Practice  ·  Safety, Ethics & Patient Selection  ·  Morristown, NJ

Safety & Ethics

Book Consultation (973) 267-0928
FacilitiesAccredited
AnesthesiaBoard-Certified
VolumeLow, By Design
Follow-UpSurgeon-Led
Safety, Ethics & Patient Selection — Morristown, NJ

Safety & Ethics

Safety at Better Plastic Surgery is not a disclaimer at the bottom of a page — it is a set of designed features: where surgery happens, who administers anesthesia, which patients are accepted, how much surgery is permitted in one session, and how follow-up is structured. This page states those standards plainly, because patients comparing practices deserve to see them, not guess at them. The underlying principle is simple and has not changed in 40 years: we put safety and long-term health above doing more procedures.

“Nothing about a beautiful result matters if the patient was not safe getting it. I would rather decline ten operations than perform one that shouldn’t happen — and after four decades in the same town, my reputation rests as much on the surgeries I’ve refused as on the ones I’ve done.”

— Dr. Farhad Rafizadeh, MD FACS

Accredited Facilities & Anesthesia

Surgery is performed in fully accredited surgical facilities, with board-certified anesthesia providers dedicated to your case. Anesthesia is matched to the operation rather than defaulted: smaller procedures are often performed comfortably under local anesthesia in the office — Dr. Rafizadeh was among the first surgeons in the state to adopt the tumescent technique — while larger operations use sedation or general anesthesia with full monitoring. Implant choices follow the same safety-first logic: the practice uses Motiva, Allergan, and Mentor devices and has never used textured implants.

Patient Selection & When We Say No

The most important safety decision happens before any incision: whether to operate at all. Every surgical candidate is screened for the factors that actually predict complications — smoking, uncontrolled medical conditions, BMI, medications, healing history — and older patients are cleared in coordination with their own physicians. Just as important, expectations are screened honestly: this practice’s conservative, natural aesthetic is a poor match for dramatic, trend-driven transformations, and Dr. Rafizadeh says so at consultation rather than after surgery. Patients are regularly told to wait, do less, or do nothing — because a surgeon who cannot say no is not offering a medical opinion.

Conservative Limits on Combined Surgery

Combining procedures can be efficient and safe — one anesthesia, one recovery — and pairings like facelift with eyelid surgery or tummy tuck with liposuction are routine here. But total operative time and anesthesia exposure are hard limits, not suggestions. Large plans are staged across sessions rather than compressed into marathon operations, and awake procedures are kept within safe local-anesthesia dose limits rather than stretched to keep a label. The measure of a surgical plan is what is safe for you, never what fits a schedule.

→ Ask Us Anything About SafetyEvery consultation includes a plain-language discussion of risks, limits, and alternatives — directly with the surgeon. Call (973) 267-0928.

Low Volume by Design

Better Plastic Surgery is a boutique practice on purpose. Daily surgical volume is deliberately restricted so that every operation gets unhurried planning, every consultation gets the surgeon’s full attention for as long as it takes, and every post-operative patient is followed personally. Larger centers can offer more appointment slots; this practice offers the opposite trade — fewer cases, more time on each. For patients who are nervous, first-time, or prone to regret, that trade is precisely the point: meticulous pre-operative planning and long-term follow-up are what restraint in scheduling buys.

Consent, Candor & Follow-Up

Before surgery, you will understand your operation in plain language: what will be done, what can go wrong, what recovery honestly requires, and what alternatives exist — including the alternative of not operating. Consultations are never delegated to sales staff. After surgery, follow-up runs on a structured schedule with the surgeon, with clear instructions and direct contact for concerns, and continues over the long term — many patients here have been followed across decades. Patients unhappy with surgery performed elsewhere can begin with the practice’s second-opinion and revision pathway; new patients can read about the consultation itself on the new patients page.

Safety & Ethics FAQs

Is plastic surgery safe for patients over 60 or 70?+

For healthy patients, yes — candidacy is determined by health, not age. Every older patient at this practice is screened carefully: medical history, medications, heart and lung status, and healing capacity, with clearance from your internist or cardiologist when appropriate. Procedures are planned conservatively for older patients, and Dr. Rafizadeh will state plainly when surgery is not advisable. Age alone has never been the deciding factor; overall health always is.

Who is not a good candidate for surgery here?+

Patients who smoke and will not stop, patients with uncontrolled medical conditions, patients whose BMI makes elective surgery meaningfully riskier, and patients whose expectations no honest operation can meet. Being declined is not a rejection — it is the practice putting your long-term health above its own case volume. Many declined patients return successfully later, after quitting smoking, stabilizing weight, or simply reconsidering what they actually want.

Do you combine multiple procedures in one surgery?+

Yes, when it is safe — and no, when it is not. Combining procedures spares the patient a second anesthesia and recovery, and pairings like facelift with eyelid surgery or tummy tuck with liposuction are routine. But there is a limit to how much surgery belongs in one session, and this practice stages large plans rather than running marathon operations. The deciding factors are total operative time, anesthesia exposure, and your health — never scheduling convenience.

Who administers anesthesia during surgery?+

Board-certified anesthesia providers, in fully accredited surgical facilities. Anesthesia is matched to the procedure — local anesthesia for smaller office procedures, sedation or general anesthesia for larger operations — and the choice is explained to you in plain terms before surgery. Dr. Rafizadeh was among the first surgeons in New Jersey to adopt the tumescent technique, which allows many procedures to be performed comfortably under local anesthesia alone.

What does follow-up look like after surgery?+

Structured and surgeon-led. You are seen on a defined post-operative schedule — typically within the first days, at one week, at six weeks, and beyond as your procedure requires — and follow-up visits are with Dr. Rafizadeh, not handed off. The practice deliberately limits its daily surgical volume so that post-operative patients are never competing with a full waiting room for the surgeon's attention. Clear instructions and direct contact information are provided before you ever reach the operating room.

Why would the practice refuse to do a procedure I want?+

Because the procedure would be unsafe for you, because it would not achieve what you are hoping for, or because a smaller procedure — or none at all — would serve you better. Dr. Rafizadeh has practiced in Morristown for more than 40 years, and that reputation was built on the operations he declined as much as the ones he performed. If you are told no here, you will also be told exactly why, and what the honest alternatives are.

BPS

Questions About
Safety or Candidacy?

Every consultation includes an unhurried, plain-language discussion of risks, limits, and honest alternatives — directly with Dr. Rafizadeh. We put safety and long-term health above doing more procedures.

Book Consultation (973) 267-0928