Posted on January 31, 2014
I get asked this question a lot. I have privileges at Stanford, Sequoia, Menlo Park, and the Plastic Surgery Center in Palo Alto. The experience for you as a patient is different at each of these settings. So how do you decide where to go?
As with all things, this is multifactorial. There is no single answer. Some things to consider:
- INFECTIONS. When doing any surgery, infections are always a risk. One thing I consider is superbugs may be more common at large hospitals:
- WHERE DOES YOUR SURGEON USUALLY GO?
- There is an advantage to going to a place where your surgeon has the instruments they like, and the scrub techs and nurses know the surgeon well.
- Is your surgery a big surgery?
- Do you need to stay overnight?
- How is your health? Do you have a risk for something that would require more monitoring?
- Different centers have different costs. Some are better for insurance; some are better for self pay.
- A lot of the small centers feel more comfortable. It is easy to park, you don’t have to check in near a bunch of people, they feel more cozy.
- Other people may feel more secure being at a big center or a place they have been before.
This is something to discuss with your doctor.
NOTE: when I say “outpatient center,” this is not an operating room in a doctor’s office. These are certified free standing surgery centers.