Selecting a Plastic Surgeon

When considering a plastic surgeon for yourself, it's imperative that the doctor be board-certified. By choosing a board-certified plastic surgeon, you can be sure that the doctor has graduated from an accredited medical school.

American Society of Plastic Surgeons (ASPS) 

You can also check out the American Society of Plastic Surgeons website for more surgeons near you, all of which are board certified:

ASPS Surgeons

To locate a board certified plastic surgeon anywhere in the world visit World Plastic Surgery - IPRAS/IPRAF - National Societies.

You'll need to evaluate and further check out any surgeon you see for yourself. We suggest that you evaluate your overall consult and office experience during your visit. Remember, you are also hiring an office staff when you hire a plastic surgeon. If the office staff does not treat you well or if they are rude, impatient, or unprofessional, find another surgeon. You will easily be spending more time with the office staff than the physician. Make sure you can live with the entire package.

We strongly recommended you have at least three consults, as this will give you good perspective and put you in a better position to select the right surgeon for yourself.

Please remember that not all plastic surgeons are well-skilled at breast work. Select a surgeon who does a lot of breast reductions, which is not to be confused with breast augmentations. They are not the same surgeries and require different levels skill.  

Also, each state has a board for physicians and surgeons. These state boards are where complaints are filed against physicians and surgeons. You can also check with the American Medical Association (AMA). You can contact your local office of your state representative or state senator or congressman and request their help. They should be able to get the info that you want or give you website and/or telephone number and address. There should not be a charge if you go through one of these offices.

The following websites can help you find out whether a doctor you are considering has had any problems, when they were board-certified, as well as other information that might be helpful to you. However, please note that some or all of these sites may charge for access or information.

http://www.healthgrades.com/default.cfm

http://www.plasticsurgery.org

http://www.docboard.org

http://www.doctordirectory.com/doctors/sanctionsearch/default.asp

The next site lists the Medical Examiners Boards in every state alphabetically. It includes the address, phone numbers, and website addresses for the state's Medical Examiners Board if one is available. This would be a great place to look if you are in need of more information on a plastic surgeon, or any other physician for that matter. Check out the public information area. 

http://www.fsmb.org

Your health and life are top priority, and it is your responsibility to investigate whether a doctor has had any disciplinary actions taken against him or her, and to find out if any current investigations are taking place. We cannot keep up on all the changes for all the doctors that members have reported to us as having good results. You owe it to yourself to check out any surgeon fully yourself.