Out of Town Patients

Dr. Placik sees many patients from out of town and out of the country. There are many reasons why people travel long distances for plastic surgery, as long as it is well planned out and carefully planned. Initial evaluation and screening is done prior to visiting out office. This involves review of your medical history, photographs, communication with our staff and patient coordinator. Only after all this has been satisfactorily completed will Dr. Placik consider and approve coming to our office.

Dr. Placik has developed an approach to best meet the needs of our patients traveling from out of town. After your initial inquiry, our patient coordinator will provide you with all the information that you need and answer any questions (via phone or email) to make sure that you are well-informed about the procedure(s) that you are interested in.

When you decide to do your surgery with Dr. Placik, our Patient Coordinator will send you all the pre-operative instructions, paperwork and consents necessary for surgery. You will be asked to complete this paperwork and do the required lab work depending on specifics of your health history, as well as habits such as smoking and use of medicines. Those results need to be in our office no less than four weeks prior to your surgery date. This time frame will allow our nursing and anesthesia team to review your results and ensure that you are medically ready for surgery.

In addition to your paperwork and laboratory tests, our Patient Coordinator will assist you in arranging lodging accommodations, nursing care and transportation (to and from the airport and/or hotel), if you so desire. Simply, let us know how we can assist you and we will do everything possible to accommodate your needs.

We ask our patients to arrive at least one to two days prior to their surgery. At this time, Dr. Placik will examine you and prepare you for surgery. This will be your time to ask Dr. Placik any additional questions and review your pre-operative instructions.

On your surgery day, you will be in the hands of Dr. Placik and his experienced surgical team. Surgical patients will require help the first 24 hours post-op, it is important that all patients have a companion at discharge or we can put you in touch with a Manor Care facility or private-duty nursing. If you are traveling alone, we can make arrangements for you to be transported to a Manor Care facility where you will receive 24 hour care.

Another option is to have a nurse take you back to your hotel where you will be cared for until you are brought back for your post-operative appointment. (The length that we will ask you to stay will depend on which procedure(s) you are having done.)

Dr. Placik staff aims to get our patients home as soon as we can, but this leads to some logistical hurdles.

We see our patients in follow-up on the first, second or third, day depending on which procedure(s) you are having done. Fortunately complications of this surgery are uncommon, and most of the determinant of the final result occurs at the moment of the surgery, although the incidence of compilations is low surgery involves risks and there is a possibility that you require medical care on an emergency basis once you return home. You should make arrangements for this or be prepared to call 911.

Though patients are welcomed to return for follow-up at 1-3 months and yearly, the reality of travel over great distance is that this is seldom done. Dr.Placik likes to see interval photos at 3 months and 12 months. If there is some concern after surgery you will need to come back to see Dr. Placik at our office or he will suggest you go to an immediate care facility.

When you are home, we will want to know how you are doing. We would encourage you to keep in touch with our office and periodically update us with your progress. As with all of our patients, we ask that you call and/or email as questions or needs arise. Additionally, we ask that you send us periodic photos (via mail or email), so that Dr. Placik can visually see your progress.

Dr. Placik and his staff invest a lot of time and energy into our out of town patients because we know they often travel great distances to see us. These patients generally leave a lasting impression on our office because we spend so much time communicating with them prior to their arrival.

We are committed to making this an easy and relaxing journey for any of our out-of-town patients.

Please e-mail or call our Chicago or Arlington Heights plastic surgery offices for more information on any of the above plastic surgery procedures.