(Hopefully not with discount results. 😉 )
I’ve heard of going to a junior stylist to get a discount haircut, even dental work at a dental school, but not discount plastic surgery…until now.
(Btw, after one too many bad experiences, I completely swore off junior stylists! A bad haircut can really give my self-esteem a good kick in the rear.)
According to this article in The Globe & Mail, there is a training program at the University of Toronto that offers discounted plastic surgery by med students who are doing their residency in the field.
The female subject in the article offered herself as a guinea pig. Instead of paying $30k for a facelift, she could get it done for $17k, almost 50% off.
I realise that these docs-in-training are supervised, in a ” very controlled situation”, but regardless, it’s still surgery. At least with a bad haircut, my bruised self-esteem will heal as my hair grows back.
Would you get plastic surgery at such a training program in order to save some green?
I think if people are vain enough to get plastic surgery, they’re not gonna trust the hands of a resident. This concept is also quite interesting, as residents and interns perform all sorts of other surgical procedures all the time.
It would really depend on WHAT The surgery is and where it was being done… If the training hospital was well known and reputable (say McMaster in Hamilton or something connected to the University of Toronto or University of Ottawa) I probably wouldn’t have an issue…
not plastic surgery…seems like something you don’t want in the half off bin but i have tried to get braces at my local university..long waiting list there…
not a chance……my son has gone to sick kids for 10 years and the students there have been just bad over the years to the extent that we now just say no when the student enters the room. That is a world renowned hospital and I wouldn’t let them do it so i wouldn’t let a student do plastic surgery on me either.
Not surprising if there’s already discount for Lasik eye surgery.
Sign me up…..Just Kidding, there’s no way I would take the chance even if it’s FREE. There is a lot to be said for aging naturally, especially when you see some of the plastic-surgery-gone-bad photos.
Crazy!
Kinda of like when Doug gets a buy one eye get one free lasik eye surgery for Carrie on king of queens. You can imagine how that turned out.
funny, that must be a stock photo pf the model, b/c the exact same photo is on a poster at my hairdressers….more for the hair though…
sorry to break it to you mollyseven…the hospital is run by students and interns/residents. They might put you to sleep, put in the IV, do the surgery, stitch you up etc. All hospitals in canada have learners there that do the bulk of procedures (all supervised of course). Sometimes students laugh at patients because they request the senior doc to do a procedure…which they might not have done in YEARS because the rest of the time it’s the residents do it.
just saying…
Never never never. Why risk being the ‘accidents’ just so these residents can get some hands on practice? If I’m going to blow so much money to look better, then I NEED to know that i will indeed look better.
all senior residents in their surgical rotation are in the OR supervised….doing the procedure…
I would hope that for the majority of us our focus would be on learning to accept who we are as we age. For me, there is nothing more beautiful than a woman who radiates beauty and confidence from within herself; and believe me, when you meet one of these women, you will recognize what I am talking about. That is beauty!
I mean, really?? Even at the posted discounted price….isn’t there something that I could do with that money that would benefit another?? Wow….think of the happiness I could generate and how that happiness would contribute to my own ‘inner’ beauty.
Being someone who is looking into getting some plastic surgery done in the near future (1-2 years). I would actually look into this option, I have been to many consultations and the price is outrageous. I am sure that all procedures are supervised by a certified surgeon.
And before I start getting attacked about my body being beautiful the way it is and there is no need for it. I had gastric bypass surgery in 2006 and lost around 200lbs. Believe me, my body is far from beautiful with the excess skin.
I wouldn’t get plastic surgery in the first place, but if I did I wouldn’t be opposed to students doing it. I have Addisson’s Disease and my main doctor often asks if a student can be my doctor for the day. Some of them have done an amazing job. They are very passionate about their work. There have been a few that scare me, but there have been more senior doctors that scare me lol.
Is it strange that I would trust a student with my delicates, but I wouldn’t trust a student with my hair? I’m very picky about my hair stylists lol.
On the subject of students performing procedures/services, whether surgical, dental, hair, etc., I really think it’s hit and miss.
