Board Certification
Board Certification (or Board Eligibility) by the American Board of Plastic Surgery is another very important quality one looks for when choosing their plastic surgeon. Board certification verifies that the surgeon is not only fully trained by an accredited program in Plastic Surgery, but has also had the full comprehensive education to pass a rigorous written examination, the surgical experience in Plastic Surgery to pass the difficult oral examination, and the moral dedication to be approved by his peers.
Many alternate and fictitious Boards have been created in an attempt to give lesser trained physicians credibility in the field of Plastic Surgery (i.e. The American Board of Cosmetic Surgery, The American Board of Facial Plastic Surgery, etc.). These boards are not recognized by the American Board of Surgical Specialties and therefore the training and ethics of these surgeons can not be assured.
Only Board Certified Plastic Surgeons are allowed to display the plastic surgical logo seen below and have met the rigorous standards mentioned.
Fully trained Plastic Surgeons are skilled to work on any part of the body and are not limited to only certain regions. (Board Eligible signifies that the Plastic Surgeon has completed all aspects of their training and have met all of the necessary requirements to be board certified, but have not yet taken their board examinations).
Many surgeons have the initials FACS following their name. This signifies that this surgeon has met yet another level of distinction as a surgeon and is a prestigious Fellow of the American College of Surgeons (FACS). The American College of Surgeons (www.facs.com) was established in 1913 as a scientific and educational foundation to improve the care of the surgery patient by setting high standards for surgical education and practice.