Jul 4, 2009

How To Select Your Botox Doctor

By Virginia Anthony

When seeking Botox treatments, it's important to look for a trusted physician. How do you go about it?

A Botox doctor should be licensed by the American Board of Plastic Surgery (ABPS). A certification by the ABPS assures at least five years of operative training, including two years of training specifically in plastic surgery. It is essential that the physician has considerable cosmetic surgical experience and has met the vital requirements for continuing cosmetic surgery education.

Likewise, these doctors must be able to perform this particular procedure in a hospital if something goes wrong. Often the procedure is done outside the hospital in an office-based surgical facility. However, accredited office-based facilities have a safety record comparable to that of hospital ambulatory surgery settings.

Ambulatory or office-based facilities should be commissioned by a nationally or state-recognized accrediting agency, or be state licensed or Medicare certified.

Before undergoing treatment, patients should be educated about all phases of the planned procedure, including whether to discontinue certain medications and stop smoking. Post-operative care should be thoroughly discussed with the surgeon. Although extremely safe in the hands of doctors accredited by the American Board of Plastic Surgery, even with the highest level of care every case carries risks as well as benefits and these should be discussed thoroughly with your attending physician.

Candidates for Botox procedure should be in generally good health. One must be open about any drugs you might have taken in the past. These include hormones (oral contraceptives and estrogen replacement), aspirin, vitamins, and herbal medications since these substances can intervene with blood coagulation or interact with various medications.

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