America the beautiful! Isn’t that what many of us want to be? Thin..Trim..and Good Looking! Well, before you head off to your local plastic surgeon you need to do a little research.
I did a little research on plastic surgeons in Western Virginia and found some disturbing information on a local Roanoke Valley doctor. The Virginia Department of Health Professions (VDHP) issued an order on February 28, 2011 highly critical of Dr. Gregory A. Alouf of Alouf Aesthetics in Salem, Virginia. The VDHP found that Dr. Alouf performed an abdominal liposuction procedure on a 29 year old patient whose Body Mass Index (BMI) was too high to make her an appropriate candidate for the procedure. The decision stated that the patient’s post-operative complications (contour irregularities, persistent excess skin, etc.) were expected given the fact that she was not a proper candidate for the procedure. The order by the VDHP discussed several other patient complications in detail, criticizing Dr. Alouf’s care of those patients.
More concerning is the VDHP’s finding that Dr. Alouf lacked the “requisite education, training, experience, knowledge, skill, expertise, and competence to perform…”cosmetic surgical procedures such as facelifts and liposuction.” The VDHP also found multiple information contained on Dr. Alouf’s web site to be inaccurate or misleading. Dr. Alouf has apparently corrected his website. In the end, the VDHP found that due to Dr. Alouf’s lack of formal surgical training, he would be restricted from performing incisional facial or body contouring, including but not limited to facelifts, lipo-abdominoplasties, and breast augmentation.
My Take: It is always wise to check out your doctor before submitting to elective plastic or reconstructive surgery as there are doctors who represent they have the training and experiece to perform these procedures when, in fact, they do not.