Denver Plastic Surgery Patient Safety—Never an Afterthought

For Denver plastic surgeon Nick Slenkovich, MD, FACS, safety is a primary concern. Our new facilities were designed from the ground-up with safety and the optimal plastic surgery experience in mind. Our South Denver building opened in the Fall of 2008 and is home to two facilities: Colorado Plastic Surgery Center (Dr. Slenkovich’s private practice) and the Surgery Center of Colorado (a state licensed Ambulatory Surgery Center).

Safety in outpatient surgery was recently highlighted by the Wall Street Journal in an article last month that discussed the potential dangers of having an outpatient procedure performed in an un-accredited doctor’s office, rather than at an ambulatory surgery center or hospital.

Currently more than 65% of all surgeries are performed on an outpatient basis. While outpatient surgery can have many advantages (lower costs, greater privacy and more convenience), it’s crucial to find a surgeon who performs surgeries in a licensed ambulatory surgery center. Surgery Centers that have the proper certifications and licensures are better prepared in an emergency, have more qualified staff members and require regular detailed inspections of the operating room.

Dr. Slenkovich is the Medical Director of Surgery Center of Colorado and has been involved in all phases of its design, development, accreditation, and licensure. Safety is emphasized from front to back—literally—as all staff in both the practice and surgery center maintain CPR certification. Dr. Slenkovich and all Nurses, Anesthesiologists and Anesthetists have Advanced Life Support (ACLS) training, and all staff participate in quarterly emergency drills.

Surgery Center of Colorado is both Licensed and Accredited:

State Licensed by the Colorado Department of Health as an Ambulatory Surgery Center
Accredited by the American Association for Accreditation of Ambulatory Surgery Facilities
Certified by the federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services
Why has Dr. Slenkovich invested in building a licensed surgery center when Colorado allows physicians to perform outpatient surgical procedures in their offices without a state license? In a word: Safety. The rigors of meeting the Colorado Department of Health facilities requirements, as well as on-site inspection by the Health Department, are not required for Accreditation by one of the national organizations (such as the AAAASF, AAAHC, or JCAHO). And Medicare certification adds to this additional safety requirements as well as unannounced inspections.

At Colorado Plastic Surgery Center Dr. Slenkovich and the rest of the staff strongly believe in a “Culture of Safety” as a foundation of our practice. Dr. Slenkovich is a member of the American Society of Plastic Surgeons and the American Society for Aesthetic Plastic Surgery , which stress the importance of patient education, physician education surgical safety.