How important is it to be “board-certified?”

Fortunately, these days, more people are paying attention to the credentials of their medical professionals. Everyone is our profession knows horror stories of patients who have gotten cosmetic treatments or even procedures from less-than-qualified practitioners in undesirable settings with horrendous side effects — sometimes even death. Please, please! Make sure any cosmetic procedure or treatment is performed by or under the direction of a board-certified plastic surgeon. And it’s not enough to just be board-certified. The specialty matters. We encourage all our patients to ask questions. And the first one should be “Are you certified by The American Board of Plastic Surgery?”