Is my doctor qualified to treat the area of the body, breast or face that I want improved:

 

Body, Breast, Face

American Board of Plastic Surgery


Face only

American Board of Facial Plastic Surgery


Eyelids only

American Society of Ophthalmic Plastic & Reconstructive surgery


I always question when I see a general surgeon performing abdominoplasty or liposuction, or a facial plastic surgeon performing surgery of the breast or body… and you probably should too.

There are doctors that have limited qualifications or that limit their practice to one area that will imply that they are therefore better at treating that area than others with broader training or a broader practice. This is nonsense. There are wonderful plastic surgeons/facial plastic surgeons and oculoplastic surgeons that all treat the eyelids with excellent results. There are plastic surgeons and facial plastic surgeons that treat the face and nose with excellent results.

So after you have checked to see that the doctor you are going to visit has the qualifications and board certification to treat the area that you are interested in improving, ask to see photos of similar patients. Again, having a photo of someone with a good result doesn’t mean that you will get a good result, but it does give you an idea of what the surgeon considers a good result. Also, ask your surgeon if there are any factors in your case that may limit the quality of the result: sun damage, smoking, significant wt loss, among other factors can change the “fabric” that the “tailor is working with” and limit the result. Can the surgeon show you photos of patients with similar limitations so that you can better understand what is or is not possible in your case. You should be able to find many photos of the body and breast in an online photo gallery. But many patients do not want their face online, so you might have to review the surgeons work on these areas in the office.