Fred Schulte, KFF Health News
The debate over which docs are finest certified to carry out beauty surgical procedure — and who will get the perfect outcomes for sufferers — has raged for many years.
Here’s why: A state-issued medical license grants a doctor what a Federation of State Medical Boards policy statement known as the “privilege of practicing the full breadth of medicine.”
That coverage leaves the door open for any licensed physician to carry out beauty surgical procedure after scant coaching, similar to a weekend course in liposuction, and a few docs have carried out simply that.
The federation provides that docs “have a professional and ethical duty to put their patients’ best interests before their own and only offer treatments to patients that they are able to provide competently.”
But what credentials surgeons ought to maintain and be permitted to promote — using the time period “board-certified,” specifically — stays contentious. And, for sufferers, determining which of these credentials and advertising claims to belief, and how you can keep away from docs with troubled pasts, generally is a problem.
Here are suggestions for choosing a beauty surgeon:
Do a background verify.
The Federation of State Medical Boards operates an online site with details about a physician’s observe historical past, together with disciplinary actions. The federation additionally lists contacts for every state medical board. Many states compile profiles of docs with particulars about their coaching and observe historical past. Some embrace medical malpractice funds to sufferers who filed swimsuit.
Understand board certification.
In the sector of beauty surgical procedure, the American Board of Medical Specialties acknowledges solely the American Board of Plastic Surgery, which requires a minimal of three years coaching in cosmetic surgery in addition to a written and oral examination.
Board-certified members of the American Society of Plastic Surgeons decry what they see as docs with much less coaching infringing on their territory, by citing unrecognized certifying boards to buff their credentials, amongst different issues. The society posts a listing of its members here.
“A lot of people say they do plastic surgery,” stated society president Scott Hollenbeck. “It’s confusing to patients.” The cosmetic surgery board “is the only one that is legitimate.”
Not so quick, say greater than 400 surgeons nationwide who’re licensed by another board known as the American Board of Cosmetic Surgery.
The group says it accepts solely docs who’ve accomplished a residency coaching program in a surgical specialty, taken a one-year fellowship in beauty surgical procedure, and handed a take a look at of their competence and information.
Yet the group has struggled to realize broad acceptance, it says, due to pushback from the plastic surgeons.
Jeffrey Swetnam, an Arkansas beauty surgeon and president of the American Board of Cosmetic Surgery, instructed KFF Health News that plastic surgeons have lengthy sought to beat again rivals. Swetnam stated that cosmetic surgery coaching focuses on a broad vary of reconstructive operations, together with beauty procedures, whereas members of his group focus completely on beauty operations.
“This whole deal is a money grab, a turf war over money,” he stated.
In April, for instance, Florida’s medical board rejected a request by beauty surgeons that they be permitted to promote board certification with out including the caveat that their board is just not acknowledged by the American Board of Medical Specialties.
In some instances, state medical licensing boards have disciplined docs for allegedly misstating their credentials.
One was Kenneth Adams, a board-certified emergency drugs specialist, who opened Premier Liposuction in Las Vegas after taking a two-day course in liposuction and fats switch, based on Nevada’s medical licensing board. In a civil criticism in April 2024, the board accused Adams of working towards “beyond the scope of his license.”
The criticism alleged that Adams’ promoting “misleads the public that his certification in Emergency Medicine provides the necessary training to perform liposuction surgery to inflate his credentials and induce patients to seek his services.”
Adams settled the case in November. The settlement prohibited him from performing liposuction, fined him $3,000, and issued him a letter of reprimand.
The American Board of Medical Specialties runs a website for checking a physician’s board certification in acknowledged specialties, together with cosmetic surgery.
Check for courtroom motion.
Some jurisdictions have posted dockets on-line, which could be searched by identify to search out lawsuits, although many cost for entry and copies, prices that may add up quick. Gerald Hickson, a doctor researcher at Vanderbilt University and knowledgeable on medical malpractice instances, stated a sample of lawsuits is a pink flag. He stated that almost all docs don’t get sued usually, no matter their specialties.
Consider phrase of mouth.
It could sound old school, however some consultants, together with Hickson, advocate checking with associates and neighbors when selecting a physician. He added that sufferers want to make use of “common sense” when interacting with a medical observe to verify it’s proper for them.
“Don’t shop for surgery like it’s a sale item,” provides beauty surgeon Swetnam. “Invest the time to choose a surgeon based on their training, outcomes, experience, and integrity — not just their title.”
