The President 2010-2012
Jan POELL, MD
Sonnenstr. 6
St. Gallen, 9000,
SWITZERLAND
(0) 41-71-243-5959
(F) 417-1-243-5950
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 members are qualified and nationally certified plastic surgeons in 91 countries. Founded 40 years ago at the United Nations in New York, the ISAPS mission is to continuously educate our member surgeons in the latest procedures, to disseminate accurate and current information to the public and the media, and to promote safe surgery.
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 members 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 global environment where interest in cosmetic surgery has never been higher, and any physician can claim to be a plastic or cosmetic surgeon, we hope that our website will help you select a qualified and well-trained physician for your procedure.
Our members are the leaders in this specialty. To qualify for membership in ISAPS, plastic surgeons must undergo many years of surgical specialty training, pass qualifying and certifying examinations in their respective countries, and they must be members in good standing in their local 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 the highest standards of ethics and patient safety.
You must fully disclose your medical history, including allergies, medications, and previous operations so that your physician may assess risk and make appropriate decisions. Herbal remedies are also medications and must be disclosed to your surgeon. The procedures you choose will affect the degree of risk. Some procedures, specifically abdominoplasty (tummy tuck) and other more extensive body contouring procedures, carry 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. Be aware that procedures such as injections are sometimes performed by clinic staff who are not properly trained surgeons. This is not a safe situation for you. Very few countries regulate who may call themselves a plastic or cosmetic surgeon, and very few countries 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 facilities you need 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 own safety and your satisfaction with the outcome of your procedure. We encourage you to contact the ISAPS National Secretary in your country to help you find the correct surgeon for the surgery you would like. They are listed on this website under The Society. We hope that the information you find on this website will help you research procedures, surgeons, and facilities to make you happy with the outcome of your aesthetic/cosmetic surgery or non-surgical procedure.
Jan Poell, MD
President, ISAPS
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