SALT LAKE CITY — Plastic surgery has boomed across the country since the pandemic — and experts say they’ve seen it corresponding influx of less specialized providers offering these procedures without proper training or board certification.
It’s a topic that’s especially important to patients in Utah, which is one of the top places for plastic surgery in the country.
“People always think of New York, Florida, California,” noted Steven Williams, a board-certified plastic surgeon and president of the American Society of Plastic Surgeons. “But when you look at it per capita, Utah also ranks relatively strong.”
Cosmetic surgery procedures increased 19% nationwide from 2019 to 2022, according to data from the American Society of Plastic Surgeons. In 2022, the most popular cosmetic procedures were liposuction, breast augmentation, tummy tuck, breast lift and blepharoplasty. (The data was not broken down by state, but showed that the largest percentage of these procedures, at 35 percent, occurred in the Mountain and Pacific regions.)
Less invasive procedures — such as Botox and fillers — have also grown, rising 70% or more in 2022 compared to 2019.
During the pandemic, people “didn’t go on vacation, miss work, have time to have a surgery or do some self-care,” Williams said. “And so there was a real explosion.”
But that growing interest means consumers need to be careful, he said — especially since there’s nothing stopping a provider who doesn’t specialize in plastic surgery from performing these procedures.
“Unfortunately, the burden is on the patients,” Williams said, “because there is some irresponsibility in the medical community.”
While some people believe that their doctor must be board certified in plastic surgery, this is not the case.
In Utah, providers trained as gynecologists, general surgeons or family physicians could perform cosmetic procedures as long as they had some form of general surgery or plastic surgery during their training, according to the State Division of Professional Licensing (DOPL).
Mark Steinagel, director of the department, noted that board certification is not required “to perform any medical procedure, but competency is required.”
FOX 13 News has located and reviewed 27 medical malpractice complaints filed in Utah since 2020 against 18 providers who perform plastic or cosmetic surgery. Of those prosecuted, one-third lack plastic surgery certification, according to the review.
One of the lawsuits is against a naturopathic doctor who two patients claim misrepresented himself as a surgeon before performing their liposuctions.
Another lawsuit was filed against a physician and surgeon who is also licensed as a dentist. An Idaho woman claimed she had a lower body lift without her consent, in a case that was ultimately dismissed on procedural grounds.
Several other lawsuits also raise concerns about the consent of patients who say they underwent procedures they did not request — including two women who claimed they received breast implants that were not the size or type they had consented to.
Another woman claimed she went in for scar reconstruction surgery, only to wake up to realize she’d had a butt lift. She claims her doctor, a board-certified plastic surgeon, told her the procedure she had instead was an improvement.
“I hate that it happened, but I think it will look a lot better,” the lawsuit says she said.
Other complaints report significant consequences from plastic surgery – such as a family claiming their 70-year-old mother died shortly after undergoing liposuction by a nurse.
A separate woman claimed she suffered sepsis and respiratory damage, as well as brain damage from a lack of oxygen, after a procedure to place a slimming balloon in her stomach. That case, which was filed against the board-certified plastic surgeon who performed the procedure, was eventually settled out of court.
While the court system may provide an avenue for patients who feel they have received substandard care, Steinagel encouraged Utahns to file a complaint with the Department of Professional Licensing if they have seen negligence or incompetence. But he also stressed that a poor surgical outcome “does not necessarily indicate incompetence.”
For Susan Madsen, director of the Utah Women & Leadership Project, the allegations demonstrate the need for more scrutiny of the state’s lucrative plastic surgery industry.
“It’s worrying to hear that cosmetic surgeons and so on are really in trouble ethically and even legally,” he said. “And people just go and don’t know.”
VIDEO BELOW: Dr. Jay Agarwal of the University of Utah discusses the importance of choosing a board-certified plastic surgeon
Jay Agarwal
WHY PLASTIC SURGERY IS SO POPULAR IN UTAH
Utah has long been considered one of the top places for plastic surgery in the country.
in 2007, Forbes magazine ranked Salt Lake City as the “vainest city in America.” due to the population’s high spending on cosmetics compared to cities of similar size and the high concentration of plastic surgeons. A 2017 survey by the Utah Women & Leadership Project at Utah State University cited data showing that Utah has “more plastic surgeons per capita than Los Angeles.”
Those statistics don’t always match the state’s image and reputation, Madsen said.
“We’re told, at least in my religion — which is The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints — that it’s what’s on the inside that really matters the most,” he said. “However, we know from research – and we wish we had better research that’s up to date – that we have more plastic surgery and that’s linked to being overseas. And so it’s an interesting phenomenon.”
A recent study on the prevalence of cosmetic surgery among Latter-day Saints found that 14% had undergone major cosmetic surgery, while 20% had sought cosmetic enhancements. Nationally, only about 4% of Americans reported having cosmetic surgery, according to the August update from the Utah Women & Leadership Project.
There are several factors that make Utahns more prone to plastic surgery, Madsen said.
She points to the state’s “homogeneous” demographics, which make it easy for residents to compare themselves, while high fertility rates contribute to the popularity of “mommy makeover” procedures among young mothers.
“There’s this perfect storm of access to plastic surgeons and the culture that probably really leans in comparison,” Madsen said.
VIDEO BELOW: Madsen discusses why Utah has become a hot spot for plastic surgery
Susan Madsen
Dr. Jay Agarwal, a board-certified plastic surgeon and professor in the University of Utah Department of Plastic & Reconstructive Surgery, said he sees some patients coming from out of state to Utah for plastic and cosmetic procedures — a sign that Utah has become a national destination for them. the procedures.
But he said most of his patients are still from Utah.
“People in Utah are active,” he explained. “It’s outdoors. They generally have a youthful, healthy mindset. I think many people feel young and healthy and also want to look young and healthy. And I think that’s what drives a lot of it.”
Williams, with the American Society of Plastic Surgeons, sees the increased interest in plastic surgery as a positive way for people nationwide to help match how they look on the outside with “how you feel on the inside.”
But Madsen is less sure the trend is positive.
She’s heard anecdotes of parents getting their daughters breast augmentation when they graduate high school, and worries about how impressionable teenagers are internalizing Utah’s beauty standards. And the social media trends that have helped accelerate plastic surgery aren’t always good for people’s mental health, he added.
Messages abound, Madsen said, that “we’re not right. That we don’t look right. To look better.”
The number of men seeking plastic surgery has increased in recent years – with a 207% increase in total cosmetic procedures from 2019 to 2022, according to data from the American Society of Plastic Surgeons. But research shows that women are still predominantly the ones going under the knife.
“We just get the messages as women and as girls that our bodies aren’t necessary to do things with,” Madsen said. “That they should be admired by others — especially men. That’s ingrained in us as women.”
Madsen urged Utahns to be careful about their motivations and outside pressures before getting cosmetic surgery, noting that it’s often not the solution people hope it will be.
If they ultimately decide to seek surgery, he said they should do more than a cursory Google search when choosing a provider.
“In Utah, it’s a temptation” to enter the field without specialized training, he said. “You can earn a lot of money. You can do things like that. Because we have a fertile ground of many people who want to look their best.
