subject: Plastic Surgery And Cosmetic Surgery Are Not The Same Thing [print this page] Cosmetic surgery and plastic surgery are different specialties requiring different education, training, and experience. Cosmetic surgery involves procedures designed to enhance appearance. Such procedures include breast implants; chemical peels; chin, cheek augmentation, and nose enhancements; face lifts; hair transplants; liposuction, and tummy-tucks. Cosmetic surgery was developed, and is practiced, by dermatologists, facial plastic surgeons, general surgeons, gynecologists, oral and maxillofacial surgeons, ophthalmologists, otolaryngologists, plastic surgeons, and doctors from other fields. Unlike cosmetic surgery, plastic surgery is dedicated to reconstruction of facial and body defects due to birth disorders, trauma, burns, and disease.
The American Medical Association recognizes the reality that cosmetic surgery is a separate and distinct specialty. The American Academy of Cosmetic Surgery has been dedicated to patient safety in cosmetic surgery for approximately 3 decades and the American Board of Cosmetic Surgery is the only board exam dedicated to cosmetic surgery exclusively.
There are currently no residency programs in the U.S. devoted exclusively to cosmetic surgery. Residency programs in dermatology, general surgery, obstetrics and gynecology, oral and maxillofacial surgery, ophthalmology, otolaryngology, and plastic surgery do not include training on every cosmetic procedure. Doctors seeking to learn the vast array of cosmetic surgery procedures must do so after completing their residency training. Understanding this fact is necessary to understanding the difference between cosmetic surgery and plastic surgery.
Residency training required to become board certified in plastic surgery may not include training with respect to many common cosmetic procedures. The Residency Review Committee of the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education has established minimum cosmetic surgery case requirements for plastic surgery programs. These include 10 breast augmentations, seven face lifts, eight blepharoplasties, six rhinoplasties, five abdominoplasties, 10 suction lumpectomies, and nine other cosmetic procedures. Therefore, while the title board certified plastic surgeon tells you the doctor has received certain training and experience with respect to plastic surgery, it does not tell you the same thing with respect to cosmetic surgery, and it does not tell you the doctor has more or less cosmetic surgery training than a board certified dermatologist, facial plastic and reconstructive surgeon, general surgeon, gynecologist, oral and maxillofacial surgeon, ophthalmologist, otolaryngologist, or other doctor. Therefore, to find the most qualified doctor for a specific cosmetic procedure, patients must compare doctors overall (residency and post-residency) training and experience with respect to that procedure. Even the members of the American Society of Plastic Surgeons (ASPS) who admitted to having cosmetic surgery themselves, only 75.9% had the procedure performed by a surgeon board certified by the American Board of Plastic Surgery. www.cameosurgery.com
