I would say that I can give you an objective answer to this because I am Board certified in two fields, general surgery and cardiac surgery (thoracic surgery).
In regards to "who is better, facial plastic surgery through ENT or plastic surgery" - It all depends on your training and experience during training ...
Two individuals can train in facial plastic Surgery (in two programs) and have completely different experiences and capabilities - one will train with someone who has a huge cosmetic facial plastic surgical proactice which makes him/her very exposed to all facets of cosmetic surgery of the face but perhaps not having the capability of doing a good job. This is a possibility but unlikely if one got this far in their training. Two individuals in the same training program can graduate with vast differences in experiences depending on how many cases they scrubbed in and what facets of plastic surgery they were exposed to. Perhaps one worked 15 hours a day for two years and the other did just enough cases to graduate.. Is it possible ? Of course it is and this could reflect their experience as a trainee. This does not even account for their innate aesthetic abilities as a cosmetic plastic surgeon, which is altogether another important point to consider.
Another group of surgeons can train as plastic surgeons in a department where the attendings are known for their expertise in facial plastic surgery and graduate with an emphasis of training in this area, in addition to getting their prerequisite training in liposution, body contouring, abdominoplasty, etc. So, don;t discount plastic surgeons as less capable than facial plastic surgeons through ENT.... Just because they did ENT does not mean that they are better facial cosmetic plastic surgeons .. they may know how to take your vocal cords out and your thyroid out and spent 1 year doing some facial aesthetic plastic surgery ...
In my opinion, having gone through the board certification process and having written board review books in my areas of expertise, only individuals that are promoting themselves as this or that, such as "I am a facial plastic surgeon" or "you need to see a facial plastic surgeon for a face lifet" do so because they don't have a big practice to draw patients. Where do they think their teachers evolved from ... having trained 10 or 15 years ago when the "specialty of facial plastic surgery" did not exist. These are new societies and boards that have evolved and have been organized by ENT surgeons to compete with plastic surgeons.... think about that.
In summary, one is not better than the other, it all depends on the surgeons' experience and it is incumbent upon you as a patient to find out whether your surgeon has experience and to talk to some of his patients and look at his outcomes - however you find this information.
Since I don't pracitce plastic surgery, I remain
Objectively Yours,
Hratch L Karamanoukian, MD
