Did You Know . . . .
ANY licensed medical doctor can claim to be a Cosmetic or Plastic surgeon. Almost every physician has a board certification. This is where I step in: consumers need to inquire about this board certification. There is a board certification for every specialty in medicine. Just because a doctor is advertising liposuction and claims to be "board certified" does NOT mean they are board certified in Plastic Surgery. They could be board certified in gynecology, urology, dermatology, otolaryngology (ENT), family practice, or a general surgeon. Would you want a physician who's training is in otolaryngology to perform liposuction on you? No, I didn't think so. If you needed brain surgery, you would want a neurosurgeon who was specifically trained in neurosurgery, right? Next, you will need to make sure the board certification the doctor claims to have is even legitimate.
Why would a doctor lie about their true training and board certification?
MONEY! Physicians rely on insurance reimbursement to pay the bills. Insurance companies have physicians sign contracts stating they will agree to the payment schedules (amounts) given them for their services. These payments have decreased dramatically in the last few decades. Therefore, physicians seek other methods to generate an income while still using their state medical license. Those other methods are almost always cash based procedures which are the cosmetic procedures.
How can an otolaryngologist perform plastic surgery? Is this legal?
Yes! It is legal! They have a medical license, right? That is all they need. Medical licensure is not granted according to specialty, only the Board Certification if the physician meets the training requirements and passes the board exam. Board certifications are overseen by the American Board of Medical Specialties. The American Board of Plastic Surgery is the only recognized Plastic Surgery board certification by the American Board of Medical Specialties. There are other "board certifications," but they are not recognized boards due to their lack of formal training requirements. The American Board of Facial Plastic Surgery is a SUBSPECIALTY for the primary Board Certification for Otolaryngology (ENT). The requirement for this subspecialty is merely a one year FELLOWSHIP (like an internship) in facial procedures. Any ENT that ventures our of their training to do body Plastic Surgery is operating out of field, undermining their own Board Certification.
Why such the big boom of "Cosmetic" Surgeons?
The competition for graduating medical students applying for formal Plastic Surgery training programs has been on the rise in the last few decades. Doctors find the cosmetic industry to be rather glamorous due to its rise in popularity and the desire to seek a "cash based" profession so as to not rely on poor insurance reimbursements. Therefore, the medical industry has gotten cleaver when physicians find they have not been accepted for a formal Plastic Surgery training program. They take a back door approach instead. Since physicians are required to have first completed a Surgery Residency training program before they can be eligible for a Plastic Surgery training program, many of these physicians will merely take a few weekend cosmetic surgery courses in Vegas and claim to be a Plastic or Cosmetic surgeon. With the help of a great marketing firm, they manage to undermine their surgical skill in lieu of marketing skill. Other physicians that do not have a Surgery Residency under their belts do the exact same thing. There are plenty of dermatologists with no surgical training what-so-ever who claim to be Plastic or Cosmetic Surgeons.
