Plastic Surgery Articles

Board Certification by The American Board of Plastic Surgery, Inc.

You are considering a plastic surgery procedure. How do you select your doctor? There are many to choose from but who is the right one? You want a surgeon with the skills and training to help achieve your aesthetic goals. Competency in plastic surgery requires a special combination of medical knowledge, surgical judgment, technical expertise, ethics, and interpersonal skills.

When considering a cosmetic procedure, patients are encouraged to seek a physician who is certified by The American Board of Plastic Surgery, Inc. (ABPS). ABPS is the only board that provides certification in plastic surgery of the face and of the entire body. The ABPS is one of only 24 accredited specialty boards recognized by the American Board of Medical Specialties. The American Board of Medical Specialties is expressly designed to provide public protection through quality control in medical education. Certification by The American Board of Plastic Surgery, Inc. is “The Gold Standard” for plastic surgeons.

To become a “Board Certified Plastic Surgeon” an individual must receive an undergraduate degree, and then successfully graduate from medical school as an MD or DO. The doctor must then complete at least five years of postgraduate surgical training; the last two to three of those years are in a plastic surgery residency program. After successfully completing a plastic surgery residency, the doctor then enters practice as a board-eligible plastic surgeon. To begin the board certification process, after one year in practice, the doctor must take a comprehensive written exam to demonstrate an adequate fund of knowledge in the field of plastic surgery. After an additional year, and after passing the written exam, the doctor is allowed to sit for the oral board examination in plastic surgery. The doctor prepares case presentations based upon the surgery he/she has performed in his/her own practice. The doctor is questioned by a panel of board certified plastic surgeons to prove he/she has the knowledge, judgment, skills, and decision making processes to properly and safely care for patients. Surgeons who meet the requirements of the ABPS, and are granted board certification, are known as Diplomates of The American Board of Plastic Surgery, Inc. More recently the ABPS has mandated that plastic surgeons obtain re-certification every 10 years to ensure that they continue to provide safe and excellent patient care.

Potential Confusion Regarding Board Certification

The intent of the board certification process is to provide assurance that a certified medical specialist has successfully completed an approved educational program and an examination designed to ensure they possess the knowledge and skill necessary to provide high quality patient care in that specialty.

The problem with identifying well trained board-certified specialists in the field of plastic surgery stems from the tremendous popularity of surgical and non-surgical cosmetic procedures. With the growing popularity of aesthetic procedures, came an influx of non-core physicians that sought to provide cosmetic treatments and surgeries – many with little, or no, formal training in plastic surgery. Many of these physicians have taken weekend courses and then claim to have the expertise to perform plastic surgical procedures, without any oversight from a peer group. Gynecologists are performing liposuction, dentists are performing breast augmentation, emergency medicine physicians are performing laser treatments, and family physicians are performing cosmetic Botox treatments and injecting soft tissue fillers - all procedures outside the scope of their individual specialty.

Confounding the issue further is the often misleading marketing practices of these physicians offering cosmetic procedures. Advertisements for cosmetic procedures often state that the doctor is ‘board certified’. The natural inclination is to assume that he/she must therefore be qualified to perform these procedures. These claims of board certification are not usually false, but are certainly misleading. These doctors may very well be ‘board certified’ – by their own specialty board, but not by the American Board of Plastic Surgery, Inc. Other ads may reference ‘bogus’ medical boards or organizations, again falsely conveying the notion that the doctor is qualified to perform cosmetic procedures. With respect to all of these physicians, the scope of their training and expertise does not extend to the field of plastic and cosmetic surgery, and they have not completed the comprehensive education and peer review process that a board certified plastic surgeon has.

So, as a prospective patient seeking plastic surgery, how do you separate the most qualified physicians from the others? Ask if your doctor is certified by The American Board of Plastic Surgery, Inc.; the only board which presides over comprehensive plastic surgery of the face and body.

Recommendations

Choosing to have plastic surgery is an important decision — selecting a plastic surgeon is just as important. Patients must become their own advocates and assume the responsibility of ensuring the doctor they chose is qualified to perform the procedure(s) they desire.

• Make certain your doctor is certified by The American Board of Plastic Surgery, Inc.; the gold standard for plastic surgeons. Having a surgeon certified by the ABPS will guarantee that you have the best trained professional available to perform your cosmetic evaluation and treatment.
• Any physician who is a member of the American Society of Plastic Surgeons (ASPS), is also certified by The American Board of Plastic Surgery, Inc. The ASPS is the definitive voice of the plastic surgery specialty worldwide, and is viewed as the pinnacle of information for new techniques, advances, and plastic surgery trends. Membership in the ASPS requires a plastic surgeon to regularly attend continuing medical education courses and to adhere to a strict code of ethics.
• If you are considering a cosmetic surgical procedure, make sure your doctor is a member of the American Society for Aesthetic Plastic Surgery (ASAPS). Membership in The ASAPS remains an exclusive privilege for those board certified plastic surgeons who concentrate their practices in performing cosmetic plastic surgery of the face and body.
• All board certified plastic surgeons are required to operate at an accredited facility. And your surgeon should have privileges at a local hospital to perform the same procedures he/she does in his/her office.

Board certification is a tremendous accomplishment, and all plastic surgeons take pride in knowing that they have successfully completed a rigorous training and examination process to earn the title, Diplomate of the American Board of Plastic Surgery, Inc. With that comes the responsibility to provide quality patient care, safely and successfully. Good credentials can’t guarantee a successful outcome; but, they can significantly increase the likelihood of it. It’s your face and body – trust it to an ABPS-certified surgeon.

Kenneth Dembny, MD
Diplomate, The American Board of Plastic Surgery, Inc.
Member, American Society for Aesthetic Plastic Surgery
Member, American Society of Plastic Surgeons

Milwaukee, Wisconsin

Contact board certified Milwaukee plastic surgeon Kenneth Dembny today.

Written by: Kenneth Dembny MD