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Last Updated: Monday, October 03, 2005
I created this special section of the Resources page for all of you who don't know where to start when checking out your plastic surgeon's credentials. Following is a brief introduction into the factors which should drive your surgeon choice. Included in and following the introduction, you will find a comprehensive listing of the places on the Internet where you can complete your research. Be sure to come back here for updates! Also, be sure to check the surgeons who sponsor this site. Most of them came from the recommendations of the visitors of this site!
Introduction: You will place all of your trust in your plastic surgeon to do everything right when it comes to your plastic surgery procedure. After choosing your surgeon, you will leave the rest of the decisions in his or her hands. Make the most important decision of all the right way - find out about the training and experience of your plastic surgeon and choose the one that is best for you.
Board Certification by the American Board of Plastic Surgery. To be board certified by the American Board of Plastic Surgery, a doctor must graduate from an accredited medical school, do internship and residency training in either general surgery or otolaryngology, complete an approved residency in plastic and reconstructive surgery, practice a minimum of two years after graduation, and pass extensive written and oral exams. These include a review of all cases done by the surgeon in the preceding year. The process take approximately seven and one half years after graduation from medical school.
The reason for this extensive training is that the plastic surgeon is one of the few medical specialists who is truly called upon to help with every part of the body. From brain surgery, to cleft lip in infants, ear, throat, breast, malformed genitals, injured hands, legs and feet, there is really no body part that plastic surgeons aren't called upon to fix when other surgeons run up against difficult situations. While many people feel that plastic surgeons spend all of their time doing Rhinoplasties and Liposuction, that is far from the case.
While, in order to be board certified as above, a surgeon must be experienced in all of the areas of plastic and reconstructive surgery, many Plastic Surgeons focus their practices on Cosmetic Surgery and others on Reconstructive Surgery. For this reason, it is important to ask about the type of cases that a particular surgeon focuses on.
If your doctor is not board certified, find out why. If they have moved from another state, this should not affect their status with the American Board of Plastic Surgery, which is national. Keep in mind that a state's licensing authority and certification by a specialty board such as the American Board of Plastic Surgery are two different issues. Since the licensing board in your state is not necessarily run by plastic surgeons, don't let the fact that they are licensed be your only guide.
Also, keep in mind that many excellent board-certified plastic surgeons have admitted to me that there are excellent surgeons performing plastic surgery who are not board-certified and that there are board-certified plastic surgeons who are not so excellent. If your doctor is not board-certified, you may have more homework to do. On the other hand, if he or she is board-certified, do not assume that they are right for you. This is one of many factors to consider.
Checking your doctor's credentials: The American Board of Medical Specialties (ABMS) is one of the established organizations that oversees the process of board certification of physicians. Exploring that site is a good place to start. You can find the ABMS at (http://www.abms.org), a website which provides you with the capability to search for board certified surgeons and verify certification of surgeons. Or go right to the search page at http://www.certifieddoctor.com/
In addition to the ABMS page, the Association of State Medical Board Executive Directors webpage is home to online licensing information and status for health professionals in many states. The states that have online pages will give you an online status of the doctors licensing and discliplinary status. It also includes phone numbers for verification for most state medical boards http://www.docboard.org. States for which there is no online service can be checked by calling or writing the board listed for your state on that website. If you can't find a listing below or on the docboard.org site, try the listing of medical boards by state by clicking here.
Society Membership: Membership in a prestigious plastic surgery society is another helpful credential by which to measure a surgeon. Membership in the American Society of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgeons (ASPRS) or the American Society for Aesthetic Plastic Surgery (ASAPS) signifies that a surgeon has completed the training process described above and that he or she is recognized by peers as a qualified plastic surgeon.
Another organization in medicine whose affiliation should be given great weight is the American College Of Surgeons. To be a Fellow of the American College of Surgeons, a surgeon must be board certified in his or her specialty, practice a minimum of one year after certification, and pass a review of clinical work, academic work and ethics in their own practice. Fellows will often have F.A.C.S. after their name in addition to M.D.
Claims/Licensing Status: In addition to the general plastic surgery credentials listed above, there are many resources on the internet where you can check the status of your doctor in your own state, if you can't find it at the general links above. A very high percentage of doctors who have been practicing plastic surgery for any significant amount of time, have claims against them. Anyone can file a claim against a doctor or file a lawsuit, with or without merit. Most of those claims or suits are settled by the doctor's insurance company with or or without the doctor's involvement and settlement does not necessarily mean that the claim was a valid one.
I would encourage anyone seriously researching their surgeon to read an explanation of the claim process at the following link. http://www.fdhc.state.fl.us/license.html. When you get there choose "public policy considerations" first. Much of the information on this site requires the use of Adobe's Acrobat free reader software which has to be downloaded. It is well worth the trouble since the site will give you a great perspective on what a doctor's history means to you.
Ten Ways to Find a Qualified Plastic Surgeon
Here are the states ones I have found to have websites worth checking into. If yours is not listed, go back to the ABMS or ABPS pages. The general links are repeated so that you will have all the links in one place . . .
American Board of Medical Specialties Verification Service:
This site, operated by the American Board of Medical Specialties (http://www.abms.org) provides you with the capability to search for board certified surgeons and verify certification of surgeons. http://www.certifieddoctor.com/
American Board of Plastic Surgery:
This is the website for the American Board of Plastic Surgery. Doctors may tell you they are "board certified" but not be board-certified by this board. Certification in surgery or ear, nose and throat medicine alone is not certification by this board. If you are going to a plastic surgeon because he or she is "board certified," make sure it is this board. http://www.abplsurg.org
Association of State Medical Board Executive Directors:
Home to online licensing information and status for health professionals in many states. Also includes phone numbers for verification for most state medical boards http://www.docboard.org/
Below are hotlinks to as many on line state boards as I could find through docboard.org and other locations. I recently added a list of all states, whether with email, websites or phone and snail mail addresses. CLICK HERE TO SEE ALL STATES!
Arizona State Board of Medical Examiners
The Arizona State Board of Medical Examiners home page contains information on how to contact the Board in that state and also allows you to search for your doctors licensure status. http://www.docboard.org/bomex/index.htm
The Medical Board of California is a state government agency, which licenses and disciplines medical doctors. The Board provides two principal types of services to consumers: license information, and investigation of complaints against physicians. Find out about your doctor at http://www.medbd.ca.gov.
Colorado State Board of Medical Examiners Home Page
Iowa Board of Medical Examiners Home Page
State of Florida Agency for Health Care Administration:
License and disciplinary information for physicians in Florida. Please note that this site is for Florida only and contains information for types of specialties, not just plastic surgery. Much of the information on this site requires the use of Adobe's Acrobat free reader software. http://www.fdhc.state.fl.us/license.html
Maine Board of Licensure in Medicine Board Home Page
Maryland Board of Physician Quality Assurance Home Page
Massachusetts Board of Registration in Medicine Home Page
Minnesota Board of Medical Practice Home Page
Nebraska Health and Human Service System, Department of Regulation and Licensure
New York State Education Department - Office of Professions Online Verification
You can check the licensure itself and then scroll down to check any disciplinary actions.
North Carolina Medical Board Home Page
Ohio Medical Board License Search
Oregon Board of Medical Examiners
Rhode Island Board of Medical Licensure Home Page
Texas Board of Medical Examiners Home Page
Vermont Medical Board Home Page
Washington State Medical Quality Assurance Commission
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