Mommy makeover: is a cosmetic surgeon okay to use or should only a plastic surgeon for this procedure?

Hi BeMerry,
Understanding Board Certification is tricky. By definition, a Board sets clear standards for its members, and holds its members accountable to those standards--in effect, self-policing its membership to make sure everyone maintains a certain standard.
From the American Board of Medical Specialties website:"The boards are not membership societies. Each is a physician-led, non-profit, independent evaluation organization whose accountability is both to the profession and to the public. The governing body of each board comprises specialists qualified in the particular field represented by that board. Members of the governing bodies include representatives from among the national specialty organizations in related fields."
The American Board of Plastic Surgery (of which I am a proud member) is one of 24 American Board of Medical Specialties Boards, and as such the Board and its members are subject to the rigorous standards noted above.
To achieve Board Certification through the American Board of Plastic Surgery, surgeons complete an accredited residency (either six clinical years in an integrated program, or a 5 year general surgery residency plus 3 year plastic surgery fellowship), and then sit for a day-long written examination on general plastic surgery knowledge. Once the written test is passed, surgeons submit all cases performed over a 9 month period to the Board, and subsequently need to pass a face-to-face oral examination to justify how they manage patients in their own practice (patient selection, decision making, surgical skill, ethics, billing--all facets are open for discussion). The entire process takes, at a minimum, 7.5 years after medical school.
The American Academy of Cosmetic Surgery is not an ABMS board, as noted on the ABMS website (link below). I don't know what their standards are, or if they are as rigorous as the American Board of Plastic Surgery board certification process detailed above. This does not mean that a surgeon who has the American Academy of Cosmetic Surgery on their website is not qualified or experienced, but they are not board certified in plastic surgery.
I hope this helps.
Best,Christopher Pannucci MDBoard Certified Plastic SurgeonPlastic Surgery NorthwestSpokane, Washington

Hello, your surgery should be performed by plastic surgeon certified by the American Boar of Plastic Surgery. I wish you the best of luck. Vasileios Vasilakis, MD. Double board-certified, fellowship-trained plastic surgeon, Houston. TX.