Where do you do your plastic surgery research?

What websites besides this forum have you found helpful? Any books that you would suggest? How did you find your surgeon?

I've lost 150 pounds and have another 50 so it's clear I'm going to have a lot of hanging skin. I though I should start researching my different options.

Thanks in advance.

Skylar

Skylar:

Once of the most helpful sites for me was makemeheal.com.  I went into their message board and read everything I could regarding procedures and questions that everyone was asking...I learned so much from this site, I continue to go back and post questions there.  Everyone is willing to share their pre and post surgery pics as well which too was helpful.   People ask questions about things that I never even thought of!

good luck!

kim

Thanks Kim, that's a great place to start.

Skylar

Hi.

Well, to get message-board type information this is a good place along with makemeheal.com and my personal fave http://www.realself.com/find/Texas/Houston/Plastic-Surgeon/J ohn-LoMonaco

Realself has no commercial bias and only board-certified PS can join.  We docs get ranked based on participation,  There are B+A photos too.

As for books, I am partial to the one written by my colleagues Dr McNemar and Kreiger:

http://www.bodylifthouston.com/book.html


If you would like a copy, I'm happy to get you one (and anyone else who bothers to read this post over the next 3 days) for just the price of the postage ($5 ?).

Email me directly please at [email protected] because my manager will ask WTH am I thinking.

I'm on vacation now. In Florida. Fishing almost everyday. 

Hi Sklar!
I've done TONS of research...most of it NOT on this website.  I use this website to find out how people feel after their procedure...i.e....how much did it hurt, how long before you can drive, when do you feel normal, etc etc.

Researching the surgeon is a different story.....I checked other boards like RateMD and I checked my states medical records...I was able to see if their license is current, if they had any law suites, I even found that one surgeon had someone die after a face-lift.  I did google searches by the surgeons name and checked lots of consumer opinion/consumer feedback type sites.

FYI - the first place I started was asking my primary care physician and my OBGYN for recommendations.   They often know the best ones.

Best wishes...
TTFN
Ruth

 
I would go to sites like the URL listed below...I would absolutely make sure that whomever you choose has the highest certification possible...That's essentially how I found mine (my TT is 3/3/10)...

The info below is from my plastic surgeon's site.  GOOD LUCK!

http://www.plasticsurgery.org/

Board Certification: Not All Boards Are Created Equal

When researching plastic surgeons in south New Jersey, one of the most confusing phrases you'll come across is "board certification." It sounds like a prestigious mark of distinction, right? But the importance of a surgeon's board certification entirely depends on which board did the certifying. A "board" is a group of physicians who evaluate the training and abilities of other doctors. The premier plastic surgery certification board is the American Board of Plastic Surgery (ABPS), which requires a surgeon to have a four year college degree, a degree from an accredited medical school, a minimum of five years in surgical internship and residency, at least two years specializing in plastic surgery. In addition, an ABPS-certified surgeon must have passed extensive oral and written exams and peer reviews. ABPS is the only "head to toe" plastic surgery board recognized by the American Board of Medical Specialties, an umbrella organization that oversees an elite group of 24 specialty boards in the medical field.

Dr. Sorokin takes great pride in being board-certified by the ABPS. Many other Philadelphia and New Jersey cosmetic surgeons do not offer such a credential, having been certified by local boards or second or third tier national boards, a large number of which were founded by physicians that could not themselves meet the ABPS standards. These boards generally do not require the same training and exams as the ABPS. Certainly, there are surgeons without ABPS certification who will be able to give you a good surgical result. But why take the risk? Dr. Sorokin was trained at one of the most rigorous training programs in the country and proudly maintains his ABPS certification.

When you talk with prospective surgeons, be sure to get the names of the boards that have certified them, and remember that ABPS certification is the clearest way to tell that a physician is well-trained in plastic surgery methods. Surgeons who have not been certified by the ABPS may have received certification from such boards as:

• The American Association for Aesthetic Plastic Surgery
• The American Board of Cosmetic Surgery
• The American Board of Facial Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery
• The American Society of Ophthalmic Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery
• The American Society for Dermatologic Surgery

These boards are simply not as highly esteemed in the cosmetic surgery community as the ABPS.

Do you live close to a University Medical Library?  You can search for articles that only doctors usually get to read in actual medical journals.  You can look up complications and so forth that are often encountered. and other facts that aren't normally let out in website .You can access them online but you have to pay to read the whole article.  Gets very expensive.  It should be free if you go to the medical library.  You can go to the county court house and look up malpractice files regarding so and so vs. whatever doctor you need to know about.  These malpractice suits usually go nowhere just stay in file and get old and yellow because another doctor is needed to be expert witness on behalf of the plantiff and doctors have ethical agreement not to rat on each other because( I hear tell)  it makes malpractice insurance premiums go up for all of them if a case is won by plantiff.