After deciding who will perform your plastic surgery, you’ll also need to decide where it will be performed. Plastic surgery can be performed in several types of settings – primarily hospitals or surgery centers. Both options have benefits and drawbacks, and neither is necessarily better than the other. But as the Chief of the Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery division at Northwest Hospital, Dr. Ronald Schuster believes hospitals offer undeniable advantages.
Benefits of a Hospital Setting
Better Equipped to Handle Complications
One of the most important benefits to having plastic surgery performed in a hospital is that they have the ability to handle complications during surgery. No one likes to imagine something going wrong during an elective operation, but it’s best to be prepared for the unlikely event of a complication. Hospitals are better equipped with the right resources, technology and expert teams to safely deal with adverse reactions to anesthesia, bleeding and other complications. Should a complication arise during a procedure at a surgery center, it is likely that the patient will be transported to a local hospital anyway.
24-Hour Nurse Care
Unlike surgery centers, hospitals offer 24-hour, round-the-clock nurse care. For longer or larger surgeries, which require an overnight or longer recovery, it is critical to have a trained nurse overseeing the early stages of recovery. In that regard, surgery centers do not have the staff or resources to match those of a hospital.
Benefits of a Surgery Center
Lower Fees
One of the benefits of having surgery at a surgical center is that the fees tend to be lower. Surgery centers have lower overhead and fixed costs than hospitals, so patients may pay less for their care than they would at a hospital.
Intimate Care
Surgery centers handle a significantly lower number of surgeries compared to a hospital. Since surgery centers have fewer patients, they may be able to offer more personalized care in a more intimate setting than a hospital.
The Bottom Line
You can find quality care in both a hospital and surgery center setting. But what will give you more peace of mind? Many of Dr. Schuster’s patients prefer to pay a little more to have surgery in a hospital, where there is 24-hour nurse care, better equipment and more resources to handle complications, should they occur.
If you have any questions about hospitals versus surgical centers, feel free to reach out to Dr. Schuster by calling (410) 902-9800 or sending an email.
