Choosing a Plastic Surgeon - 3 Things To Watch Out For

If you’re getting cosmetic enhancement, the most important decision you can make is finding a good plastic surgeon. Because of the nature of information in today’s world, it is easier than ever to find someone with a sterling reputation for quality work and safe practices. In fact, there is no excuse for not doing so, considering how readily available reviews are and how willing people are to share their experiences. Still, every day people choose a bad doctor and wind up with less than satisfactory results. Money issues play some role in this: people are surprisingly willing to take their chances when they find a discount. But some of it is purely a lack of research. Here are three things to watch out for when you choose your doctor.

Board Certification

If nothing else, you must make sure your doctor is certified by the American Board of Plastic Surgery. Remember that phrase exactly. Write it down and ask before you make an appointment. Don’t accept any other substitute. There are dozens, if not hundreds, of medical “boards” that will issue a certificate to a plastic surgeon for no other reason than the doctor ordered it through the mail. It looks good hanging on the wall of the office, but it is worth less than the paper it is printed on. The American Board of Plastic Surgery is recognized worldwide, and the standards for certification are strict and demanding. Accept no less.

Experience

If a doctor is put performing as a plastic surgeon, you can probably assume they have the proper education. But that’s not enough. You don’t want a doctor who is fresh out of their residency. You want a doctor who has put in his years doing the very surgery you are looking to get. With practice comes perfection, they say, and there may be no other field where this is more true. It has been said that cosmetic enhancement is as much an art as it is a science. If this is true, you need someone who has had time to experiment, perfect their techniques, and come up with solutions that give patients the best possible results.

Reviews

Online reviews, when it comes to the medical field, are still the subject of no small amount of controversy. Nevertheless, they are out there and as a patient you would be a fool not to avail yourself of any information you can get. Read through reviews and ratings and come to your own conclusions. If you see the same problems crop up in review after review, there may be something to the accusations. At the very least, you’ll be able to get an idea of what impression this particular plastic surgeon leaves with his patients.