POLL!! Who had a board certified surgeon???

I have researched plastic surgeons for 7 years now and for the past 2 I asked these questions.  Are you board certified?  Why or why not?

Most who were not board certified didn't want to spend the extra time getting their certification but spent the time mastering their art of surgery.   They wanted to establish themselves asap.

Most who were certified stated they wanted the extra training and wanted to take their time learning the specifics about the surgeries they wanted to perform the most. 
One surgeon explained it like this:  You have family practice doctors and internists.  Your internist is specialized in taking care of you as an adult.  They stick with one type of person to give you the best care they can.  It is impossible to stay up on all the advanced technology or diseases of children, adults and geriatrics like a family practice doctor. 

Another surgeon stated that if any surgeon or doctor really cared about the profession they chosen and their patients they would take the time to become board certified.

I went through a teaching hospital and the main surgeon was board certified.  When speaking with the residents most would get board certified stating they have come this far why not a little farther.   So I had multiple surgeons working on me some were board certified and some were not.   One resident stated not getting board certified would be like going through 12 years of school and in your senior year dropping out in the last quarter. 

Ok - good answer.

Now my Part II question (in another thread I started today) is WHICH Board is the 'true' certifier?  I have competing information from two certifying organizations within the US.

I understand what you're saying.  "Board certified" denotes a certain expertise, supposedly, but there are no guarantees for the AESTHETIC of plastic surgery on formerly obese people.  Unfortunately, some surgeons have the opinion "well, we cut off the excess - what else do you want?  Perfection?  Please!  It's better than what you had before."  This is unfortunate and although it may not be the norm, it happens enough for it to be a big issue for a lot of folks.

However, having said that, I still would not go with a surgeon who is NOT board certified.  There are enough quacks out there as it is so why even take a chance on someone who didn't even get certified?

I had a PCP for years whom I later found out was NEVER board certified.  He was not a surgeon but I felt uneasy for some reason to find out after the fact that he never did get certified in over 40 years of practicing medicine.

Scary....

Anyway, when doing your research for a surgeon, board certification may be JUST ONE of many criteria that should be in place before deciding upon a surgeon.  Try to interview other patients.  Try to see accurate pictures of prior patients who have some of the issues you do.  Follow trends.  Do not be impulsive.  There are no guarantees, of course, but there are precautions you can take.

I understand what you are saying - but I am not talking about Medical Board certification - I'm talking the certification from the American Board of Plastic Surgery.

When I researched it - it's a Board that is self-governed and proclaimed to be the 'gold' standard for plastic surgeons - they have their own education requirements and they can certify a surgeon for life in the specialty.  They also have no formal complaint review process - they direct patients to the medical board of their state for complaints.  So - a doc can be ABPS for life and have Medical Board complaints on him in his state, go to another state get medical board certification there, hang a shingle and start chopping up folk - and keep his ABPS certification.

Trust - this was NOT an easy decision given my past history and I took care to find someone that has the experience and a record I could verify.  But it's still a toss up no matter what.

 

You're right.  We roll the dice with this and hope we don't crap out.  This is why some PS have you sign a document that basically says in essence that he will do his best but there are no guarantees and there are risks involved - medical ones and risks that you may not be thrilled with the outcome.  Even so, I still say that (for me) the risk was minimal with the PS that I chose and I guess that's what we are all going for.

I wish you all the best with your second choice because I know you went thru hell with the first one.

All of the plastic surgeons that have been involved in my care are board certified plastic surgeons.  In many states (Florida included) any medical doctor can hang out a shingle and call himself a plastic surgeon.  Board certification is the only way we have of knowing if the doc has, in fact, the training he/she claims.  I would not go to a plastic surgeon that was not board certified in plastic surgery.  No certification does not guarantee you are getting a good surgeon but it is a good place to start.

Red

My surgeon is board certified, although he's not someone *****ally specializes in massive weight loss cases. He does a lot more of the "mommy makeover" type thing, but he did a great job on me! I know what you mean though... there are board certified surgeons who have no idea what to do with us. I also seriously considered a medical residency program where a resident would perform under the supervision of a board certified surgeon, and that would have been good enough for me. But if someone is NOT board certified, I'd want to know... why not??

My surgeon was board certified.   In my opinion it is a case of something that is necessary but not sufficient.   I would start with board certification and then look for lots of experience with patients like me having the surgeries I want to have.   

I saw a lot of board certified surgeons who claimed to have LBL experience and clearly had very limited experience - more like a lot of mommy makeover abdominoplasties.    I don't want to be the one anyone learns on, I don't want to deal with anyone who thinks some extra part of the procedure is "not worth it" in my case or anyone who tells me "well, it will be so much better than what you have no matter how it comes out."  

I think some people can substitute getting recommendations from people they trust and some people are just lucky but I had to put in a good 6 months of consults with a dozen different surgeons and lots of internet and other research, before I felt satisfied.  And for all that, are my results perfect?   No they aren't but my surgeon is more eager to do revisions than I am.   It is all part of the process.