Sure, they’re all “supervised” and sometimes you’re even told “closely supervised,” but really, what else do you expect them to tell you? How many clients/patients do you think would have confidence in:
“Ma’am, we tell our students what to do and how to do it before they start, then we *might* come check on them part way thru. *IF* we check on them at the end and they’ve screwed up, we’ll tell them how to fix it and hope they can manage. You *probably* won’t end up with a staph infection, fillings in the wrong teeth, or green-tinted blonde hair …” LOL!
I’ll never forget the student who had to realign my broken leg in the ER. I swear he looked more nervous than I did and he was ALONE — no supervising MD, not even a nurse, experienced or otherwise. I’m a little fuzzy on the memory but I think he might have checked his little pocket notebook. Thank goodness he sedated me before yanking stuff back into place! I still shudder over the memory … 🙂
I’m for it, how are students or new doctors going to get the experience other wise?
Doesn’t make much sense IMO. Its the cost reduction I don’t get… If it is fully supervized then why is it cheaper? If a Rookie/student is doing it it is going to take longer than if the Doc did it himself. However according to the Doc they are being “fully supervized” which would lead me to believe the Doc is watching the whole thing. So he is spending MORE time on the surgery and charging almost 1/2 the cost? Something doesn’t seem right here…
@Kaye
Not all plastic surgery is for “vain” people, you know. Some women lose a breast to cancer–would it really be so “vain” of them to want to get an implant? Some people get mauled by wild animals and their face gets scarred–is it REALLY so bad to get some skin grafted on the scars? You don’t know the situation, not everyone is vain.
Now maybe I’m biased because I had plastic surgery twice as a child, but saying that everyone who would get it is “vain” is just cruel.
Now me, I probably would not go in for discounted surgery. I am paranoid of problems occurring.
I think people should allow students to learn, how else are they going to get their degree. Imagine if every patient said “No I want someone more senior” then you would have all of these Dr’s grduating with no human experience, there are only so many things that can be practised in a lab or on a cadaver. Let them try and if you are really feeling uncomfortable then speak up and ask for someone else. Im sure we have all had a job that requires some sort of training, think of how you felt, would you have wanted everyone to say no to you and not give you a chance?
Oh yeah, for sure, full face, full breast, full ass, all of it, sure why not!
They are already doctors, they are just proceeding to gain a specialty…thus, yes I would consider this option.
If you let a doctor remove a mole, or treat your varicose veins, chances are they have less training than those becoming plastic surgeons. Same goes for those doctors doing botox, fillers, or anything else you can get done at your local “laser/rejuv/etc” clinic nearby. Those doctors are GP’s, and have very little addition training. You let them alter your face, why not a person who is most likely in year 8 of University, and already a doctor!!! lol
I too am in the market for some plastic surgery in the next 5 years, and would happily consider this option. In saying that, I will also be considering going to California, as plastic surgery is 10x cheaper there.
When I had my eyes fixed, the receptionist told me that if I did it with the resident instead of the doctor, they would give me a 500$ rebate.
I answered her: “If you had the choice between Batman or Robin to operate on your eyes, wich one would you choose?”
She then said:”Is that a no?”
“You bet it’s a no”. LOOOL
Like some have said, if you have any surgery at a hospital in a large city chances are you will be operated upon by in part by resident doctors. Who are doctors (as in graduated from medical schools) but cannot work independently yet.
If you have a brain tumor and needs a brain resection? Yep they are there. If you have a ruptured gallbladder and needs it taken out? Yep they are there. If you have a herniated disc and needs it fixed? Yep they are there. I work with them on a daily basis. Without resident doctors the only hospitals that can still even open are those in smaller communities. Point is if you are getting these life-threatening conditions operated upon by resident doctors plus the supervising staff physicians you should have no issue getting anything else done in the same context.
Mollyseven, if you have problems with medical students for 10 years straight chances are they are not the problem. You are.
@Bob
You are right if the operation involves resident doctors the operation may take longer and the surgeon is not doing everything. He plays second fiddle in some parts and monitors the resident doctors. If this was a completely private for-profit enterprise (as many Hollywood clinics are) it would make no financial sense since they are devoting more time for less income.
