Breast Augmentation by a Board Certified General Surgeon?

This is a typical question we see all the time. Patients see non plastic surgeons such as dermatologist. ear nose and throat doctors and currently in our area emergency medicine doctors performing plastic surgery procedures which they have only seen in a weekend course. There has been a large migration of non plastic surgeons performing plastic surgery procedures. This is very risky for the patient. The procedures we perform are not difficult in themselves but experience and training helps us anticipate any and all possible complications that could arise. This knowledge lets us avoid those common complications from happening as often as they would with a physician without that extensive training. Most patients should ask themselves why is a doctor performing surgery outside of what they are certified to do. The answer is easy the goal is not the patient but the revenue.

Far more important than the technique is the skill and experience of your plastic surgeon. Choose your surgeon rather than the technique and let them explain why one technique may be better than another.  See the below link on some suggestions on finding the most qualified Plastic Surgeon for you.  Always insist on a board certified plastic surgeon.

Hello! Thank you for your question.  Cost will vary among plastic surgeons as well as with geographic location and what procedures exactly they will be providing to you.  Certainly, researching a board certified plastic surgeon well-versed in the procedure(s) you desire is recommended - checking the American Board of Plastic Surgery is a great start. Consult with two or more surgeons who you are happy with their postoperative photographs and those who you, most importantly, feel comfortable and confident with. Use the opportunity to ask questions as well as visit with staff and investigate the accredited facilities they work out of.  I believe fellowship-training, beyond the core plastic surgery residency to be important, as that surgeon has gone above and beyond to seek additional training specific to that area of interest and chosen to gain additional expertise in that area.   Experience should not be measured solely by the age of the surgeon or how many years s/he has been in practice.  Checking the education and training is more valuable - a Board Certified MD plastic surgeon who was accepted to and completed an integrated plastic surgery residency, in today's day and age, are excellent choices. Those are the top students who have superior training at top institutes.  Plastic Surgery is NOT a fellowship...it is a residency. Those surgeons who have actually successfully completed additional fellowship training beyond the plastic surgery residency are also passionate about that area and will likely have the most recent, innovative, and up to date techniques. These are usually the younger surgeons, who are still readily willing and competent to continue to strive for the newest material and remain up to date on literature and conferences. You must decide for yourself who you are most comfortable with and confident with who will meet your goals and expectations. Cost may differ just on expertise and the aforementioned additional training ad what that additional expertise training has afforded to his/her patients.  Hope that this helps!  Best  wishes!

Board certification by the American Board of Plastic Surgery is very important. But in your particular case, I think the more important question is whether or not this surgeon has had plastic surgery training. It may be possible that the surgeon in question may be a general surgeon who has finished a plastic surgery residency or fellowship, but has not yet passed the board examination to become board certified. If the surgeon is a plastic surgeon and has finished a plastic surgery training program, then he might be completely qualified to achieve great results with breast augmentation. All of us were practicing plastic surgeons without board certification at one point and still achieving very good and safe results. If however, your surgeon does not have any plastic surgery training, then I would be much more cautious. Part of what is learned in the residency process is not only techniques to perform cosmetic surgery, but also how to deal with the complications that can be seen with patients of even the most experienced surgeons. I think that you are taking too great a risk if your surgeon has not at least completed a plastic surgery residency. And you are even more safe to put your trust in the experience of a board certified plastic surgeon. 

Breast augmentation is a very popular procedure and there are always non-plastic surgeons who try to do it.

I have heard of dentists doing it, ENT, cardiothoracic surgeons or dermatologists and general surgeons as well.

The problem that these doctors have is that they lack the two to three years of plastic surgery training required by the American Board of Plastic Surgery . They may be board certified in their own field of medical training but who knows how they learned to do breast augmentation.  It may have been a weekend course or a seminar. There is no standardization in their training. I would avoid seeing a non-plastic surgery trained physician who is not board certified by the American Board of Plastic Surgery.

Not everyone will have the same results after breast augmentation.  It is in your best interest to choose a board certified plastic surgeon.  A lot of times, patients choose to go to a surgeon who is not board certified because their prices are lower. It is a chance only you can choose to take.

Obviously something is bothering you otherwise you would not have posted this question. Like many of the responding doctors I was a fully trained board certified general surgeon before I completed my plastic surgery training and certification. Looking back although I could place breast implants without difficulty before plastic surgery training there is no way I could have obtained consistent results or handled the numerous possible complications of this surgery. For me to say only go to a surgeon with certain training is non-constructive.

The required steps in choosing a surgeon are

1. getting names of plastic surgeons
2. checking their credentials
3. the consultation – what to ask
4. making a choice – a consumer checklist

After going through these steps and evaluating a few surgeons you should then choose between these surgeons. Remember you usually cannot go back in time to undo/redo a surgery if you are unhappy with it.

I completed both a general surgery residency and a plastic surgery fellowship.  I am board certified in both general surgery and plastic surgery.  I simply did not learn the technical nuisances and management of complication of plastic surgery during my general surgery training.  You deserve the best available, choose wisely and pick a Board Certified Plastic Surgeon who has the proper training and certification to perform your breast augmentation.  To learn more about board certification in plastic surgery please go to my website and I have a video explaining the certification process.

There is no particular reason why board-certified plastic surgeons would have a monopoly on good results.

However, the reason you want to be looked after by a plastic surgeon rather than a general surgeon is for the added expertise and experience a plastic surgeon has to deal with unusual or difficult cases, or in the event of problems that a non-plastic surgeon might not have the training confront.

Of course even among plastic surgeons there are degrees of experience with breast augmentation. Take the time to research the best ones in your area.

I agree with other posters that the true measure of a plastic surgeons merit is how they deal with issues when problems arise.  There is a reason additional years of training are required before one is granted a diplomate to the American Board of Plastic Surgery.  Taking a weekend course will not give anyone the requesite knowlege to deal with the breadth of possible issues that can arise.  With all due respect, I would say buyer beware, and recommend you see a doctor certified by the American Board of Plastic Surgery.