Can I get medical clearance from anywhere other than my primary care?

Medical clearances are important and should be done by your primary care physician as he or she knows your medical history. I recommend explaining the situation to your primary care provider and or your chosen physician. Regards, 

It’s frustrating to face delays when you’ve already invested so much in preparing for your surgery. Since your primary care provider is unwilling to clear you until a week before, one option is to contact Dr. Salama’s office and explain the situation. They may be able to work with you on adjusting the timing of the clearance or have specific recommendations for providers who can do it sooner.
Another option is to look for concierge medical services in your area. These services often cater to elective surgery clearances and might be able to provide a quicker turnaround. Some urgent care centers or telemedicine providers also offer medical clearances for elective procedures if they review your medical history.
It’s important to stay proactive and persistent in finding a solution. I recommend calling around or even reaching out to other plastic surgery offices to ask if they know of providers who specialize in pre-op clearances for elective surgeries. Dr. Salama's team may also be aware of resources they've worked with before.

Medical clearance should, optimally, be provided by your primary care physician. The goal is to obtain a thorough review of your health by a physician with whom you are familiar in order to assess your candidacy for surgery. Obtaining medical clearance from a physician who does not know you would defeat the purpose.While you may be able to find a physician willing to clear you on short notice, it is best to discuss your situation with your primary care physician as he/she is best suited to make this evaluation.As always, discuss your concerns with a board certified plastic surgeon (ABPS).

Best to talk it over with your medical doctor and explain the situation. Good luck with your surgery.

Medical Clearance has different purposes for different people. The most common reason for getting a medical clearance is to assure the surgeon and anesthesiologist that it is rather safe to operate on someone. This is usually obtained on older patients and or on high risk patients. Since the most common source of problems may have to do with the heart, we often obtain clearance from a Cardiologist who in some cases would actually test the heart with a Stress Test before issuing a clearance.In MY humble opinion, a "clearance" from a Family Practice physician or a walk in clinic doc in a box which is not based on a thorough evaluation, is devoid of any clinical meaning and is literally a CYA piece of paper. Remember - your Plastic surgeon trained longer and more intensely than someone with a 3 year residency so WHY would he need such a letter to tell him what he already suspects? The only plausible explanation is to have such a piece of paper in your chart SHOULD something happen to you. But at age 21 without obvious medical conditions your risk factors are EXTREMELY low (look up ASA I risks).The reason why a surgeon wants all the tests in early is to avoid costly late cancellations. I cannot answer as to why your PCP insists on seeing you a week before surgery since chronic conditions are not apt to come on suddenly. Not a logical stance.As long as you want to keep both physicians, you cannot move forward.Peter Aldea  MDMemphis, TN