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Rhinoplasty Surgeon Credential Based on Number of Surgeries

asked 2 years ago by laureneliz in nc
Latest answer by Richard W. Fleming, MD
Question viewed 737 times
Tags: nose, credentials, plastic surgeon, plastic surgery

The surgeon I am considering does approximately 50 Rhinoplasties per year.

I am in Charlotte, NC, where evidently not many people seek Rhinoplasty compared to CA, FL, etc. This is the highest # per year I've found nearby in my search. Should I be concerned with this low number?

The surgeon has great credentials, but I am worried about this specific procedure, as it is very difficult and I know some other surgeons perform hundreds or thousands per year. Thank you!

16 answers to Rhinoplasty Surgeon Credential Based on Number of Surgeries

Rhinoplasty quality is the most important criterion, not numbers.

You should find an experienced rhinoplasty surgeon who does the kind of noses you like since that is what you'll be getting in the end.

Toby Mayer, MD
Beverly Hills Facial Plastic Surgeon

www.bevhills.com

Rhinoplasty quantity and quality does matter

If your surgeon has a great reputation that is a good starting point. If they have a large volume of rhinoplasty patients within their practice and that is how they earned their reputation, that is even better. In a smaller market such as Charlotte, it is likely that if your surgeon was getting bad rhinoplasty results, you would have heard about it. Most of us would argue that rhinoplasty has a steep learning curve, and you really need to perform many of them in order to become proficient... more

Philip S. Schoenfeld, MD
Chevy Chase Facial Plastic Surgeon

Rhinoplasty Experience

Training, accreditation, and experience should all be considered. I assume you have verified the training and accreditation of your surgeon. 50 rhinoplasties per year is probably adequate experience. The final step should be reviewing pictures of the results achieved in noses similar to yours. I wish all patients were as thorough as you have been.

Richard W. Fleming, MD
Beverly Hills Facial Plastic Surgeon

Surgeon's rhinoplasty experience and results are what matter

The majority of plastic surgeons perform less than ten rhinoplasties per year. It is important to seek out a surgeon who has performed thousands of rhinoplasties before entertaining a difficult rhinoplasty procedure. The rhinoplasty operation is the hardest single operation to perform in the field of cosmetic surgery, and it pays to go with someone who has an enormous amount of experience. Look at each surgeons before and after photos to ensure you like the results. Typically patients in... more

William Portuese, MD
Seattle Facial Plastic Surgeon

www.seattlefacial.com

The importance of rhinoplasty experience

Rhinoplasty is a very complex procedure and requires hundreds if not thousands to really master. 50 a year over the last 10 or 20 years is certainly enough to have developed and refined your technique. While there is a certain amount of talent and artisitic judgement that your surgeon either has or doesnt have, they definitiely have to have a certain number of rhinoplasty under their belt to be great. A surgeon may be the best breast or tummy tuck surgeon that ever lived, but rhinoplasty... more

Jason B. Diamond, MD
Beverly Hills Facial Plastic Surgeon

Rhinoplasty, a numbers game

First of all, I would not consider choosing a surgeon based solely on how many of a specific surgery that they perform each year. I would look at the before and after photos that he/she has, and look at his/her credentials. You may even ask to speak with a patient who has had surgery performed by this doctor. The quality of the results are what you are looking for.

Amy T. Bandy, DO
Newport Beach Plastic Surgeon

Rhinoplasty Credentials

First, I dont know of any surgeon that performs thousands a year, that is not possible. Second, you need to see before and after photos and not be so focused on the number performed. Numbers dont mean anything, if all the surgeon does is bad work. Practice does not make perfect! Be more concerned on the quality and your relationship with your plastic surgeon.

