasad Skin Survival Kit.

Visit our Medic-Spas in Manhattan and Garden City NY or buy Prasad Medical Skin Care online at our new Online Store!

PRASAD MEDICAL SKIN CARE: “SUITE” GIFTS AT SUNDANCE

Prasad was the “doc” to watch at the 2012 Sundance Film Festival, and by “doc” we do not mean documentary. Cosmetic Surgeon Dr. Amiya Prasad’s medical grade skin care line was a hit at the Talent Resources Gifting Suites at the Gateway Center in beautiful Park City, Utah. Alongside other TR Suite sponsors (such as Sean John and DL1961 Premium Denim), Prasad Medical Skincare gave the celebrities extra special gifts, leaving everyone feeling extra special.

Great for all skin types and ages, Prasad Medical Skin Care made a suitable gift for the celebs. One actress with a film premiere at Sundance commented, “Do you have anything for underneath my eyes? I just saw myself on screen, and I realized I’ve got to start doing something about my skin.” She gladly accepted the Eye Rescue by Prasad, “this couldn’t come at a better time.”

The lovely ladies, such as Carrie Preston, Mimi Rogers, and Vanessa Branch, fell in love with the Satin-C Gel and Collagen Peptide Gel by Prasad Medical Skin Care. Another favorite was the non-greasy, lightweight sunscreen Moist Silk Defense SPF-30. The skin care products all went, and actress Alexis Dziena got there just in time to get her pH Balance Cleanser.

The men were not shy about their interest in taking care of their skin either. For actors such as Wilmer Valderrama, Casper Van Dien, and The Bachelor’s Ben Flajnik, we recommended the pH Balance Cleanser and Daily Toning Pads by Prasad Medical Skincare. For NFL athletes Jared Odrick and Thomas Howard, the Moist Silk Defense SPF-30 was a must-have. “Shameless” star William H. Macy had no shame in getting the Skin Survival Kit for his wife Felicity Huffman.
Another grateful guest (who just so happens to be a producer), added, “did you know culturally the name ‘Prasad’ means ‘sweet gift’? So thank you for this!”

New York based, Dr. Prasad understands extreme weather, so he also gave away complimentary tropical lip balm for all those who would be walking around in the cold, snowy streets of Park City during the 2012 film fest. Prasad Medical Skin Care recently became available for online purchase at www.prasadmedicalskincare.com where anyone who needs the full line of medical grade skin care products can have it shipped right to their door.

Safe and FDA-approved, this non-surgical treatment treats the skin on the face, including frown lines, the eye area, nasolabial folds and marionette lines. Pelleve™ heats the deep layers of your skin without damaging the top layer of your skin. The heat causes the collagen in your skin to contract and tighten. After the treatment, collagen production is boosted thus leading to firmer skin.

“What makes Pelleve™ so popular is that it provides immediate more youthful skin results without surgery, discomfort or any downtime,” said Dr. Amiya Prasad, cosmetic surgeon and facial rejuvenation specialist at Prasad Cosmetic Surgery and Medi-Spa. “Patients can see results after just one, one-hour treatment, with lasting improvement for up to six months as the skin produces new collagen.”

HydraFacial™ is the only hydradermabrasion procedure that combines cleansing, exfoliation, extraction, hydration and antioxidant protection simultaneously, resulting in clearer, more beautiful skin with no discomfort or downtime.

The treatment is soothing, moisturizing, non-invasive and non-irritating. The HydraFacial™ treatment improves the appearance of fine lines, wrinkles, congested and enlarged pores, oily or acne-prone skin, hyperpigmentation and brown spots.

The HydraFacial™ procedure is suitable for most skin types, including thin or aging skin, ethnic skin, and dry skin or oily skin. Start your skin maintenance program now with HydraFacial™ to slow down your skin’s aging process and delay the need for invasive procedures.

Due to popular demand, the anti-aging skin care line, which is clinically proven to improve skin’s tone, texture and health, is more conveniently available to those who live outside the New York City area or who are not able to easily stop by our two practice locations.

Thanks to its debut at the Talent Resources gift suite at the 2012 Sundance Film Festival, celebrities and attendants alike have been driving website sales of the skin care line and increasing its popularity across the country.

We currently offers 14 medical skin care products ranging from cleansers, toners, moisturizers, serums, lotions, treatments and sunscreen to help improve the condition of the skin and provide more youthful looking benefits to the face.

Skin care products range in price from $25 – $145.

Plastic surgeons are busier than ever at the end of the year as people cash in gift certificates. WCBS-TV’s Cat Anderson reports.