No smoking gun: Findings from a national survey of office-based cosmetic surgery adverse event reporting

BACKGROUND. Because of recent press reports of adverse outcomes, office-based cosmetic surgery has come under intense scrutiny and associated legislative regulatory action. OBJECTIVE. To assess the safety of office-based cosmetic surgery through a national survey of state agencies that collect information on adverse patient outcomes. METHODS. Medical boards or other responsible authorities were contacted in 48 states to obtain records on adverse outcomes from cosmetic surgery procedures performed in an office-based setting. RESULTS. Five states were able to provide complete information regarding 13 cases of adverse outcomes that resulted from office-based cosmetic surgery procedures. Thirteen states had incomplete information or were unable to provide information. The remaining states reported no adverse outcomes. Information collected by state agencies varies greatly and is inadequate to define the safety of office-based cosmetic surgery practice. CONCLUSIONS. The need to regulate physician office surgery on the basis of hospital privileges and office certification is not supported by current data. Mandatory reporting of adverse outcomes from office-based surgery is warranted to identify modifiable risk factors and to reduce the risk of adverse outcomes.