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Why Do You Need To Research Your Plastic Surgeon

Once you have a list of cosmetic surgeons, you must research their credentials, certifications, and their malpractice history. Not all information about a given surgeon is made available to the public, so relying on word of mouth from real patients can be invaluable. This may be a lot of information to absorb, but it is very important. Your life and health may depend upon it

Verifying Your Surgeon's Board Certification
Is your plastic surgeon board certified? The American Board of Medical Specialties (ABMS) website can help you determine if your surgeon is certified by any of their 24 medical specialty boards. The two boards that most commonly certify surgeons who practice cosmetic or plastic surgery are the American Board of Plastic Surgery and the American Board of Surgery.

You can go to the ABMS's online certification verification database to check on the board certification of a surgeon. You will need to register, but registration is free. You can also verify a surgeon's board certification for free by calling 1-866-ASK-ABMS (or 1-866-275-2267).

Professional Liability Insurance
Not all plastic surgeons carry liability or malpractice insurance and not all states require that they do. You can contact your state's Department of Insurance or the insurance departments in the states where your surgeon has been licensed to practice in the past. However the amount of information you can get on whether a specific doctor carries insurance or what kind varies from state to state.

You can just ask the surgeon whether he or she carries professional liability insurance, but you may detect a note of uneasiness in the room regardless of the answer. It's an awkward question, but it still has to be asked. It's as if you were to invite someone to your house for dinner and, before they stepped into your house, they asked if you had insurance. You'd wonder if they had the intention of suing you if they didn't like the meal. But it is your right to know what kind of insurance your doctor carries.

Some plastic surgeons may choose to have a surety bond instead of insurance, if they have the resources to do so. The premiums for plastic surgery malpractice insurance are so very high that is often easier and less expensive in the long run to carry a bond. A surety bond means the surgeon either has the funds or liquid assets, or maintains an irrevocable letter of credit, set aside that is equal to the maximum award amount for that. However, several states require liability insurance.

Factors that may determine whether or not your surgeon chooses to have insurance may be, region of the country, state requirements, the medical specialty, assets, or requirements of group practices or premises. So do not be alarmed if your surgeon does not carry liability insurance as his medical license will more than likely require that he have comparable coverage in asset form. Also, doctors who choose not to carry traditional liability insurance are usually required to post such information in plain view in their office, or on documents made readily available to their patients.

Researching A Surgeon's Malpractice History
Medical malpractice is a scary subject for many people. Unfortunately, while there are surgeons who perform less than stellar surgeries, there are also a lot of frivolous lawsuits brought against doctors. The malpractice history of a given plastic surgeon is a difficult subject to research. You can spend many hours, yet not be able to get as much information as you would like. And you may come up with information that does not mean as much as you think it does. There are wonderful plastic surgeons who have been sued and there are plastic surgeons with inadequate skills who haven't been sued yet.

If you do find that your plastic surgeon has been involved in a recent lawsuit, ask why. Understand that anyone can file a lawsuit against a doctor at anytime, whether they have a good reason or not. A malpractice lawsuit may be filed simply because the results were not what the patient expected or because something unforeseen arose, such as undiagnosed medical conditions or anesthesia complications. Most successful malpractice suits must prove that the surgeon was negligent, but cases are won where no negligence is proven. Negligence occurs when the attending surgeon or surgeons have administered care that was substandard in that particular medical community or specialty. Unfortunately, it is becoming increasingly difficult to determine when surgeons are victims of frivolous lawsuits or when patients were the victims. Most plastic surgeons will not come out and tell you if they have been involved in a lawsuit although you do have the right to ask.

So how do you go about researching malpractice cases? You can go to the courthouse in the county in which your surgeon practices and perform a search for litigations, arbitrations, trials, etc. in the civil index. You can ask the county clerk's office for specific instructions on how to do this. Some courts ask that you pay a fee for copies of the documents. Some malpractice information may be located in the Superior Court Office rather than in the county courts.

You may also get information about a specific doctor at sites such as ucomparehealthcare.com and HealthGrades. Both sites charge a fee but provide information about a physician's background and any disciplinary actions against him or her.

KnowX.com, a site that specializes in background checks and businesses, may also have information for a fee.

You can also find information by just typing your plastic surgeon's name into Google or another search engine.

Verifying A Surgery Center's Accreditation
Some surgeons perform cosmetic plastic surgery procedures at a freestanding surgical center, which is essentially an operating room that is in a hospital. These are also called ambulatory surgery centers. Some plastic and cosmetic surgeons have a surgical suite within their office.

If your surgery is to be performed at an onsite or ambulatory surgery center make sure the center is accredited! Accreditation will help you ensure that the center is well equipped, has equipment to properly sterilize instruments, has an emergency protocol and proper emergency equipment such as a crash cart, and is easily accessible to emergency vehicles.

You can check on the accreditation of a surgery center with:

Accreditation Association for Ambulatory Health Care (AAAHC)
Website: http://www.aaahc.org

American Association for Accreditation for Ambulatory Surgery Facilities (AAAASF)
Website: http://www.aaaasf.org

Canadian Association for Accreditation of Ambulatory Surgery Facilities (CAAASF)
Website: http://www.caaasf.org

Other Boardsand Professional Organizations
The American Board of Plastic Surgery
The American Society for Aesthetic Plastic Surgery
American Society of Plastic Surgeons
American College of Surgeons (often seen as FACS)
AMA - American Medical Association Home Page
ABMS Certified Doctor Home Page
The American Academy Of Cosmetic Surgeons
Asociacion Mexicana de Chirurgia Plastica, Esthetica y Reconstructiva
Australian Society of Plastic Surgeons
Buenos Aires Society of Plastic Surgery
Canadian Society of Plastic Surgeons
Dutch Society for Plastic Surgery
French Society of Aesthetic Plastic Surgery
International Society of Aesthetic Plastic Surgery
Netherlands Society for Plastic Surgery (NVPC)
Spanish Society for Plastic, Reconstructive and Esthetic Surgery
Swiss Society of Plastic Reconstructive and Aesthetic Surgery
Turkish Society of Plastic Surgeons
Wound Healing Society

Further Researching Your Surgeon
Thanks to the Internet we can find out just about everything on everybody, if you know what you're doing. Some of these sites aren't free so watch out! You can also just type in your surgeons name in:

...and it may pull up all kinds of information. Google indexes the contents on the actual page rather than just the metatags resulting in all sorts of interesting tid-bits about a subject--even posts on message boards. You can even click 'cached' and your search words will be highlighted. In other words, you get what you ask for and not a lot of rubbish. Good luck, your almost there!