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(press release from American Academy of Cosmetic Surgery)

CHICAGO, April 14 -- The American Academy of Cosmetic Surgery is outraged over the latest decision by the advisory panel to the Food and Drug Administration to only approve the sale of silicone breast implants to board-certified plastic surgeons. This decision, which the Academy believes is without proper information or merit, has the potential to limit patient choice, adversely affect patient safety, and unfairly restrain the ability of thousands of qualified cosmetic surgeons to engage in their profession.

"Although we do applaud the panel's decision to allow these implants to return to the general marketplace, this recommendation is not only discriminatory, but it will prove to be a huge loss for patients. People deserve quality care and there is no proof that a board-certified plastic surgeon is better qualified to perform a breast augmentation with these implants than a board-certified cosmetic surgeon," said American Academy of Cosmetic Surgery President Claude H. Crockett, Jr., MD, FACS.

By definition, cosmetic surgery is a subspecialty of medicine and surgery that uniquely restricts itself to the enhancement of appearance through surgical and medical techniques. It is specifically concerned with maintaining normal appearance, restoring it, or enhancing it beyond the average level toward some aesthetic ideal. Cosmetic surgery is practiced by surgeons from various disciplines such as dermatologic surgeons, facial plastic surgeons, head and neck surgeons, general surgeons, oral and maxillofacial surgeons, plastic surgeons and ocular plastic surgeons, all of whom take a comprehensive approach directed to all areas of the head, neck and body.

"This recommendation has been made without the proper information. Plastic surgery includes both reconstructive and aesthetic surgery, while cosmetic surgery is based upon aesthetics. This debate is rightly about the safety of the implants, rather than the specialty and qualifications of the surgeon," said American Academy of Cosmetic Surgery Trustee and Board-Certified Plastic Surgeon, Michael H. Rosenberg, MD, FACS.

Currently, the American Academy of Cosmetic Surgery is investigating why a federal agency charged with protecting public health would use its authority to improperly restrict patient choice by precluding thousands of qualified cosmetic surgeons from utilizing silicone implants. Precluding patient choice puts patient safety at risk. The American Academy of Cosmetic Surgery plans to aggressively challenge this decision.

"Electing to have cosmetic surgery is ultimately about choice. To deny women the right to choose who is administering their implants is a clear violation of an individual's basic, patient rights," said American Academy of Cosmetic Surgery's Past President and renowned general surgeon Robert F. Jackson, MD, FACS.

For more information regarding this recent decision or for comment from the American Academy of Cosmetic Surgery, please contact 312.981.6760.

The American Academy of Cosmetic Surgery is a professional medical society whose members are dedicated to patient safety and physician education in cosmetic surgery. Most members of the AACS are dermatologic surgeons, facial plastic surgeons, head and neck surgeons, general surgeons, oral and maxillofacial surgeons, plastic surgeons or ocular plastic surgeons - all of whom specialize in cosmetic surgery. AACS is the organization that represents a group of cosmetic surgeons in the American Medical Association through its seat in the AMA House of Delegates.

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