The Financial Crisis Hits Plastic Surgery
November 21, 2008 @ 06:20 AM — by Douglas Mackenzie
Let's face it, pretty much every business is getting hit by this recession, and plastic surgery practices are no exception. I was at the recent annual meeting of the American Society of Plastic Surgeons (ASPS -www.plasticsurgery.org) in Chicago and there was much talk about the impact of the financial crisis on the plastic surgery industry in general, as well as individual practices. Some practice activity is down 30%! (That made me feel like I was doing fairly well!). Pretty much gone are the days (not too long ago) when patients could get an equity line on their home to pay for things like cars, boats, and...plastic surgery. The news isn't all gloomy - the downturn in the economy will provide opportunities for patients who still want plastic surgery procedures.
Many people use financing for plastic surgery, and the group I have been using is CareCredit (www.carecredit.com) In my experience, (and I have used about five other companies over the years) they have been the most rel