Liposuction and Plastic Surgery Information - Canadian cosmetic surgery procedures conducted at public expense

Canadian cosmetic surgery procedures conducted at public expense

Wednesday, 01 November 2006

One of Canada's leading Cosmetic Surgeons has gone public on the controversy of private cosmetic surgery procedures being performed while being subsidised by public healthcare funds and, in some cases, delaying necessary non-cosmetic surgery. Dr. Clifford Albert, of the Canadian Academy of Cosmetic Surgery (CACS) said "Cosmetic procedures are being subsidized by the taxpayer."

The practice has become extremely profitable for some of Canada's cosmetic surgeons and in some cases, cosmetic surgery procedures carried out in public hospitals delay other surgeons from providing necessary surgical procedures. Cosmetic surgeons have found that it's more cost effective for their patients to have cosmetic surgery in a public hospital, paying just $500 to $2,500 for the surgical theatre time and between $5,000 and $10,000 for the surgeon.

Dr. Albert, who has his own private cosmetic surgery in Montreal, said, "There's no question if you do a procedure in hospital, your costs can be off-loaded to the health care system."

In theory, the procedures are conducted during the hospital's downtime, when no other surgery would be scheduled. But in practice, when a cosmetic surgery procedure runs over time and intrudes on the schedule of a medically necessary surgical procedure, medical insiders say that procedure gets rescheduled to a later date.

"I have heard of many physicians who have had necessary surgery bumped as a result of a cosmetic procedure going on," said Dr. Albert.

While critical of the effect on patients when cosmetic surgery procedures disrupt essential patient care, some doctors believe that hospitals turn a blind eye to the practice, believing that it's preferable to allow a certain degree of disruption than for the cosmetic surgeons to leave the hospital facility altogether. The Canadian Healthcare Association said that the practice was permitted in order to train and retain physicians, and that patients benefit by having these doctors available as staff members.

Tags: canada, cosmetic surgery,