Importance of Choosing A Board Certified Plastic Surgeon
Board certified plastic surgeons have been certified by the American Board of Plastic Surgery and have undergone many years of in-depth education in addition to training. Physicians are able to call themselves plastic surgeons by simply taking a weekend course. Any licensed physician can legally advertise him/herself as a plastic or a cosmetic surgeon. While there are no absolute guarantees with surgical procedures because the same risks are involved, but choosing a board certified plastic surgeon will at least assure the patient that quality training and prestigious credentials are available. American Board of Plastic Surgery qualifies the surgeons who have been certified to perform surgery on the face, as well as any body area. The requirements for board certified plastic surgeons include:

• Graduating from an accredited medical school
• Completing at least five years of additional residency, three years of general surgery, and two years of plastic surgery.
• Practice plastic surgery for two active years
• Pass written and oral examinations

Board certified plastic surgeons have privileges to perform plastic surgery procedures in an accredited hospital based on the hospital’s review of the surgeon’s training and competency. Most plastic surgery procedures that are performed by non-board certified plastic surgeons could be safely performed in a licensed or accredited office based facility, but not in an accredited hospital. Being able to have your surgical procedure performed in an accredited hospital can allow a safer and quicker response to an emergency situation should something go wrong while performing plastic surgery (to see plastic surgery risks click here).

The American Board of Plastic Surgery’s mission is to promote safe, ethical, efficious plastic surgery to the public by maintaining high standards for the examination and certification of plastic surgeons as specialists and sub specialists. Because plastic surgery requires a special knowledge and skill type with the design and the surgery of grafts, flaps, replantation, and free tissue transfer it is necessary for a plastic surgeon to possess a certain combination of traits. By finding a qualified board certified plastic surgeon it is more likely that the surgeon will have the right combination of knowledge, judgment, technical expertise, ethics, and communication skills to reach the optimal results of that procedure and the outcome the patient desires. To find a board certified plastic surgeon click here.

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