Eyelid surgery by plastic surgeon: the safest choice
If you suffer from overhanging eyelids, you can easily have something done about it. Upper eyelid surgery is frequently performed by various types of doctors. At MOOI Clinic, safety and quality are paramount in every treatment. In our clinic, therefore, eyelid surgery is always performed by a plastic surgeon. We are happy to explain why and give you more information to make an informed choice.
Who is allowed to perform eyelid surgery?
Eyelid surgery falls under minor surgery, which means that any doctor with basic training can legally perform it. This means that you can also visit your family doctor for an upper eyelid correction. Crazy huh? General practitioners also remove moles more often. This also falls under the heading of minor surgery. Strangely enough, then, anyone who can call himself a “doctor” under the BIG Act is allowed to perform eyelid surgery. The Wet BIG acts according to the Competent / Competent principle. Competent, is clear and concrete. You have demonstrable papers, such as a basic medical degree. Competent is less concrete. This means that a physician must determine for himself or herself whether or not he or she can perform the act.
Types of doctors, experience and training
There are several doctors who perform eyelid corrections: basic doctors, cosmetic doctors (knmg), general practitioners and plastic surgeons. We are happy to explain the differences.
Basic Physician
Basic medical training consists of a 3-year bachelor’s degree and a 3-year master’s degree. After this training, the doctor – provided he or she feels competent – may perform eyelid surgery. A basic doctor may also call himself a cosmetic doctor; it is not yet a protected title.
Cosmetic doctor knmg
A cosmetic doctor knmg first completed a 6-year training program to become a primary care physician. Then, until recently, any basic doctor was allowed to call himself a “cosmetic doctor. Recently there has been a two-year cosmetic medicine knmg training program. This course is particularly focused on non-surgical treatments such as medical peels, laser treatments and fillers. Therefore, it remains confusing to the layperson, precisely because a cosmetic doctor focuses on treatments other than surgery.
GP
To become a general practitioner, you follow the same basic physician training as the “cosmetic physician” + a 3-year specialization to become a general practitioner. In total, a family physician has studied for at least 9 years. However, a general practitioner did not specialize in cosmetic surgery during his or her training. Most general practitioners in Maastricht and surrounding areas focus on health and wellness, not eyelid surgery.
Plastic surgeon
A plastic surgeon is a protected title in Europe. This means that no one can call themselves a plastic surgeon unless they are licensed to do so with proper training and experience. You become a plastic surgeon by first completing the 6-year basic medical training + the 2-year general surgery training + 4 years of specialization and becoming skilled in plastic, reconstructive and hand surgery. Do the math: after 12 years of college, you are a plastic surgeon. In addition, plastic surgeons continue to be inspected and retrained every 5 years even after their training.
Plastic surgeons in Maastricht, Meerssen and surrounding areas
There are only a few plastic surgeons in Maastricht who perform eyelid corrections. Of these, 10 work at MOOI Clinic. Our plastic surgeons also work at our hospitals in Sittard, Heerlen, Maastricht and Venlo. In smaller communities such as Meerssen or Bunde, there are no clinics that employ plastic surgeons.
If you wish to undergo eyelid surgery, choose the specialist right away. MOOI Clinic is located in the center of Maastricht, just a 15-minute drive from Meerssen, Lanaken, Bunde and Gronsveld.
Why is this the safest choice?
A plastic surgeon has acquired different knowledge and more cutting experience during his studies and career than a cosmetic doctor (knmg) or general practitioner. Removing overhanging eyelids is also a precision job. If too much skin is removed, there can be unpleasant consequences. It is very important that the wound is properly sutured and that the scar heals nicely and falls into the natural crease of the eye. Plastic surgeons are operating and performing cosmetic procedures multiple times daily, where a general practitioner or cosmetic doctor are more likely to specialize in other treatments.
By the way, we do not mean to say that all cosmetic doctors are not competent to perform eyelid surgery. However, given training and experience, eyelid surgery performed by a plastic surgeon is always the safest choice. After all, it involves your face and you don’t want to take any chances with that.
