Aesthetic Plastic Surgery Blog

Over the past ten with the explosive growth of cosmetic surgery procedures, it has become increasingly difficult to tell who is qualified to perform what procedure. As a consumer, the choices have become more difficult and blurred. There has been a dramatic increase in the competition for elective cosmetic surgery fueled by the declining reimbursements for insured procedures. This has led to a huge influx of unqualified practitioners from other medical specialties and also non-medical personnel to compete for the cosmetic surgery patient. How is a consumer to choose?



I would suggest the potential patient seek out the answers to two questions.

1. Is the doctor board certified in plastic surgery? There are many certifying boards but only the American Board of Medical Specialties defines a specialty and certifies the type and length of training of a doctor to achieve certification but one the boards that it recognizes. The American Board of Plastic Surgery is the only recognized board for training is all aspects of plastic and cosmetic surgery.

2. Does the physician has privileges to perform the procedure you are interested in by your local hospital? This is important as many unqualified physicians may perform a procedure in their office or surgery center but are not deemed qualified by their training to be granted privileges in your hospital. Most hospitals will meticulously review a physician’s training and require board certification before granting privileges to perform various procedures.