American Board of Plastic Surgery vs American board of Cosmetic surgery?

Without commenting on the skills of your cosmetic surgeon, I will just offer a clarification on board certification: The original standards were created by The American Board of Medical Specialties, which sets requirements for all of the specialty boards. These include accreditation of the training program, rigorous tests, and continuing education. Cosmetic surgery expertise is a core element of certification by the American Board of Plastic Surgery. However there are no laws preventing the establishment of non-recognized boards, and the "American Board of Cosmetic Surgery" is in that category.

The American Board of Cosmetic Surgery is not recognized by the American Board of Medical Specialties which is the gold standard for training certification in the United States.

In order to be Board certified by the American Board of Plastic Surgery, there is a long and rigorous process. A minimum of 3 years of dedicated plastic and reconstructive surgery training, 80 hours a week, with many academic and technical milestones to be met. Once graduated from training, candidates go through a 2 year process of treating patients. During that time you must pass a very difficult written exam, and after about 2 years you sit for a 2-day oral examination where you can be asked about anything pertaining to plastic and reconstructive surgery. Plastic surgeons then have to maintain their certification on an yearly basis. It is one of the most difficult and prestigious boards in medicine and fully recognized by the American Board of Medical Specialties (ABMS)
The American Board of Cosmetic Surgeons is not recognized by the ABMS. It is a “Board” made up to try to give legitimacy to physicians who are NOT plastic surgeons, but practice “cosmetic” procedures.
You may wonder how these physicians can even have a cosmetic surgery practice. Well, unfortunately there is no regulation as to what cosmetic procedures you perform in your own surgical center. So we commonly see physicians of other specialties market themselves as “cosmetic surgeons” in order to perform these cash-pay procedures.
I cannot speak to the quality of anyone’s work, their ethics, or their care. However, I would be wary of “Cosmetic surgeons” who are certified by the “American Board of Cosmetic Surgeons”. They simply do not have the extensive training that a true plastic surgeon has.
I’d always recommend seeing a plastic surgeon who is board certified by the American Board of Plastic Surgery.
I hope this helps.

Hello, thank you for your question. The American Board of Plastic Surgery (ABPS) and the American Board of Cosmetic Surgery (ABCS) sound nearly the same, but there are vast differences. The American Board of Plastic Surgery is a real nationally recognized board, while the American Board of Cosmetic Surgery is a self proclaimed group of individuals who wanted to try to legitimize their entry into the field of cosmetic surgery without the required legitimate credentials (actual completion of formal supervised plastic surgery training and board certification).

Good afternoon!

Only real trained plastic surgeons can hope to achieve certification through the American Board of Plastic Surgery through thorough, extensive education, training, and examination- all the other wannabes can send in 5 box tops and a coupon and become certified by the American Board of Cosmetic Surgery.

The cosmetic surgery board is not under the umbrella of the American board of medical specialties, whereas the plastic surgery board is. Most doctors who get the Cosmetic board are also certified by another board such otolaryngology or dermatology, and will use this to say they are double boarded. As long as the surgeon is performing a procedure that is within their primary specialty it’s fine. For example an otolaryngologist who is certified by the cosmetic board is okay for facial work because it’s included in their training. In face many otolaryngologists specialize in rhinoplasty and are very good. You just need to dig a little further with your surgeon to find out what they trained in.

Thank you for sharing your question. Ultimately your comfort level must be there in order to select a surgeon, regardless of training, but I would always defer to a practicing physician who underwent a rigorous training program to reach their board certification rather than another physician who may have only done a weekend course.

Thank you for this very important question. There is a big difference between a board certified plastic surgeon and a board certified cosmetic surgeon. The plastic surgeon is certified by the American Board of Plastic Surgery which is the only aesthetic surgery board recognized by the American Board of Medical Specialties. Plastic surgeons have extensive training including at least six years of surgical residency with a focus on reconstructive and cosmetic procedures. This can impact the quality and safety of your procedure.

The standard for certification for plastic surgeons is the Board of Plastic Surgery. So, your surgeon is either not a plastic surgeon, so not trained in cosmetic breast surgery, or did not pass his boards. Otherwise, he would be certified by the Board of Plastic Surgery, the high standard for plastic surgeons. That said, he still may be an excellent surgeon. If you are concerned, discuss this with him. There are still some older surgeons who never bothered to certify, but could have done so.

The only ABCS surgeons in Ohio are an oral surgeon, a couple of ENT's and a couple of general surgeons. Not exactly anyone I would trust with breast surgery. There are plenty of QUALIFIED plastic surgeons to chose from. It's not just about the surgery, it's aftercare and knowing how to deal with things that are unexpected. I suggest looking elsewhere. Good luck!