Farbod Esmailian, MD
Orange County Plastic Surgeon

Rhinoplasty is a difficult operation

Rhinoplasty procedures are the most difficult procedure for both the patient and the physician. That being said it is also one of the most rewarding procedures. I do recommend someone with a lot of experience performing them for the simple reason is that while you may hit a home run with the procedure a majority of the time, the suregon needs to know how to deal with other issues that may go wrong during the procedure. For example, performing tip surgery may result in twisting of the tip or... more

Scott Trimas, MD
Jacksonville Facial Plastic Surgeon

Rhinoplasty isn't a numbers game

The answer is yes. However rhinoplasty isn't a numbers game. And besides you will never really know. There’s no independent means of verification. But let’s assume it happens to be the truth; it may still be far from what you actually want. They could be reconstructive, functional only, repair of injured noses, ethnic, revision etc. Your surgeon clearly needs to do a certain volume to have the necessary experience and skills, but 200 sloppy and hastily done is obviously not as... more

Oakley Smith, MD
Toronto Facial Plastic Surgeon

www.droakleysmithrhinoplasty.com

Rhinoplasty surgeon credential based on number of surgeries

Very hard and GREAT question to answer. In any market how can anyone call themselves an expert in just that one operation? I really do not know. I feel if any plastic, facial plastic does deem themselves an expert in rhinoplasties than their volume of all surgeries should be weighted toward just that operation. For example, in a large market a surgeon could do 400 surgeries in a year. To be that ONLY expert than the cases load should be greater than 50% of the specific type surgery, ie... more

Darryl J. Blinski, MD
Miami Plastic Surgeon

Number of rhinoplasty procedures per year

It does not matter if the surgeon performs 10 or 500 per year as long as the surgeon does good work. Look at the results and then decide on who to go to.

Steven Wallach, MD
Manhattan Plastic Surgeon

African American Rhinoplasty

Hi Lauren, The analogy I use is: if someone learns shoelaces WRONG and do it 1000 times a year vs. someone who ties their shoelaces 500 times a year but gets it right every time, who would you want to tie your shoelace? Rhinoplasty is the most challenging surgery in cosmetic surgery. It requires great understanding of nasal anatomy and Rhinoplasty principles. Without this foundation a surgeon can go his/her entire career getting bad results. It the quality not the quantity. That being said,... more

Oleh Slupchynskyj, MD
New York Facial Plastic Surgeon

www.facechange.org

Choose quality over quantity for Rhinoplasty

The answer to your question is "it depends"! As an amateur classical guitarist, I know the best known guitar builders (their guitars are played by some of the world's best known players) make 1-2 guitars per month. So as one can see, quantity doesn't always mean quality. Please keep in mind, as the number of surgeries increases, quality has to suffer. Believe me, you do not want to be the sixth rhinoplasty of the day! Therefore, a balance has to be met. In general, if a surgeon has... more

Michael A. Jazayeri, MD
Santa Ana Plastic Surgeon

Does the number of rhinoplasties per year matter?

It is very important that the surgeon have a reasonable volume of rhinoplasties and 50 per year in a small market is plenty. Also, make sure they aren't a rookie surgeon as all surgeries have a learning curve and the more you have done, the better you will be and the less you need to do to be good. At least 10 years post residency is the minimum. Finally, ask for referrals from other patients and look at many of that doctors un-retouched photos and then decide.

Richard P. Rand, MD, FACS
Seattle Plastic Surgeon

Rhinoplasty surgeon credential based on number of surgeries...Choose Quallity Over Quantity

Hi Laureneliz, Sometimes less is more. Recently a NYC "rhinoplasty surgeon who operated on tens of thousands of noses (self-proclaimed)" had his license taken away for many reasons including false self promotion, and photo-shopped before and after pictures. As the saying goes, "Believe 1/2 of what you see, and none of what you hear." 50 great rhinoplasties/year are much better than 300 poor to average rhinoplasties/year. Personally I prefer doing one, or two maximum... more

Michael A. Persky, MD
Los Angeles Facial Plastic Surgeon

How can you tell how many the surgeon has done?

Thanks for bringing up a great point. The question of how many rhinoplasties (or any operation) a surgeon does comes up again and again. And while it seems like an important criterion, it is the *least* important to ask. Here are three reasons why: First, it is a number that is impossible to verify. Suppose the surgeon says "50." How can you check this number? You can't. He could say "100" or "300." Remember, there are only about 50 weeks in a year if the... more