Except these surgeons are affiliated with academic institutions and as part of this contract they need to fulfill teaching obligations, which can involve teaching medical students in the classroom and resident doctors in the OR. So it’s not all about money.
Don’t let my husband read this! Sure he would think it was a great “deal”! 🙂
i am a male and i cant stand women with implants and face lifts . You mise well get a blow up doll. Alot of women really have self esteem issues .
They are in their last year of school – with just another year’s experience they’ll be fully licensed surgeons! How much difference can one year make?
That said, if I was getting plastic surgery I’d probably want to go to someone with at least a few decades experience and no botch-ups…
Yup I would and did actually as it is supervised by a board certified plastic surgeon who is the teacher. I had what is called a “Circumferential Body Lift” in May 2004 and would have done it all over again. I paid 10,000 for a surgery that would have actually cost me over 45,000. It was done at the University of Toronto as a matter of fact and I was to be on the Plastic Makes Perfect show but they didn’t contact me in time to have it done before my actual surgery. I ensured that it was done at the hospital, in case something happened, and received great care from the Doctor and the Head Plastic surgeon as well as his team of nurses. They were great!!!
@jason
I agree with you about women having self esteem issues but one thing that you neglected to say is that most women have that because of “some” men in this world that make them feel like they are not worth anything unless they look like a 20 year old model for the rest of their life.
I had an “EX” husband like that. I was self conscious and always felt like I wasn’t good enough. Well I got the body lift in May 2004 (because I had a lot of excess skin due to 100lb weight loss) as well as a breast reduction and lift in Sept 2009 due to the same reason. I did those things for “MYSELF” though because I didn’t feel good about how I looked and it wasn’t because of vanity it was because I didn’t feel good in general with the loose and flabby skin.
I think that men and women are vain, as I know a lot of men who are worse then most women. I have gained back about 30 pounds of the 100 that I lost in 2000 but feel great about myself and my new boyfriend loves me for how I look. I don’t feel like I need to change myself again but I would also have done the 2 procedures all over again if I had to in the future.
@everyone else if you want to feel good, then just do what makes you happy and don’t worry about what others say or think. It is you that you have to live with in the end and if other people feel that they need to tell you how to look, maybe it is their self esteem that is in question. Be happy and live for yourself!
This reminds me of a hilarious episode of King of Queens where Doug uses a buy one get one half off coupon for laser eye surgery for Carrie. Sooo funny.
If a person needs to get a discount on plastic surgery, that person cannot afford it. Somethings are worth paying for.
I would let them do my tummy tuck,I so want to get it done once my health is better…Maybe some lipo at same time!!! lol
Is there a price list of the services they offer or you have to go meet them and get the price,..I am interested in this and may look into it..thks
I suppose I wasn’t very clear in my post when I said I wouldn’t get it done because I was paranoid of problems. I don’t see anything wrong with letting residents learn, of course they need to, but I have Malignant Hyperthermia and I need to have as many senior doctors in the room as possible who know how to handle patients who have this disease. Yes, the residents can operate on me, but I need to have all procedures done at specialized highly monitored hospitals… not discount places. 🙂
That being said I let residents operate on my spinal column a few years back and they did a fantastic job. 😀
Na I have breasts I don’t need to “upgrade” to fake lol. Men are always asking if they are real and compliments me on the fact that they don’t feel like there are baseballs lodged in my chest. Apparently whatever girls they are talking about had these discount surgeries. But more seriously, Surgeries are very serious, and even if I needed to go under the knife in a life or death situation, hell I want someone certified to the tee.
I totally agree with Jason and Tigermom.
The real culprit for women’s self esteem issues= the media. Apparently its also a growing trend that men have similar issues with the whole adherence to the ideal body ect.
I’ve had plastic surgery several times – Im not vain!! People get surgery for all types of reasons, so its best not to judge!! I WOULDNT though – get it from a discount surgeon!! Not in a million years!! I wanted a trusted, experiencedand qualified plastic surgeon. A plastic surgeon is like any other artist, they get better and better as the years go, they get more skilled and prestine with their work – the older the better for me when it comes to plastic surgeons!! NEVER a new student!
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