The importance of finding a board certified specialist Dr. Francisco Bucio
• History • 2010-11
• History • 2010-11
Would you travel in a plane flown by a taxi driver? I don’t have anything against taxi drivers, it’s only that they have a different kind of skill; it has nothing to do with IQ. Certainly, with the adequate training they could surpass their counterparts that circle the skies.But what to think then of medical complications such as the one suffered by Mexican singer Alejandra Guzmán, who was intervened for an aesthetic procedure of buttocks augmentation, resulting in a serious complication because of the personal responsible for the procedure were not adequately trained and almost caused the death of the performer?
What if we mention that this was just a case of a celebrity and merely the “tip of the iceberg”, that cases like hers are counted by thousands? And if we also add the fact that a big portion of these cases have no solution and some are even fatal, then the issue is no longer a simple "medical trade" matter.
Malcolm Gladwell, in his book “Outliers. The story of success”, proposes that in order to succeed in any activity you require:
1.- OPORTUNITY
2.- LEGACY
In this specific subject of the correct practice of plastic surgery, the LEGACY is given by the accumulation of scientific and artistic knowledge provided by giants such as Tagliacozzi from Italy in the XVI century, Sushruta from India in the VI century and Buncke from USA in the XX century.The OPORTUNITY is given by being in the adequate place and ambiance to receive the training in PLASTIC SURGERY,THE MEDICAL RESIDENCY in a prestigious and certified program.
Furthermore, a basic element: THE PRACTICE.Gladwell proposes is not just a matter of having talent.Thousands of hours of practice are required.Mozart did not write his greatest masterpieces until he was 27 years old. The Beatles did not become The Beatles until
they played for several years 8 hours a day in a little Club in Berlin. Bill Gates programmed for years in one of his middle school computers before creating Microsoft. What all of
these legendary characters have in common is not just talent and opportunity but 10,000 hours of PRACTICE.
A Plastic Surgeon, when finishing the specialty, has already surpassed over 10,000 hours of accumulated practice, dedicated body and soul to give back the harmony of forms, proportions, beauty and function to the human body, treating genetically malformed patients like cleft lip and palate, trauma patients, hand and craniofacial malformations,
burned victims, post-mastectomy secuelae patients and of course aesthetic plastic surgery, all guided by the hand of their ancestors, heirs from the Gillies, Guerrero-Santos, Pintanguy and Ortiz-Monasterio tradition. It is not, let’s make it clear, practice without a foundation.
In the past years our specialty has been flooded by numerous advertisements especially over the internet by all type of offers from the miracle workers to the grotesque. The motive is monetary. The Panacea has been commercialized by charlatans throughout history without scruples and under no ethics to be ruled by.
A lot of these offers come from people that have received as minimal as two weeks training only and they call themselves specialists. It’s as if I were to take an electrocardiogram course and then consider myself a cardiologist!
When I was just starting medical school, I remember an Old doctor from my neighborhood that literally “did everything” and he did it well. Being his assistant I use to see him treat typhoid fever patients followed by an aplastic anemia, and to finish with a tuberculosis patient and then operating an ectopic pregnancy. Basically, medical specialties where somewhat recent. They were “Jack of all trades,masters of none”. There was no other option.
The year is 2010. Like the Darwinian evolution, doctors with a common medical path have differentiated into specialties. Like doctors, every organ of our bodies has a specific function, non-substitutable and SPECIALIZED that works collaborating with the rest of the systems. The heart is required to pump blood, but this could not happen without the nervous system and this one could not perform without the endocrine that also requires the digestive system etc.Without doubt the brain would not substitute the urinary system because of being more intelligent, but surely it needs it to purify the body they are sharing.
Shoemaker, to your shoes”.( “zapatero a tu zapato”) Anonimous.
In short, how to choose a Mexican Plastic Surgeon?
Verify that your surgeon is certified and re-certified by the CMCPER (Consejo Mexicano de Cirugía Plastica, Estética y Reconstructiva) at
http://www.cirugiaplastica.org.mx.
What if we mention that this was just a case of a celebrity and merely the “tip of the iceberg”, that cases like hers are counted by thousands? And if we also add the fact that a big portion of these cases have no solution and some are even fatal, then the issue is no longer a simple "medical trade" matter.
Malcolm Gladwell, in his book “Outliers. The story of success”, proposes that in order to succeed in any activity you require:
1.- OPORTUNITY
2.- LEGACY
In this specific subject of the correct practice of plastic surgery, the LEGACY is given by the accumulation of scientific and artistic knowledge provided by giants such as Tagliacozzi from Italy in the XVI century, Sushruta from India in the VI century and Buncke from USA in the XX century.The OPORTUNITY is given by being in the adequate place and ambiance to receive the training in PLASTIC SURGERY,THE MEDICAL RESIDENCY in a prestigious and certified program.
Furthermore, a basic element: THE PRACTICE.Gladwell proposes is not just a matter of having talent.Thousands of hours of practice are required.Mozart did not write his greatest masterpieces until he was 27 years old. The Beatles did not become The Beatles until
they played for several years 8 hours a day in a little Club in Berlin. Bill Gates programmed for years in one of his middle school computers before creating Microsoft. What all of
these legendary characters have in common is not just talent and opportunity but 10,000 hours of PRACTICE.
A Plastic Surgeon, when finishing the specialty, has already surpassed over 10,000 hours of accumulated practice, dedicated body and soul to give back the harmony of forms, proportions, beauty and function to the human body, treating genetically malformed patients like cleft lip and palate, trauma patients, hand and craniofacial malformations,
burned victims, post-mastectomy secuelae patients and of course aesthetic plastic surgery, all guided by the hand of their ancestors, heirs from the Gillies, Guerrero-Santos, Pintanguy and Ortiz-Monasterio tradition. It is not, let’s make it clear, practice without a foundation.
In the past years our specialty has been flooded by numerous advertisements especially over the internet by all type of offers from the miracle workers to the grotesque. The motive is monetary. The Panacea has been commercialized by charlatans throughout history without scruples and under no ethics to be ruled by.
A lot of these offers come from people that have received as minimal as two weeks training only and they call themselves specialists. It’s as if I were to take an electrocardiogram course and then consider myself a cardiologist!
When I was just starting medical school, I remember an Old doctor from my neighborhood that literally “did everything” and he did it well. Being his assistant I use to see him treat typhoid fever patients followed by an aplastic anemia, and to finish with a tuberculosis patient and then operating an ectopic pregnancy. Basically, medical specialties where somewhat recent. They were “Jack of all trades,masters of none”. There was no other option.
The year is 2010. Like the Darwinian evolution, doctors with a common medical path have differentiated into specialties. Like doctors, every organ of our bodies has a specific function, non-substitutable and SPECIALIZED that works collaborating with the rest of the systems. The heart is required to pump blood, but this could not happen without the nervous system and this one could not perform without the endocrine that also requires the digestive system etc.Without doubt the brain would not substitute the urinary system because of being more intelligent, but surely it needs it to purify the body they are sharing.
Shoemaker, to your shoes”.( “zapatero a tu zapato”) Anonimous.
In short, how to choose a Mexican Plastic Surgeon?
Verify that your surgeon is certified and re-certified by the CMCPER (Consejo Mexicano de Cirugía Plastica, Estética y Reconstructiva) at
http://www.cirugiaplastica.org.mx.
All very interesting points. It's important to find a good plastic surgeon.
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