Thursday, June 25, 2009

CALIFORNIA LIPOSUCTION LEGAL STANDARDS

The law regarding liposuction standards in California is clear. I was involved in developing these standards. I testified several times before the California Medical Board and supplied them with materials and documentation to aid them in their decision-making process. I believe that these rules are important and necessary for safety. I want to make several points.
1) If you are seeing someone who does not start an intravenous line, they are violating the surgeon’s “standard of care” and also California law.
2) The other requirements include blood oxygen and blood pressure monitoring, which are simple, modern devices to see how well you are breathing and how well your heart is working.
3) Modern liposuction is a very, very safe procedure in experienced hands. However, there are risks and if you find someone who says that it is risk free, you should look elsewhere. Surgical complications such as infection are unlikely but possible.
4) If your surgeon uses no relaxation medicines at all, some sort of liposuction may be performed and the risks may be lower. However, like anything in life, there are trade-offs, in other words you have to accept possibly a lower standard of results—in particular less fat removal--in exchange for not going to sleep. Additionally, we have found that many of our patients find the option of having nothing but local anesthetic frightening and sometimes quite uncomfortable. This is not to say that I approve of general anesthesia for liposuction, I don’t. I think this compounds the risk.
5) For individuals who need significant amounts of fat removed, California law requires a certified surgical center, such as a hospital would have. Ask to see the certificate if this is the case.

Dr. Yoho has patients come from Glendale, Burbank,Pasadena, Los Angeles, Encino, Huntington Park, Studio City,Arcadia, Montrose, Hollywood, La Crescenta, La CanadaFlintridge, Valencia, Monrovia, Eagle Rock, Altadena, SanMarino, Sherman Oaks, Thousand Oaks, North Hollywood,Long Beach, Beverly Hills, Van Nuys, Santa Monica,Calabasas, Palmdale, Fresno, Visalia, Northridge, and WestlakeVillage, and Simi Valley to have their appearance improved with our special surgical technique.

Our Cosmetic Surgery center in Pasadena, California specializes primarily in Cosmetic Surgery including breast augmentation, liposuction, tummy tuck,cosmetic facelifts, forehead lift, Chin and jowl liposuction,Eyelid Surgery and other body contouring procedures.The center is lead by expert Los Angeles Cosmetic Surgeon Dr. Yoho, who has passed the Boards in Cosmetic Surgery and is dedicated to providing high quality yet affordable cosmetic surgery options for his patients and being the best cosmetic surgeon in Los Angeles, Glendale, Pasadena, and Beverly Hills. Our offices in Palmdale and Visialia offer cosmetic surgery in Fresno
Bakersfield and the Lancaster, Valencia California areas.