About our District of Columbia Plastic Surgeons and
Plastic Surgeon Referral Directory
Because
we educate mostly breast surgery, liposuction, tummy tuck and other
body
contouring procedure patients,
we require our plastic surgeons to be
certified by the American Board of Plastic Surgery.
I have personally checked the qualifications of our plastic surgeons
and most have been Recommended by Site Visitors that used them for
their plastic surgery. In fact, our plastic surgeons meet higher standards
than those of any other referral service as we only list select plastic
surgeons to be in our referral directory. Our plastic surgeons must
also maintain that standard in order to remain in our surgeon directory.
There are over 5000 ABPS certified plastic surgeons, and of them only
a small percentage are invited to join our surgeon directory.
There
are over 5000 ABPS certified plastic surgeons, and of them only a
small percentage are invited to join our plastic surgeon directory.
I have personally checked the qualifications of our member surgeons.
In fact, our plastic surgeons meet higher standards than those of
any other referral service as we only list select plastic surgeons
to be in our referral directory. Our plastic surgeons must also maintain
that standard in order to remain in our surgeon directory.
American
Board of Plastic Surgery
The
American Board of Plastic Surgery (ABPS) qualifies a surgeon
to perform both body and facial procedures. The American Board
of Medical Specialties (ABMS) which is expressly designed to provide
public protection through quality control in medical education states
the "ABPS is the only one of the 24 ABMS member boards providing
certification in the entire field of plastic and reconstructive surgery
from head to toe. Board certification assures the health care consumer
that the surgeon completed at least five years of approved surgical
training in plastic surgery and the surgeon has successfully completed
extensive written and oral examination testing in the entire field
of plastic and reconstructive surgery of the entire body. The ABMS
is the umbrella organization which represents the 24 member boards
and upholds standards for resident training and testing leading to
certification."
Do
not confuse the ABPS with any other similar sounding board, although
being certified in other boards in addition to certification from
the ABPS is acceptable when considering any body
contouring procedure
such as breast surgery, tummy
tuck or lipo.
Plastic
Surgeon vs. Cosmetic Surgeon
Most
doctors calling themselves "cosmetic surgeons" are not true
plastic surgeons and are not qualified or experienced in plastic surgery
as many states require a physician to be certified by the ABPS to
call themselves a plastic surgeon. When seeking a plastic surgeon
for any body procedure, such as lipo, tummy tucks or breast augmentation
mammoplasty (a.k.a. breast implant surgery) choose an American
Board of Plastic Surgery (ABPS) certified plastic surgeon which
qualifies the surgeon to perform both body and facial procedures.
Do not confuse the ABPS with any other similar sounding board.
If
you are contemplating facial
plastic surgery only, you can consider a ABPS board certified
Plastic Surgeon or a Otolaryngologist (also known as ENT, Ear Nose
& Throat specialist) certified by the American
Board of Otolaryngology as they are qualified to perform cosmetic
procedures of the face. Please do not allow an ENT or any non-ABPS
certified doctor to perform any procedure below the neck!
Certified
vs. Non-certified
Many
Ear Nose & Throat (ENT) doctors (Otorlaryngologists), some Dermatologists
and OBGYNs and even dentists perform plastic surgery procedures such
as breast augmentation and liposuction and they are far from qualified
to do so. Most are not even board certified in general surgery, no
less plastic surgery. Certification for doctors performing breast
surgery and other body contouring procedures, such as liposuction
or tummy tucks, should be in plastic surgery, NOT cosmetic
or facial surgery. Although being certified in cosmetic, facial or
Otorlaryngology in ADDITION to their plastic surgery certification
is acceptable. Be very careful, there are many other unqualified doctors
out there looking to make big bucks by offering plastic surgery procedures,
usually at a discounted rate which could cost you your health and
more money in the long run.
I
cannot stress how important it is to make sure your surgeon is certified
by the ABPS when considering plastic surgery on the body, such as
lipo, tummy tuck or breast surgery. In the 11+ years I have been researching
breast augmentation outcomes and the surgeons who performed them,
not many breast augmentations surgeries had a bad outcome. However,
of the bad results, half the time surgery was performed by a doctor
that was not certified by the ABPS. Considering only 10% of licensed
doctors are not certified, that means 50% of the time non-certified
doctors encounter problems, vs only .05% of ABPS certified plastic
surgeons. I do not advocate flipping a coin with someone's body.
~Rebecca
Cat Kidder
Plastic Surgery Patient Advocate
Founder, All About Breast Augmentation Plastic Surgery ~ IMPLANTFORUM.com
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