Alabama Plastic Surgeons

American Society of Plastic Surgery

Your plastic surgeon may also belong to The American Society of Plastic Surgeons (ASPS) which is the largest plastic surgery specialty organization in the world. Plastic surgeons must be board certified by The American Board of Plastic Surgery (ABPS) in order to be a member of the The American Society of Plastic Surgeons (ASPS). All American Society of Plastic Surgeons (not the American Board of Plastic Surgery) member surgeons must practice in accredited surgical facilities. All American Society of Plastic Surgeons (ASPS) member surgeons are certified by the American Board of Plastic Surgery, however, only 97% of certified plastic surgeons belong to the ASPS. Plastic surgeons must pay a yearly fee to belong to the The American Society of Plastic Surgeons so don't consider it a bad sign if your plastic surgeon is not a member. However, do make sure their plastic surgery center is an accredited surgical facilities and the plastic surgeon is board certified by The American Board of Plastic Surgery (ABPS).

Plastic Surgeon vs. Cosmetic Surgeon

Most doctors calling themselves "cosmetic surgeons" are not true plastic surgeons and are not qualified or experienced in plastic surgery as many states require a physician to be certified by the ABPS to call themselves a plastic surgeon. When seeking a plastic surgeon for any body procedure, such as lipo, tummy tucks or breast augmentation mammoplasty (a.k.a. breast implant surgery) choose an American Board of Plastic Surgery (ABPS) certified plastic surgeon which qualifies the surgeon to perform both body and facial procedures. Do not confuse the ABPS with any other similar sounding board. If you are contemplating facial plastic surgery only, you can consider a ABPS board certified Plastic Surgeon or a Otolaryngologist (also known as ENT, Ear Nose & Throat specialist) certified by the American Board of Otolaryngology as they are qualified to perform cosmetic procedures of the face. Please do not allow an ENT or any non-ABPS certified doctor to perform any procedure below the neck!

Certified vs. Non-certified

Many Ear Nose & Throat (ENT) doctors (Otorlaryngologists), some Dermatologists and OBGYNs and even dentists perform plastic surgery procedures such as breast augmentation and liposuction and they are far from qualified to do so. Most are not even board certified in general surgery, no less plastic surgery. Certification for doctors performing breast surgery and other body contouring procedures, such as liposuction or tummy tucks, should be in plastic surgery, NOT cosmetic or facial surgery. Although being certified in cosmetic, facial or Otorlaryngology in ADDITION to their plastic surgery certification is acceptable. Be very careful, there are many other unqualified doctors out there looking to make big bucks by offering plastic surgery procedures, usually at a discounted rate which could cost you your health and more money in the long run. I cannot stress how important it is to make sure your surgeon is certified by the ABPS when considering plastic surgery on the body, such as lipo, tummy tuck or breast surgery. In the 11+ years I have been researching breast augmentation outcomes and the surgeons who performed them, not many breast augmentations surgeries had a bad outcome. However, of the bad results, half the time surgery was performed by a doctor that was not certified by the ABPS. Considering only 10% of licensed doctors are not certified, that means 50% of the time non-certified doctors encounter problems, vs only .05% of ABPS certified plastic surgeons. I do not advocate flipping a coin with someone's body.