Our office and surgical center are housed in a spacious, Victorian-era home. At a glance, it appears almost as it did 90 years ago. And, today you can still experience the nostalgic elegance and charm of a classic era.
Beneath the facade, lovingly restored to perfection, you will find that this center is up to the commercial codes, including fire, sprinkler, electrical and information technology systems.
Within our complex, we house a state-of-the-art, free-standing ambulatory surgery center (ASC). This center is equipped with the most advanced computers, lasers, surgical and monitoring equipment available.
We are proud to hold a coveted Medicare ambulatory surgery center (ASC) certification. We are even prouder to have been the first cosmetic ASC in San Diego to gain this distinction, many years ahead of our competition.
You may not be aware, but prior to the year 2000, most cosmetic surgery in this country was performed in doctors' offices, which, surprisingly, were completely unregulated. After several years of highly publicized medical disasters, the California legislature mandated certification of all outpatient surgery centers effective January 1, 2001. Two levels of approved surgical centers have evolved, and four different certifying agencies are involved in the certification process: Office based surgical facilities, which have the easiest standards, and free standing ambulatory surgical centers, which have the most rigorous standards. There are also four different certifying agencies to fulfill the certification process.
There is a huge difference in what each certifying agency is looking for and everyone agrees that Medicare-approved centers have the toughest standards and the most complete rules and regulations. Because certification is a quality-of-care issue, our surgical center (La Mesa Medical & Surgical Center) has held the Medicare certification since 1986. Our foresight and our certification is one more way to demonstrate our commitment to provide you with the very best surgical care in the safest possible setting. We did it years ago, voluntarily, for your safety and security.