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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 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 7+ 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

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