Isaps

President 2008-2010

Name Foad NAHAI MD

Address 3200 Downwood Circle Suite 640,Atlanta,30327,GA,United States

Phone 1-404-351-0051

Fax 1-404-355-3469

Email: nahaimd@aol.com

Letter from the President

As President of the International Society of Aesthetic Plastic Surgery (ISAPS), it is my pleasure to welcome you to our website. ISAPS is the largest international organization representing board certified plastic surgeons. Founded almost 40 years ago at the United Nations in New York, our mission is to provide up-to-date medical education for our member surgeons, to disseminate accurate and current information to the public and media, and to promote safe cosmetic surgery worldwide.

This website has been designed to provide you with helpful information to assist you in making informed choices concerning aesthetic or cosmetic medicine and surgery. Our 1,600 members from 84 countries are dedicated to providing you with the highest quality care in the safest possible setting. We are committed to your safety, comfort, and privacy. In the current worldwide environment where interest in cosmetic surgery has never been higher, and any physician can claim to be a plastic surgeon or cosmetic surgeon, we hope that our website will help you to select a qualified and well-trained physician if you decide to have a cosmetic procedure.

Our members are the worldwide leaders in this specialty. To qualify for membership in ISAPS, plastic surgeons have to undergo years of surgical specialty training, pass qualifying and certifying examinations in their respective countries (board certification), and be members in good standing in their national societies of plastic and aesthetic surgery. They agree to abide by the high ethical standards of these societies. Once these requirements have been met, they apply for membership in ISAPS and undergo a rigorous evaluation process to establish their qualifications, capabilities, and commitment to high standards of ethics and patient safety.

Please remember that all surgery carries risk. Complications are seen even in the best of hands. Forget the word cosmetic, remember only the word surgery. Therefore, to ensure that your aesthetic surgery experience is safe, successful, fulfilling, and rewarding, you must do your “homework”. There are four factors that will influence your safety and the outcome of your procedure:

• you ( the patient) and your general health
• the procedure that you choose to undergo
• the surgeon you choose
• the facility where the operation takes place

You must fully disclose your medical history, including allergies, medications, and previous operations so that your physician may assess risk and make appropriate decisions. Don’t forget that herbal remedies are also medications and must be disclosed. The procedures you choose will affect the degree of risk. Some procedures, specifically abdominoplasty (tummy tuck) and other more extensive body contouring procedures, carry slightly higher risk than, for example, facial aesthetic surgery or breast surgery.

The qualifications and technical skills of the surgeon you choose play an extremely important role, as does the facility where the operation takes place.

Just as very few countries regulate who may call themselves plastic or cosmetic surgeons, there are very few countries that regulate where such procedures may be performed. In most countries, any physician with a medical degree can call himself or herself a plastic surgeon. Similarly, in most countries those physicians can operate in their own offices, in an unregulated environment. Obviously, these are the physicians and operating rooms to avoid.

It is important to select a board certified plastic surgeon who operates in a facility that has been inspected and certified. This is the minimum you can do to ensure your safety and your satisfaction with the outcome of your procedure.

We hope that the information you find on this website will serve you well as you research procedures, surgeons, and facilities to fulfill your needs.

Foad Nahai, MD, FACS
President, ISAPS