How to Find a Qualified Plastic Surgeon for Cosmetic Surgery

By Betty Hansen


With the ever-increasing demand for cosmetic surgery, numerous, poorly trained or unqualified practitioners are advertising cosmetic services to the unsuspecting public. I am not talking about medical spas, but about cosmetic surgery. The saying "buyer beware" has never been timelier. There are a number of resources a consumer can use to help find a good qualified plastic surgeon.

There are certain qualifications that a surgeon should have and first and foremost, he or she should be board certified by the American Board of Plastic Surgery. This is the basic requirement and it does not only stop there. It also requires to be certified in the American Board of Medical Specialties which actually prescribes the residency training needed to meet the requirement of a specialty recognized by the board. The irony of this is that, most cosmetic surgeons are certified by some self-proclaimed boards like the American Board of Cosmetic Surgery that is not included in the list of the American Board of Medical Specialties. This has created a stir and has caused confusion among practitioners, and definitely cascaded to their clients.

What is the disparity between being a certified cosmetic surgeon by the American Board of Cosmetic Surgery and the American Board of Medical Specialties? Well, there is no specific residency training of these self-proclaimed boards and practitioners whereas the American Board of Medical Specialties requires a two to three-year residency program to become a full-pledged and qualified plastic surgeon. Dermatologists, Internal Medicine, Family Doctors, Dentists, Gynecologists and any other physician can become members for as long as they attend the course and pay the fee. Would you want a plastic surgeon do your tummy tuck, facelift and breast augmentation with right credentials or just make do with surgeons professing that they can do it?

You can check out some good and reliable resources and find out the authenticity of your plastic surgeons. This is through the website of the American Society of Aesthetic Plastic Surgeons. These surgeons must be focusing on the practice on cosmetic surgery and must be certified by the board of The American Board of Plastic Surgery, a high quality benchmark to be relied upon.

The American Society of Plastic Surgeons is another website to watch. They are all board certified but then, it does not really mean they are specializing in cosmetic surgery.

There is also another list of recognized medical specialty boards and you would discover the American Board of Plastic Surgery is the only plastic cosmetic board listed.

There is also another website that shows the malpractice history of physicians in Indiana. This is one website to watch out.

To summarize, here are some helpful questions to ask your surgeon:

What is your specialization and what was your residency training? Are you board certified and would you want to share what the board is whether it is a board listed by the American Board of Medical Specialties?

Can you perform these cosmetic procedures and are allowed to do this at your local hospital?

How many actual cosmetic procedures have you performed and may I actually view certain pre and post- operative pictures of your finished work?




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