FAQs
The society requires that a surgeon be board certified by the American Board of Plastic Surgery. It is also necessary to have been in practice at least two years. Verify either by calling 1-888-4-PLASTIC (1-888-475-2784), or on the Web at www.plasticsurgery.org.
Note that any other word in place of PLASTIC is not the same and often indicates significantly less training, i.e., cosmetic, aesthetic, facial cosmetic, etc. Verify by calling 1-888-4-PLASTIC (1-888-475-2784), or on the Web at www.plasticsurgery.org.
All hospitals verify training and education and they only allow surgeons who are adequately trained for specific procedures to perform them in their hospital. They also have committees in place that monitor potential problems to help ensure patient protection.
Feeling uncomfortable with the surgeon can actually affect the outcome because you may be more stressed and you may be hesitant to ask questions that are important to how the procedure is done and its outcome.
This is important because often you spend as much time with the staff as with the surgeon.
Your surgeon or the nurse should be reachable 24 hours a day for all questions. It’s better to ask a seemingly simple question than to ignore a potential problem.
If you are given the option to speak with a patient who had the procedure that you are considering, it is normal for this to take up to a couple of weeks to happen. Due to patient confidentiality, the patient’s name cannot be given to you, and it can take a while to contact the patient and get them to call you.
A surgeon’s style is often evident in his or her before and after pictures.
Your health should be the primary concern and certain procedures need to be done in a sterile surgical facility. Whenever anesthesia is used, you will want to be adequately monitored. Going to a certified facility helps guarantee that you are in a safe environment.
While we always hope for an uneventful recovery, once in a while a minor procedure enhancement is required in order to achieve the best result. To protect yourself, find out how the surgeon charges for touch-ups.