Notice I put cosmetic surgeon in quotation marks. This is because there really is no such specialty as far as the American Medical Board is concerned. So beware.
To be come a plastic surgeon you have to be dedicated and endure a long road of education, training and examinations. To become a board certified plastic surgeon, there is even more scrutiny that you must face and conquer. To become a plastic surgeon one must complete 4 years of medical school. Then there is residency and you must complete a minimal of 5 years of training, which is usually focused in general surgery. This means you pretty much operate on all parts of the body. This includes being training in dire circumstances like trauma and so forth. Then there is a minimal of another 2 years or 3 years of plastic surgery training. So the training to become a plastic surgeon is very long and strenuous. Then to become a board certified plastic surgeon you have to pass a challenging written exam and then an oral exam where you are challenged by 6 different examiners.
To call yourself a "Cosmetic Surgeon" all it takes is to take a weekend coarse on how to do this laser or that laser or even liposuction. Then take a test after your didactic Saturday coarse and you can call yourself Board Certified.
So dont be fooled, always ask what is the doctors board certification in. If it is not plastic surgeon or if you dont see the ASPS logo, then I would walk the other way. You are asking for problems that would be difficult to fix. A lot of these non plastic surgeons will lower their cost to attract the patients. But again is it worth it to pay less and suffer more later?
The most important thing to look for when you are interested in a plastic surgery procedure is to feel comfortable with the Board Certified Plastic Surgeon you choose. You should also obviously enjoy and appreciate the results they have achieved in their before and after album. Lastly should be the cost factor. Remember it is a lot let expensive to get it done right the first time than to have to do multiple revisions later on. Besides the final product will never look the way it should, if it was done right the first time.
Good luck!
