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Board-Certification in Plastic Surgery: Who has it and What does it mean?

 

When one is considering plastic surgery, whether it be cosmetic or reconstructive, one of the first questions that patients have been advised to ask is……is my surgeon board-certified? Despite knowing to ask this question, most patients have no idea what it means or what to do with the answer. The question should not be are you board-certified, but are you board certified in…specifically…..plastic surgery. And you don’t even have to ask that question to the doctor directly, you can find that out even before you make an appointment. While you can go to his/her website today and get that answer, but it may be misleading. The misleading indicators are:

– Stating that one is board-certified, but not specifically saying in what specialty. Being board-certified in Dermatology or Family Practice, for example, is obviously not the same as being boarded in Plastic Surgery. A weekend course or seminar does confer the same experience and skill set as years of actual training.

– Stating that one is board-certified in Cosmetic Surgery. This is the one that is the most misleading because it conveys equivalency. Being board-certified in cosmetic surgery is not the same as being board-certified in Plastic Surgery. Plastic Surgery is one of the 22 recognized medical specialties by the American Board of Medical Specialties and has been training plastic surgeons through organized medicine and its own recognized board (American Board of Plastic Surgery) since 1937. The American Board of Cosmetic Surgery is not a recognized specialty by the American Board of Medical Specialities. Rather it is a more recent political invention created by physicians and dentists from many other specialties to provide a forum for limited training through meetings and courses in areas of cosmetic surgery. As such, there is no residency program that provides years of cosmetic surgery training in this group. Most doctors certified by the Cosmetic Surgery Board have their residencies in other disciplines such as Ob-Gyn, Dermatology, and Oral Surgery.

The American Board of Plastic Surgery is the most prestigous distinction that any plastic surgeon can achieve in the world. To be certified, one has to complete a two to three year residency training program in plastic surgery after completing prerequisite training in another surgical discipline, most commonly general surgery. After training is completed, a combination of written and oral examinations are required to attain the status of board-certification in plastic surgery. Every ten years one must re-certify by taking a repeat examination, assuring that one has maintained an adequate knowledge base in the areas of plastic surgery that one primarily practices.

It is easy to find out if your doctor is board-certified in plastic surgery. Simply go to the website of the American Board of Plastic Surgery and see if you doctor is listed as a member.

Dr Barry Eppley

Indianapolis, Indiana

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