Things to Look For When Hiring a Plastic Surgeon

by Health Writer Mike Greaves

So you’re thinking about getting plastic surgery. The first thing you should do, before you decide exactly what you want, is start looking for exactly WHOM you want. Choosing the best surgeon for your needs is an important part of the plastic surgery process. Here are a few things to look for when hiring a plastic surgeon.

1. PROPER CERTIFICATIONS

The most important thing you need to look for when hiring a plastic surgeon is that the surgeon is certified by the American Board of Plastic Surgery. This guarantees that they will adhere to the medical and ethical standards that the American Board of Plastic Surgery upholds. There are many people out there looking to scam people in the cosmetic industry, so please make sure you go on the American Board of Plastic Surgery’s website to make sure that the surgeon you pick is a trusted one. The Board requires their certified surgeons to undergo many tests and several years of training before administering the certification, so you know you will be getting quality care from a trusted surgeon. Be careful of people who just label themselves as board-certified, because there are other boards that they might be referring to. You want a plastic surgeon that is certified by the American Board of Plastic Surgery, not any others. Many other types of doctors can label themselves as plastic surgeons, but not all of them have received formal training in plastic surgery, so you’ll want to watch out for this.

2. COSMETIC DOES NOT MEAN PLASTIC

Many people masquerade as plastic surgeons under the term “cosmetic surgeon”, but be wary, because many of these people do not have formal training in plastic surgery. As defined by the American Board of Cosmetic Surgery, cosmetic surgery is practiced by a variety of doctors, not just plastic surgeons. Dermatologists, gynecologists, etc. can practice cosmetic surgery, so if you want to get a plastic surgery like breast augmentation or a face lift, you’ll want to make sure you are consulting with a certified plastic surgeon, not just a cosmetic surgeon. You wouldn’t want your gynecologist performing brain surgery, so you shouldn’t want them doing plastic surgery either.

3. THEY SPEND A PROPER AMOUNT OF TIME EXPLAINING SURGERY TO YOU

It is important that your plastic surgeon spends a good amount of time going over the procedure to you. You want to know everything about the surgery before you get it, so several consultations should be standard before you get the surgery. You want to know about any possible side effects, how you should prepare for the surgery, how you should recover from the surgery and any other important information about the surgery. This is all information that you can’t read about on the Internet, you will want to hear first hand from your plastic surgeon, and its imperative that you find out the requirements for your specific procedure and the details about the recovery period. If you have picked the right plastic surgeon, they are going to know what’s best about your procedure and you should go to them with any questions that you may have.

That is why it is so imperative to make the right decision when picking a plastic surgeon. These tips should help get you on your way to finding the right plastic surgeon for you.

This article was written in Cooperation with Dr. Greg Croll who is a certified plastic surgeon with specialties in procedures such as Botox, abdominoplasty, and other plastic surgeries in Columbia, MO, area.

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