Can a doctor who specializes in a field other than plastic surgery be allowed to perform surgery?

I strongly urge you against having plastic surgery procedures with a doctor who is not a board certified plastic surgeon. There is a reason surgeons have to go through so much training and become board certified in order to perform plastic surgery procedures. Going to an uncertified doctor just because he offered you a good price is not worth the potential risks. Please find a board certified plastic surgeon in your area to consult with and have surgery with. I promise you it is worth it to spend a little more money to be in the hands of a qualified expert.

Certification by the American Board of Plastic Surgeons ensures:- completion and approval of a prescribed set of education and training requirements in a specialty of medicine beyond the minimum requirements for medical licensure-passage of examinations that test the fund of knowledge in that specialty.The training referred to above includes the completion of at least six years of surgical training following medical school with a minimum of three years of plastic surgery residency training.Price should never be a primary motivator when considering a surgeon for elective cosmetic procedures.Always, discuss with a board certified plastic surgeon. The increased cost is far outweighed by the additional experience and overall safety that comes with a certified surgeon operating in a certified facility.

Your question raises a lot of interesting points.  Without getting too technical here, a licensed physician can legally do just about anything, depending on the state.  This is limited only by what a hospital or surgery center will credential for.  In the Office Surgery area (outside a hospital or ASC), things are different.  Many times, states have been slow to catch up to close some of these loopholes that allow someone to perform procedures far outside their area of training. A hospital will never credential a non-surgeon to perform surgery, though even there, gray areas exist.In general if you are questioning someone's background and scratching your head if they should be working on you, definitely take a step back and make sure the person is qualified and capable.  This is especially important when the procedure you want is far outside someone's background training.  Good luck!

Doctors often perform cosmetic surgeries even though they are not properly trained in plastic surgery. Heck, I have even heard of salon owners offering fat injections! Best to find a board certified plastic surgeon who has actually gone through the proper training (at least 6 years of plastic surgery training, followed by a multitude of fellowships and a very difficult written and oral board exam). Your body will thank you!

I am afraid that this doctor is offering you such a deal, it is because he is unqualified, and trying new procedures out of his scope of practice to increase income. In New York State, any MD can perform surgery in their office, crazy I know! Seek out a board certified plastic surgeon, it may cost a bit more, but it will be worth it, safer and better result.

I am not sure what it means to have license in all 50 states. I have never heard of any doctor who carries 50 licenses. if he does, then good for him. as far as cosmetic surgeries are concerned I have to say that one can claim that they are an expert in any or all sorts of cosmetic surgeries but it doesn't actually mean much unless he/she has proof for that statement. the true definition of being "GOOD" at any skill is to have spent 10,000 hrs doing just that, under supervision with feedback. which brings into consideration the significance of training for long hrs of doing surgeries during fellowships and being able to handle complications and adverse outcomes. I will leave it at that

Anyone with an M.D. can legally perform surgery of any kind. I would be very wary of someone who is venturing outside their area of training to perform an operation. You should be asking yourself why they can't make a living within their own area of specialty.

The situation is obvioulsy different in the USA, but in the UK,  MB BS, MB BCh or MB ChB is the basic
medical degree of any doctor. Your plastic ‘surgeon’
should at least be a ‘surgeon’.
Doctors who receive adequate ‘basic’
surgical training in the UK are awarded Fellowship
(FRCSI, FRCS, FRCS Ed, FRCS Gl - in the older generation of surgeons) or
Membership (MRCS - in the younger generation of surgeons) of the Royal Colleges
in the UK. Doctors or Surgeons, who believe in having a scientific foundation
to their practice, spend further years doing research in their fields and are
awarded Research degrees such as
MSc, MMedSc, MPhil, MD or PhD.Surgeons
who ‘train specifically in the field of Plastic surgery’ are awarded FRCS (Plast). These surgeons are then
entitled to be on the “Specialist
register for Plastic Surgery” with the General Medical Council (GMC). ‘Safe’ and ‘beautiful’ results are
dependent on ‘experience’ and ‘expertise’ of your plastic surgeon. For this you need a adequately trained and experienced plastic surgeon. Generally speaking, plastic surgeons in the UK who are either NHS consultants or have been NHS consultants have been through the adequate training necessary to be appointed in the NHS.  If your surgeon is a full member of associations such as the British Association of
Plastic Surgeons (BAPRAS), British Association of Aesthetic Plastic Surgeons
(BAAPS), International confederation of Plastic Surgeons (IPRAS), American Society of Plastic Surgeons (ASPS), Association of Breast Surgeons (ABS) and is on the Specialist register
for plastic surgery with the General Medical Council (GMC) it is further evidence that he or she is properly qualified and it
is a reassurance for you that you are in safe hands as membership of these assocaitations are only awarded to eligible surgeons who have adequately trained. In addition to this, it obviuolsy helps if your surgeon has travelled the world to enhance his training in premier institutes to learn from leading surgeons in their fields. It also helps if your surgeon believes in practising "evidence based medicine" by engaging in research activities to help establish a scientific background to his / her clincial practice.

i met some great cosmetic surgeons who were not board certified in plastic surgery and i've met some horrible surgeons who were so i don't have a dog in this fight.  i think what is more important is how much experience/training they have in the surgery they do.  My professor used to say, any fool can operate but a good one knows when not to and how to deal with the complications that can occur and you don't get that experience from a weekend course!  The first red flag with this deal is, why can't s/he earn a living from either family practice or radiology that they must offer cosmetic services?! Second red flag is licensed to practice in all 50 states?!! Either he has a ton of money/time to pay for/meet certifications for all those licenses or he has to keep moving to avoid getting into trouble.  If you have a problem when he operates on you in NY, will he be in Hawaii?  A facility named after you means nothing; i can rent a shed and hang a sign on it naming it the Empress Marguerite of the Universe Emporium. Something doesn't smell right with this doc IMHO.

Angel,Thanks for your question.You are correct.  A NYS medical license is printed with certified to practice "Medicine and Surgery".  This dates back over a hundred years when a local physician would lance a boil or drain an abscess (both "surgical procedures") and was licensed to do so. Now, anyone with a license can perform surgeries they are not truly adept in.  Some take weekend courses and then start performing the surgeries.  It is not if you can perform the surgeries, it is if you can recognize or take care of any complications that might arise.  Please do your due diligence and seek out board certified Plastic Surgeons who specialize in liposuction and fat transfers.Best of luck.Dr. T