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New safety campaign focuses on board certification

September 26, 2011
American Society of Plastic Surgeons (ASPS)

The world's largest organization of board-certified plastic surgeons wants patients to investigate the qualification of their doctor before undergoing plastic surgery procedures.

The American Society of Plastic Surgeons (ASPS) is launching a new public safety campaign on the heels of a string of incidents involving plastic surgeries gone wrong during procedures performed by non-board-certified plastic surgeons. The ASPS unveiled the new campaign during its annual meeting in Denver.

"Patients are getting injured, some are dying during procedures performed by non-board-certified plastic surgeons," said Malcolm Z. Roth, M.D., ASPS President. "We want patients to understand what to ask their doctor and what to look for so that they can maximize their chance of a safe and successful procedure."

The message in the new ASPS Public Service Announcement focuses on exposing what plastic surgery leaders call "white coat deception." Roth explained that just because a doctor wears a white coat doesn't mean he or she is qualified to perform plastic surgery.

"There is a misconception among consumers that as long as a doctor is certified in a medical field that he or she is qualified to practice plastic surgery," said Dr. Roth. "This is absolutely wrong and it is dangerous for patients. If you are considering a plastic surgery procedure, it is critical that your doctor is a member of the American Society of Plastic Surgeons. This is the best way to be certain that he or she has completed the necessary training and meets certain standards to practice plastic surgery."

Consumers may wonder how doctors who are not board certified in plastic surgery are able to perform such procedures. The reason is that it is perfectly legal in the United States for any doctor with a medical license to practice in any medical field. Only four states - California, Florida, Louisiana and Texas - have tough Truth-in-Advertising measures that require medical providers to be more transparent about their training.

"Today when you get your medical license you can practice in any medical field that you choose," said Dr. Steven Teitelbaum, M.D., an ASPS Member Surgeon who practices in the Los Angeles area. "What should happen is that every state medical board should say, 'if you're trained in pediatrics you are allowed to practice pediatrics and if you're trained in orthopedics you can practice orthopedics.' But, unfortunately, most state laws and regulations enable some physicians to drift into the practice of plastic surgery without proper training and certification. It has become increasingly apparent that some physicians fail to use proper judgment and enter into practice areas beyond their core training."

Dr. Teitelbaum said that he is seeing an increase in requests to "fix" botched plastic surgery procedures from non-board-certified plastic surgeons, such as in the case of his patient Dinora Rodriguez.

Rodriguez had breast implant surgery from a non-board-certified plastic surgeon and woke up horrified to learn that her implants were merged together. During the same procedure her previous doctor decided to operate on her eyes without her consent. Now Dinora can no longer close her eyes completely.

"It was a terrible experience waking up from surgery and seeing that this had happened. I didn't know to check my doctor's qualifications and I regret it," said Rodriguez.

The ASPS has these tips for validating your doctor's qualifications:

  • Ask if your doctor is board certified in plastic surgery by the American Board of Plastic Surgery.
  • Look for a certificate in the doctor's office that includes the seal of the American Society of Plastic Surgeons.
  • If you have any doubts about their certification, go to www.plasticsurgery.org and select "Find a Surgeon" to make sure your doctor is listed on the ASPS site.