Patient Safety

Dr. Gordon has defined himself as an early leader in patient advocacy and safety.

Beginning in the 1990’s, Dr. Gordon was one of the first cosmetic surgeons to recognize the need for consistency and safety in the outpatient operative environment. His own private facility, New England Surgical Center at The Retreat at Split Rock, was one of the first fully accredited out-patient surgery centers in the New York metropolitan area.

In the year 2000, Dr. Gordon took a national leadership role by being one of the first surgeon’s to report outcome data on outpatient surgical procedures at the American Academy of Facial Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery’s annual conference in Washington, D.C. in order to better define risk factors and safety protocols for the growing trend of cosmetic surgery in outpatient surgery centers.

Because of these efforts, in 2005 Dr. Gordon was asked to create and Chair the first national committee that would define issues and parameters on all aspects of patient care, the Committee on Patient Safety, for the international organization, The American Academy Of Facial Plastic And Reconstructive Surgery.

In 2006 Dr. Gordon published the peer reviewed paper “Is Case Duration An Indicator Of Morbidity And Mortality In Office Based Facial Plastic Surgery; A Review Of 1,200 Consecutive Cases”. This groundbreaking research was the first study to scientifically evaluate the length of time a facial plastic surgery procedure takes and it relationship to risks or bad outcomes. The study showed that the facial plastic surgery procedures length did not specifically create risk and what specific factors create a safe environment. This is the largest study to date to reveal how facial plastic surgery procedures can be accomplished safely and consistently in an outpatient setting. Dr. Gordon’s study was published in the prestigious J.A.M.A. journal, Archives of Facial Plastic Surgery.

From 2006 and culminating in 2009, Dr. Gordon continued his international leadership role in patient safety as Chairman of The Committee on Patient Safety and Accreditation and created and instituted the policies of the American Academy of Facial Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery. During his chairmanship, Dr. Gordon instituted the Academies policy of mandatory accreditation of all out-patient surgical facilities that utilize certain levels of anesthesia in order to ensure universal patient safety. He is also responsible for the creation and publication of the academies published position statements on public safety in dealing with medi-spas, lasers, Botox, injectable fillers, and outpatient surgical centers.

In recognition of his valuable and necessary contributions to patient safety in facial plastic surgery, Dr. Gordon remains Special Senior Advisor to the Chairman of the Committee On Patient Safety and Accreditation that he founded and is currently active in the continuation of his work on data-based policies in defining the best methods of patient care in all areas of medicine and surgery.