Is a board eligible doctor working for a top surgical office doing mini tucks safe?

A plastic surgeon who is "board eligible" for the American Board of Plastic Surgery is fully trained and licensed to practice plastic surgery. The final step in the certification process involves a review of cases done by the plastic surgeon after they enter practice, so you should feel safe. 

Dear villaloboz032018,
finding the right Dr. is extremely challenging especially with the number of online platforms and resources available. There a lot of great Dr's available. Make sure he/she is a board-certified plastic surgeon. Definitely check to make sure your choice specializes in the procedure you want and spend the time to read through patient testimonials. There is a number of different sites where you can check for reviews (Realself, yelp, google, etc.).You can always pick up the phone and call around also, find an office you feel comfortable with and set up a few consultations.
Daniel Barrett, MD
Certified, American Board of Plastic Surgery
Member, American Society of Plastic Surgery
Member, American Society of Aesthetic Plastic Surgery

Hello and thank you for the question. A board-eligible plastic surgeon has completed his/her plastic surgery training and passed the written exam. Typically, they sit and pass the oral board exam after being in practice for a year. Typically, these doctors are early in their surgical practice and many are well-trained. Best,

Your concerns are not uncommon.  If a doctor is board-eligible, that means that they have met all the requirements (including completion of their residency program from an accredited program along) for obtaining Board Certification from the American Board of Medical Specialties. There is a period of time during which the physician must complete a certain number of cases, surgeries, and patients in order to present to the board examiners who will examine and review all the cases. This is also a period of time when they will take a rigorous series of written and oral exams.  If a physician is board-eligible, they certainly have the skills and knowledge to provide excellent patient care. Regarding your concerns about a mini-tummy tuck and general anesthesia, it is unclear whether you are being offered this as an option with the board-eligible surgeon? A mini tummy tuck is definitely an option to a full tummy tuck depending on your desired results. In our practice, we perform most tummy tucks and mini tummy tucks under general anesthesia as it is very safe with the proper medical personnel and surgery facility. In addition, it is much more comfortable for the patient and more efficient for the surgeon to do the best possible job. I hope that this helps in your decision. 

The American Board of Medical Specialities defines "board eligibility" as the period of time between when a physician completes an Accreditation for Graduate Medical Education accredited residency program and when initial certification in a specialty or subspecialty is achieved. During this period of time, the board eligible doctor is practicing while studying and collecting cases to present to the certification board as part of the certification exam. Once the exam is passed, the PS is board certified.A minitummy tuck involves removal of a small amount of skin and fat below the belly button that addresses only the lower portion of the abdomen.  No plication or muscle tightening is performed and belly button remains attached and unchanged.  Your pain threshold and anxiety level will be managed by your anesthesiologist and PS so do not be concerned.Kenneth Hughes, MD, ABPS Board Certified Plastic SurgeonLos Angeles, CA 

Board eligible physicians have completed their surgical training, but have not yet taken and passed the written and oral examinations for their Boards. Some do work with other physicians, and some work alone. Most are early in their surgical practice, and many are very well trained. Do ask questions and ask to see photos. At one time, all board certified physicians were board eligible.