As the global cosmetic surgery market share continues to grow, observers predict surging numbers, revolutionary procedures, and innovative new technology. Mahmoud Khattab, CEO of Precision M.D., is a part of that surge. Mahmoud Khattab CEO of an Elk Grove, California, private practice and states, the future is bright for patients who will no doubt continue to enjoy the latest in surgical techniques, but not so for doctors in private practice who must dig into their pockets to pay business expenses such as rent, costs of paying employees, soaring medical malpractice insurance premiums, and fees associated with federal regulations like the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA).
“If you’re a single doctor, or two doctors, it becomes very, very expensive to keep up with all of that,” Khattab says. “I’m afraid that within the next 10 years, the private practices in plastic and cosmetic surgery, just like other types of medicine, will start to shrink more and more, and big [medical] groups will just have cosmetic surgery sections.”

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Private Practices Face Serious Adversity

Right now, the plastic surgery sector is driven by private practices in addition to massive corporations. Khattab says of practicing in California, “Most medicine, for the most part, is focused on big groups now, like Kaiser, Cedar, and Mercy.”

Pointing to the funding behind these mega giants, Khattab has some grim words for future prospects in the sector. Khattab says, “If you look at medicine in general in the United States, and specifically in California, private practices are [finding it] very hard to exist nowadays.”

As the cosmetic surgery sector continues to grow, Khattab believes more and more medical practices will lean into cosmetic surgery practice.

To his point, Khattab underscores the fact that major market moves are being made at the top end of the medical world. While the industry is booming with more procedures being done than ever, there are still some serious hurdles to overcome and one of them seems nigh impossible — obtaining a ready legal team.

For Mahmoud Khattab, hiring a legal team for representation has been one of the most demanding aspects of his career. Khattab says, “You very much have to have your own legal team, to be honest with you — not only an attorney.”

Within the sector, private practices must adhere to stringent protocols, rules, and regulations. Unfortunately, this is becoming cost prohibitive for many private practices around the country. As a result of some of the market’s biggest recent changes, Mahmoud Khattab thinks private practices will begin to fade as larger medical groups expand into the surging sector.

“There is a big difference between working in a hospital versus having your own private practice, because working in the hospital, you’re very much focused only on medical aspects of the career,” he explains. “When you do your private practice, you have to do everything, including billing management, hiring, firing, following the rules and regulations, marketing, all of that. There’s actually a big difference in doing that, and it’s very challenging, especially in the United States, to have your own private practice in medicine. Not a lot of doctors have the courage to do that because it’s really, really challenging. In the hospital, the whole hospital staff and their attorneys, their CEO, they are background, there to support you and to follow all the rules and regulations, and to do all the billing and everything else. In the private practice, you’re solely responsible for all of that. If there’s any challenge, you’re on the front line.”

The Plastic Surgery Industry: By the Numbers

While Mahmoud Khattab is reluctant to state the plastic surgery sector is fully healthy, at least for private practices, the overall industry is in a positive place. According to research conducted by The American Society for Aesthetic Plastic Surgery (ASAPS), the United States saw nearly 10 million procedures performed between 1997 and 2013.

More recently, cosmetic surgery has taken center stage with a few notable procedures leading the way. In 2019, the top five surgical procedures were liposuction, tummy tucks, breast lifts, eyelid surgery, and breast augmentation.

Recent reports published by ASAPS suggest the sector’s market size will grow from $50.67 billion in 2019 to $66.97 billion by 2026. And at the time of this writing, the U.S. market is supporting 7,000 plastic surgeons — the most in the world. Currently, major medical groups like Kaiser are only dipping their toes into the cosmetic procedure pond. Khattab says, “They have small sections of plastic surgery. I think they’re probably going to expand and build on that.”

As competition continues to stiffen, private practices will have to fight to compete. Still, while growth in the sector is great, Mahmoud Khattab isn’t convinced that all is peaches and cream for the industry. Khattab suggests smaller practices may soon face more adversity than ever.

What’s Next for the Plastic Surgery Sector?

The future of plastic surgery looks bright for consumers, while plastic surgeons at private practices will have to wait and see what the future has in store. Just as it has historically, plastic surgery is set to make serious advancements in the coming years. From the date of the first cleft palate surgery (1827) to the latest fat-reduction techniques, surgeons prove that with time they can address anything.

Right now there are a few key services people like Mahmoud Khattab have their eyes on as the future of the sector. They are:

— Fat-reduction techniques: Through selectively cooling fat cells, surgeons can
reduce and eliminate fat. There’s an inverse procedure that utilizes heat and radio
waves to accomplish the same results.

— Anti-aging: While still firmly planted in the realm of science fiction, advancements in the field of cosmetic surgery show anti-aging advancements are being made almost every single day.

Mahmoud Khattab: Private Practices are ‘Always Evolving’

As the CEO and president of Precision M.D., Mahmoud Khattab says he won’t stop innovating, and encourages his peers to follow suit. “I think it’s very important to keep the private practices in practice in plastic and cosmetic surgery, because when you have your own practice it’s always evolving. There’s always new stuff. You have the courage and the energy to go after new technology and learn new things.” And that new and next, he says, is what can give private practices a competitive edge against larger medical groups. “I have experience with big groups. They’ll have a plastic surgery section, and I noticed that they don’t really keep up with new technologies. For them, they have multiple branches. If you want to buy new devices for all of these branches that you have, there’s a lot of decision-making process for them, and then financial aspects.”

Khattab, a 1993 graduate of the University of Damascus, the top-ranked Syrian medical school, says he foresees himself staying in private practice. “I like to do my own business. I like to work on my own base. I have my own vision, how to expand my business, and how to put my special ideas to the business.”