Choosing a Plastic Surgeon How can you find and determine if your doctor is a well-trained, qualified, experienced plastic surgeon?
CREDENTIALS
While good credentials can't guarantee you've found a well-trained plastic surgeon, they can significantly increase the odds that you have.
TRAINING More important than where your surgeon went to school is the type of training he or she received.
BOARD CERTIFICATION Everyone has heard the phrase "board certified". It is important to ask if your surgeon is board certified. You want to find a surgeon who is board certified by the American Board of Plastic Surgery (ABPS). This is the ONLY board authorized to certify doctors in plastic surgery by the American Board of Medical Specialties (ABMS), an organization supported by the American Medical Association and other major medical organizations.
Certification by ABPS means that the doctor has graduated from an accredited medical school, completed four more years of residency training in general surgery (or it's equivalent) and completed at least two years of approved training in plastic surgery. The surgeon must then practice plastic surgery for at least two years, pass exhaustive written and oral examinations and be judged to meet the high ethical standards of the ABPS.
HOSPITAL PRIVILEGES Even if your surgery will be performed in the surgeon's own surgical facility, he or she should have privileges to perform these procedures at an accredited hospital in your community. It means the surgeon is subject to the approval by a body of his or her peers. Call the hospital and make sure.
EXPERIENCE Although there's no magic number of years or procedures that defines "experience", you should feel comfortable that the surgeon you choose is well-versed and up-to-date in the procedure you are considering. You can ask the surgeon if he or she does the procedure you are considering frequently or only occasionally and when he or she last performed the procedure.
PROFESSIONAL SOCIETIES Surgeons may belong to a wide array of professional societies but, with board certification, some are more important than others. If a surgeon tells you he or she belongs to a particular society, get the exact name and call the society to check our what the requirements for membership are.
Of the societies representing plastic surgeons, one of the most demanding, and by far the largest, is the American Society of Plastic Surgeons (ASPS). Its members must be certified by the ABPS and reviewed by their peers and must also participate in continuing medical education and adhere to a strict code of ethics.
Visit Practice History to review Dr. Mealer's credentials, training, board certification, hospital privileges, experience and professional societies.
Questions to Ask my Plastic Surgeon
Use this checklist as a guide during your consultation
• Are you certified by the American Board of Plastic Surgery?
• Are you a member of the American Society of Plastic Surgeons?
• Were you trained specifically in the field of plastic surgery?
• How many years of plastic surgery training have you had?
• Do you have hospital privileges to perform this procedure? If so, at which hospitals?
• Is the office-based surgical facility accredited by a nationally-or state-recognized accrediting agency
• Is it state-licensed or Medicare-certified?
• How many procedures of this type have you performed?
• Am I a good candidate for this procedure?
• Where and how will you perform my procedure?
• How long of a recovery period can I expect, and what kind of help will I need during my recovery?
• What are the risks and complications associated with my procedure?
• How are complications handled?
• What are my options if I am dissatisfied with the outcome of my surgery?
