Unfortunately, the field of cosmetic surgery includes all types and what is legal, ethical or appropriate varies based on each person’s interpretation. This is very much something that falls under the concept of caveat emptor or buyer beware. Illegal or necessarily unethical to claim board certification in medical boards that are not recognized by the American Board of medical specialties. Anyone is free to make an association in the United States and there’s no law against calling your association a board. Ultimately patients are responsible for making decisions regarding what provider they choose. Choosing a board-certified plastic surgeon is no guarantee that they have sufficient skills or experience with anyone plastic surgery procedure. It doesn’t mean that they have met the criteria for board certification, which includes graduating from an accredited plastic surgery residency. it also means that they passed both a written and oral examination. Though These examinations really have little to do with clinical competence. Delivering consistent quality liposuction results is more difficult than most people realize. The number of plastic surgeons who approach mastery of this procedure is in reality quite small. Plastic surgeons are not the only doctors who perform liposuction as part of the residency. This procedure is also performed as part of the educational teaching in dermatology And to some degree in ENT or ear nose and throat. Personally, I believe being board-certified in plastic surgery should be a bare minimum. I see no reason why someone would even consider surgeons who are not. Being board-certified in plastic surgery is however, insufficient to maximize the chance of having an overall positive experience and quality outcome. Finding the right plastic surgeon is far more difficult than most people realize. If patients can’t even differentiate the appropriate certification, then they’re probably pretty far from finding the right provider. In the end skill and experience is probably much more important than certifications, but starting the search process with those who have proper training is probably good advice. To find the right provider, I suggest patients start by having a complete set of pictures of the areas they’re interested in treating. Look at how plastic surgeons take before and after pictures to get an idea. Bring these pictures with you to you as a reference during the consultation. Next make a list of plastic surgeons in your community who seem to have extensive Liposuction experience or preferably those who focus on Liposuction exclusively. Next schedule in person consultations with each of the providers on your list. I recommend patients avoid virtual consultations whenever possible. During each consultation, ask each provider to open up their portfolio and show you their entire collection of before and after pictures of previous patients who had similar body characteristics to your own. Liposuction results are based on two variables. The first patient candidacy and the second is the skill of the provider. Not everybody seeking Liposuction is a good candidate for the procedure. Understanding your own candidacy is an important part of understanding what the procedure can and cannot accomplish. In a nutshell, the ideal candidate for Liposuction is generally young, has tight skin with thick layers of subcutaneous fat.The opposite is also true. Older individuals, those with skin laxity, and those who have thin layers of subcutaneous fat are not necessarily good candidates for Liposuction. Experienced providers should have access to hundreds or even thousands of before, and after pictures to choose from. As sufficiently experienced provider should have more before and after pictures then you have time to look at during your consultation. By seeing lots and lots of before, and after pictures of previous patients whose candidacy for surgery equals your own, you’ll have a good understanding of what your results are likely to look like. Seeing results of patients who have different tissue characteristics than your own is not at all representative of what your results are going to look like. providers who don’t have quality collections of before and after pictures should probably be avoided. The biggest mistake I see patients make is having only one consultation and then scheduling surgery. Having only one consultation, more or less eliminates the ability to choose a better provider. I do not believe patients Can adequately select providers using their computer or cell phone. There’s no correct number of consultations needed to find the right provider. The more consultations you scheduled the more likely you are to find the better provider for your needs. When in doubt, slow down and schedule more consultations. Best, Mats Hagstrom MD