How To Research Board Certified Plastic Surgeons

Once you have a list of plastic surgeons to perform your breast augmentation surgery, you must research their credentials, educational background, and their malpractice history. This may be a lot of information to absorb but it is very important. Your life and health may depend upon it.

Plastic Surgeon Credentials: State Licensure

Your cosmetic surgeon must hold a valid license to practice medicine in the state in which he performs your procedure. A surgeon may be a Medical Doctor (MD) or a Doctor of Osteopathy (DO) or osteopathic physician. Most plastic surgeons are medical doctors, but you occasionally find an osteopathic plastic or cosmetic surgeon. Osteopathy is a type of medicine that emphasizes a holistic view of the body, but it is equivalent to medicine in all respects

Both medical doctors and osteopathic physicians have attended a four-year undergraduate college with an emphasis on scientific courses. They both complete four years of basic medical education and can choose to practice in a specialty area of medicine after completing a residency program which requires an additional 2 to 6 years of training. An osteopathic physician receives extra training in the musculoskeletal system. Osteopathic physicians usually become primary care physicians, and are taught to focus on preventive health care and treat the body as a whole.

State medical licenses are designed to be the minimum standard necessary to practice medicine. Licensing is administered by the states, and the restriction or withdrawal of a license is a matter of public record. The state agency that oversees medical licenses is the state medical board, the board of medical examiners, or something with a similar title. (In Kansas, it is the Board of Healing Arts, which is as close to poetic as a state government ever gets!) Some states have separate boards for medical doctors and osteopathic doctors. A medical license is not specialty specific. Anyone with a medical license can provide any medical or surgical service he or she desires.

Most states have a system where you can verify an individual’s licensing status online. Others may require a request by telephone or even a written request.

You can reach state medical boards.

Verifying Your Plastic Surgeon's Certification

If a plastic surgeon says the he or she is board certified, you can check this by going to the website of the American Board of Medical Specialties (ABMS). The ABMS website can help you determine if your surgeon is in certified by any of their 24 member boards. The site requires registration, but registration is free.

You can also verify a plastic surgeon's certification over the phone by calling 1-866-ASK-ABMS (or 1-866-275-2267). Both of these options cost nothing.

The board that certifies plastic surgeons is the American Board of Plastic Surgery (ABPS), which is a member of the ABMS. However, plastic surgery of the head and neck is a subspecialty of otolaryngology, and some forms of reconstructive and cosmetic surgery are within the specialties of dermatology and ophthalmology. There is also the American Board of Facial Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery and the American Board of Cosmetic Surgery. Both of these boards are not members of the ABMS, but require previous certification by an ABMS board for anyone seeking their certification.

There are several professional organizations of which cosmetic and plastic surgeons may be members. These include the American Society for Plastic Surgery (ASPS), the American Academy of Cosmetic Surgery (AACS), and the American Society for Aesthetic Plastic Surgery (ASAPS). Having a membership in any of these societies is a good sign when you are checking credentials to find the best plastic surgeon for your breast augmentation.

Researching a Plastic Surgeon's Malpractice History

Malpractice is a very scary subject for anyone in the medical field. It is a good idea to try to find out about any malpractice cases brought against a surgeon, but having that information may not tell you much. There are cosmetic surgeons who perform less than stellar surgeries and there are people who bring frivolous lawsuits as well. There are wonderful surgeons who have been sued and there are surgeons with inadequate skills who haven't been sued yet.

This is a difficult area to research, as it takes many dedicated hours, and still you may not be able to get as much information as you’d like. If you do find that your surgeon has been involved in a recent lawsuit, ask why.

Understand that anyone can file a lawsuit at anytime, whether they have reason or not. Lawsuits may be filed because the results were not what the patient expected. They may be filed if something unforeseen happens that was not the surgeon’s fault. All surgery has risks. Most lawsuits charging malpractice must show that the surgeon was negligent, but cases have been won where no negligence is proven. The definition of negligence is care that is substandard in that particular medical community or specialty. Unfortunately, it is becoming increasingly difficult to distinguish between cases where surgeons are victims of frivolous lawsuits and cases where the patients were the victims. Most surgeons will not come out and tell you if they have been involved in a lawsuit, although you do have the right to ask.

To find out about malpractice suits, you can go to the courthouse for the county in which your surgeon practices and perform a search for litigations, arbitrations, trials, and so on in the civil index. You can ask the county clerk’s office for specific instructions and procedures on how to do this. Some courts charge a fee for copies of the documents. Medical malpractice information may be found at the Superior Court Office instead of he county courts.

You can also use firms such as http://www.WestLaw.com or http://www.E-law.com. KnowX.com may have information.

You can also try the Federation of Medical Boards Disciplinary History Service. There is a fee.

One or two malpractices suits on a surgeon’s record may be nothing to worry about. Try to look for patterns and look for any recent lawsuits. If a surgeon didn’t have any suits against him or her and then had two in the last year, that may be a troublesome trend.

Verifying a Plastic Surgery Center's Accreditation

If your surgery is to be performed at a freestanding surgery clinic or in your surgeon’s office, make sure the site is accredited! Accreditation means that the surgery center is well equipped, has equipment to properly sterilize instruments, has an emergency protocol and proper emergency equipment such as a crash cart, and is easily accessible to emergency vehicles such as ambulances.

Here are accreditation associations in the United States and in Canada:

Accreditation Association for Ambulatory Health Care (AAAHC)
3201 Old Glenview Road, Suite 300
Wilmette, Illinois 60091
Telephone: (847) 853-6060
Fax: (847) 853-9028
Website: http://www.aaahc.org

American Association for Accreditation for Ambulatory Surgery Facilities (AAAASF)
1202 Allanson Road
Mundelein, Illinois 60060
Toll-free: (888) 545-5222
Fax: (847) 566-4580
Website: http://www.aaaasf.org

Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations (JCAHO)
One Renaissance Boulevard
Oakbrook Terrace, Illinois 60181
Telephone: (630) 792-5000
Fax: (630) 792-5005
Website: http://www.jcaho.org

Canadian Association for Accreditation of Ambulatory Surgery Facilities
2334 Heska Rd.,
Pickering, Ontario Canada L1V 2P9
Telephone: (905) 831-5804
Fax: (905) 831-7248
Website: http://www.caaasf.org