What is the difference between the American Society of Plastic Surgeons and the American Board of Plastic Surgeons

Hello. That’s a great question that shows you were doing your homework. The American board of plastic surgeons requires multiple examinations and is a certification that guarantees a level of excellence experience and ethics.

The American society of plastic surgeons is an organization for plastic surgeons that hosts meetings and provides educational resources. There are criteria to belong to the American society of plastic surgeons, and board certification is one of them.

Since your surgeon is in Mexico, unless he trained and took examinations in the United States, he cannot be Board Certified by the American board, but to be an international member he must be board certified in his own country and have a letter of recommendation from an ASPS member to “vouch” for his skills and ethics.

Sometimes the choice to use local anesthesia is to improve patient safety. However, sometimes it just means that the physician is not credentialed to be able to utilize general anesthesia. I would clarify the distinction before you move forward.

Hope this helps!

Hello thriving 165554. Thank you for your question regarding the differences between the American Society of Plastic Surgeons (ASPS) and the American Board of Plastic Surgeons (ABPS).

The American Board of Plastic Surgery is the official medical board that certifies doctors to be plastic surgeons. It is an organization responsible for administering both the written and oral exams necessary for a surgeon to qualify as a board-certified plastic surgeon. Most plastic surgeons practicing in the USA are certified by the American Board of Plastic Surgery.

In contrast, the American Society of Plastic Surgeons is an elective organization. The ASPS hosts meetings several times a year to present papers and discuss recent advances in all fields of plastic surgery. They also publish a journal where medical articles are shared. Essentially, the ABPS functions as a testing and administrative body, while the ASPS serves as an academic, elective, and social organization.

Regarding your plastic surgeon's use of local anesthesia for your tummy tuck, this approach is not advisable. To repair the rectus abdominis muscle during a tummy tuck, the patient needs to be paralyzed, which is not achievable with local anesthesia. Local anesthesia will not relax the muscles sufficiently to achieve a tight closure. Additionally, less fat can be removed under local anesthesia compared to general anesthesia.

Please seek a board-certified plastic surgeon with extensive experience in performing tummy tucks and 360 liposuction.

Thank you for your question regarding the differences between these two organizations and the anesthesia concerns for your procedure.

Sincerely,

J. Timothy Katzen, MD, FASMBS, FICS

The American Board of Plastic Surgeons regulates the board exams for USA plastic surgeons. The American Society of Plastics Surgeons is an organization that is opened to those surgeons who have passed their oral and written board exams and other qualifications. Liposuction under local anesthesia works nicely, but I do not recommend this for the tuck if the muscle is to be tightened.