Don't Believe Everything You See on TV

46. Thanks TMZ for the great and posting these great comments! To clear a little of this up...

1> BOARD CERTIFICATION
We keep reading about how important it is to make sure that your doctor is board certified- remember to ask "By which Board?" Any MD can say that they are board certified but they may not tell you that they are certified in Gynecology but still want to do your plastic surgery- something that they have no training in. There are also a lot of made up boards where you send in your $200 and you too can be board certified.
The best way to check is to go to:
www.isyourdoctorboardcertified.com

Look to see if he is Board Certified in Plastic Surgery- if it says another specialty or he/she is not listed at all- they are not- it's that simple!

2> BOARD ELIGIBLE
The difference between board eligible and board certified is like night and day... every freshman entering high school is eligible to graduate- that does NOT mean they have the same education as someone who graduated. The American Board of Plastic Surgery understands this can cause confusion and forbids people from saying that they are eligible with them so as not to confuse anyone. If someone advertises that they are- they will not be able to become certified by them. They have the strictest requirments, but isn't that what you would like to trust your body to?

3> It's so easy to check!
As TMZ has pointed out, what makes this whole story even more sad is how easy it would have been to check this guy's requirements.

Posted at 10:48AM on Nov 17th 2007 by Jake S.

47. So much confusion... so little time...

ok.. www.plasticsurgery.org is run by the ASPS (American Society of Plastic Surgeons) they are a professional organization... they do _not_ certify anyone. However in order to be a member you must be board certified by the American Board of Plastic Surgery which is the only recognized board certification board for plastics. They're website is at http://www.abplsurg.org (this is what TMZ correctly posted as the certifying body).

( more at http://www.plasticologist.com )

How do I know? Well I just took the oral boards last week.

What's required to be board certified? Here's a quick synopsis


After you meet the requirements to become a licensed physician (accredited college, med school and residency training and passing three separate licensing exams) here's what the board requires

1. graduation from an accredited plastic surgery training program. This does _not_ mean a one or two month course... this means a minimum of two years of plastic surgery residency or fellowship.

2. Once you have graduated from a training program you are eligible to take the plastic surgery WRITTEN boards. This is a one day (about 6 hours) exam that tests your knowledge about plastic surgery.

3. To apply to take the Oral board exam the board also reviews all advertisements and input from community leaders to determine advertising and ethics issues. For example - placing "board certified" or "board eligible" on any websites or advertising (even though the latter is true!) makes you ineligible to take the boards _for at least_ that year.

4. IF you pass the written exam then you are eligible for the oral exam. Before you can take the oral exam you undergo what is called case collection where every procedure or operation you do over a 7 month period is submitted to the board. Every one of those cases is reviewed. The board then chooses between 5 and 8 cases from those seven months (usually cases with complications) for review and during the oral examination they ask you about those cases. In addition during the _three day_ oral exam they also have a set of 12 unknown cases that they will ask you about.

In addition... to STAY board certified you must participate in educational activities and take a certification exam every ten years administered by the board...

So its complicated.. and of course any physician can have complications... but board certification is a good place to start. Saying "I'm too busy to take the boards" is a strange excuse and should raise some concern.

plasticologist.com

Posted at 2:17PM on Nov 17th 2007 by plasticologist.com

48. and to #37 (norman) most medical texts actually credit the first liposuction to a general surgeon in France -

"It started as far back as 1921, when a French surgeon called Dujarier, decided to practice the new art of liposuction in an attempt to create a better shape on a young ballerina’s knees. Unfortunately his patient developed gangrene and required an amputation. "

Try googling Dujarier and liposuction - or check wikipedia if you trust that more as a source.

It's a classic story told in most plastics training programs as a cautionary tale.

Posted at 2:26PM on Nov 17th 2007 by plasticologist.com