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"Buyer Beware" How to Select your Plastic Surgeon

September 18, 2009

Select a surgeon certified by the American Board of Plastic Surgery and you will have selected a surgeon who has greater training and experience to help you navigate through the important decisions surrounding the procedures you are about to explore.

First and foremost choose a surgeon who is certified by the American Board of Plastic Surgery. If you follow this one criterion you will have selected a surgeon who was trained, first in general surgery and second, at least two more years specifically focused on cosmetic and reconstructive plastic surgery. Picking up techniques in weekend workshops and then practicing as a “plastic” or “cosmetic” surgeon is no comparison for the training and testing that is required to be certified by this American Board of Plastic Surgery.  The American Board of Medical Specialties recognizes only the American Board of Plastic Surgery as the credentialing organization for plastic surgery.

This spring, plastic surgery and all of organized medicine celebrated a major victory when California’s 3rd District Court of Appeals denied a bid by the American Board of Cosmetic Surgery (ABCS) to gain specialty board equivalency from the American Board of Medical Specialties (AMBC) – California.

Recently, “ABC News 20/20” aired a segment entitled Surgery Seminars, which investigated weekend cosmetic surgery seminars sponsored by the American Academy of Cosmetic Surgery and the American Society for Cosmetic and Breast Surgery. In order to provide the public with the highest of credentials a doctor should complete a 5 to 7 year surgical residency program specific to the field they will practice. The news segment also went on to suggest that the public should look for a doctor who has hospital privileges to perform the procedures they are considering. Verify this with the hospital, not just the surgeon. If they are not credentialed at the hospital to perform the procedure, they have not completed an appropriate residency demonstrating adequate training to do so. They will offer to perform these procedures in their privately owned facilities because, not being board certified, they are not allowed operating privileges in the hospital for those specific procedures.

The Internet is a great tool to research your surgeon’s credentials. The State Medical Board can be contacted to see if there are any sanctions against your physician. Consumers need not be confused by the similarity in titles or names. If the surgeon is a member of the American Society of Plastic Surgeons he or she is board certified in Plastic Surgery which encompasses both the cosmetic and reconstructive areas. They have gone through rigorous training along with extensive oral and written testing to be accepted into this Society. Others may claim that they are board certified but when investigated further you may find they are board certified in areas such as dermatology, ENT, gynecology, general surgery or internal medicine, but not in plastic surgery. As an example: One of our surgeons, prior to becoming a plastic surgeon, graduated from dental school and completed an oral surgery residency. He was later board certified in oral surgery. With this degree and a few weekend CME courses he could have received a certificate from the American Board of Cosmetic Surgery. Obviously, this could not compare to the years he spent in medical school, general surgery and plastic surgery residencies.

Select a surgeon certified by the American Board of Plastic Surgery and you will have selected a surgeon who has greater training and experience to help you navigate through the important decisions surrounding the procedures you are about to explore.

Jacqueline Bryan