SAN ANTONIO -- Dr. Mark Greene has worked hard to build up his cosmetic surgery practice.

"I love what I do, but I went through 16 years of postgraduate study to do it. I didn't go to weekend courses," Greene said. "I operate at an accredited facility, I'm board certified in two specialties, and I think it's important."

After hearing about Rohie Kah, a Florida mother of three who's now brain dead and on life support after undergoing liposuction at an unlicensed facility, Greene said he is concerned for people considering plastic surgery.

"It's surgery. You're using medications that can kill you," he said.

Greene said Med Spas, like the one used by Kah, have popped up across the country over the last 15 years. Many of them offer surgical procedures from doctors who have very little training in the procedures they perform, Greene said.

"It's very easy, it's very easy. If you're a medical doctor, you can call yourself a cosmetic surgeon," Greene said. "You can hold yourself out to the public as doing cosmetic surgery because you can do it in an unlicensed facility, you can do it in your office, you don't have to have hospital privileges."

That's why he said many potential patients need to do their homework when considering any kind of plastic surgery. The Web site, plasticsurgery.org, lists all board-certified plastic surgeons in the country.

"If your father was going to have cardiovascular surgery, you would want a board-certified cardiovascular surgeon, right? You wouldn't want your family doctor doing the procedure even though your family doctor may be great," Greene said. "I understand the surgeon in Florida was an occupational medicine specialist and basically a man who had spent most of his career treating workplace injuries."

Aside from the Web site, Greene urges people to ask as many questions as they can about their potential doctor to make sure it's the best and safest fit for them.