Cosmetic Derm

[PainDr]

I'm having a series of fotofacial/fotofirms. They were being done by my dermatologist, however, I recently moved to a new city and have been unable to find anyone who does these procedures! Every place I've called is run by an FP, Surgeon, etc. Why don't more dermatologists do cosmetic derm? How safe is it to have them done by nondermatologists. Even worse, at most of the places I've contacted, the physician doesn't even do the work! The actual procedure is done by an aesthetician!

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[cdql]

If I had to guess, I'd say some dermatologists avoid that kind of work because it begins to stray from medicine and fall under the category of "Macy's Salesperson" when you're just pushing cosmetic products.

That being said, it is a reassuring feeling to have a dermatologst (or at the very least, a licensed doctor) performing those procedures and not an aesthetician!

 

[PainDr]

Unless I'm willing to travel at least 200 miles, I cannot find a physician who personally does these procedures. I'm being very serious and would really appreciate your opinions. Would you allow an aesthetician to perform an IPL or RF on you?

 

[droliver]

It is exceedingly rare (except in states that mandate it) for MD's to personally perform IPL/RF or many of the low level laser treatments (eg. hair removal). By and large these treatments are safely delegated. The qualifications of the operator varies by state & there is an increasing trend towards more regulation on this.

I did a blog post on this in July which you can read here http://plasticsurgery101.blogspot.com/2006/07/regulating-medi-spas-and-office.html