Are plastic surgeons required to track and share performance metrics?

Congratulations on doing your due diligence. There is no mandatory metric requirement nor are there any statutes requiring surgeons to share any such data. Ultimately, your decision to have surgery, and selecting your surgeon, is based on your research, and your gut feeling as to whether or not your plastic surgeon has earned your trust. Before and After photo galleries, reviews, your interaction with your surgeon and his or her office staff all go into the decision making. Ultimately your decision is a leap of faith.

You can derive some comfort in knowing that if your plastic surgeon is board certified, he or she have gone through a rigorous training process such that they have met the strict requirements set by the American Board of Plastic Surgery in order to qualify a plastic surgeon as “Board Certified”.

Do your research. Be open to more than one consultation before you schedule your surgery. Best of luck to you.

Collecting data does take time and can be difficult to obtain, especially if the software system used does not collect the data well. I would suggest looking at the surgeon's photos and ask questions. If you are uncomfortable with his/her answers, then meet with another physician.