my answer is going to upset some fellow physicians but so be it. as the above physicians have pointed out, anyone that has an MD can do anything legally. however it begs the question, should they?? i found it very interesting that not one plastic surgeon answered the question above- one was a dermatologist and the other 2 were drs. As a plastic surgeon, the biggest reservation i have with non-plastic surgeons doing Smartlipo, is that they are in the position of having to offer either Smartlipo or nothing. The reason that is important is that over 80% of the patients that come to me for Smartlipo are not good candidates for Smartlipo in my opinion. They would be better served by either a Tummy tuck or ultrasonic liposuction - both done in the OR under general anesthesia. however, only a plastic surgeon should be doing these latter 2 techniques (and perhaps Smartlipo, though obviously that will be debated). if you have only a hammer than everything you see tends to look like a nail. this is not to say, that non-plastic surgeons doing Smartlipo will be more open to doing patients who may be better served with another technique, but it is certainly a higher risk because they lack all of the tools that a plastic surgeon has at his disposal.
david berman md
plastic surgeon
northern va.
