Dr. Kenneth Hughes Board Certified by the American Board of Plastic Surgery

Dr. Kenneth Hughes, a board-certified plastic surgeon in Los Angeles, wants to help delineate the difference between a cosmetic surgeon and a plastic surgeon.

The American Society of Plastic Surgeons published a recent article on the how cosmetic surgeons are performing procedures beyond their scope of training.

 

Cosmetic Surgeons are Not Board Certified Plastic Surgeons

Doctors who advertise themselves as certified by the American Board of Cosmetic Surgery (ABCS) simply do not meet the criteria required for board-certified plastic surgeons according to the article published.  In fact, the state of California and the medical board do not recognize this board and it is not an equivalent of the American Board of Plastic Surgery.

In a study published in the November issue of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery reviewed online information to assess residency training history and advertised scope of practice for 342 ABCS-certified physicians.  Nearly ten percent of ABCS members were not even trained in a surgical discipline.

According to the study, over half (62.6%) of ABCS diplomates advertised surgical operations beyond the scope of their ACGME or CODA residency training. Specialties with the highest prevalence of practicing beyond scope of training were internal medicine (n=2, 100%), general surgery (n=69, 95.8%), obstetrics and gynecology (n=17, 85%), otolaryngology (n=65, 59.1%), dermatology (n=16, 51.6%) and oral and maxillofacial surgery (n=30, 50%).

The most commonly offered out of training scope procedures were liposuction (59.6%), abdominoplasty (50.0%), breast augmentation (49.7%) and buttock augmentation (36.5%).

When selecting a cosmetic surgeon, many patients think incorrectly that their surgeon is a ‘board-certified’ plastic surgeon.  Many patients falsely assume all surgeons must be board-certified in plastic surgery in order to perform cosmetic procedures.  This is simply not the case.

The unregulated growth of the aesthetic marketplace may make it difficult for patients to find a qualified cosmetic surgeon. Misleading marketing and overtly false advertising are widespread in many large markets. One metric commonly used to select a qualified surgeon is board-certification; however, that distinction has become obfuscated, blurring the lines for patients.  A board-certified plastic surgeon like Dr. Kenneth Hughes must have at least six years of surgical training, including completion of an accredited plastic surgery training program. They must perform thousands of cosmetic and reconstructive surgery procedures of different types, pass rigorous written and oral examinations and commit to continuing education and assessment throughout their careers.

However, an board certified cosmetic surgeon is asked to complete only one year of surgical training, experience 300 procedures and one written and oral examination completed during a single weekend, with no continuing medical education requirements.

 

Cosmetic Surgeons Cannot Advertise Themselves as Board-Certified

These differences are so pronounced that in 2018 the Medical Board of California concluded ABCS certification is not equivalent to ABMS Board Certification, and that ABCS diplomates cannot advertise themselves as “board-certified.”

Procedures considered “out of scope”

Otolaryngology
Aesthetic surgery below the neck
(e.g. breast augmentation, abdominal liposuction, abdominoplasty, buttock augmentation)

Ophthalmology
Aesthetic surgery outside of periorbital region
(e.g. rhinoplasty, full facelift, neck lift)

OB/GYN
Any aesthetic surgery

General Surgery
Any aesthetic surgery

Dermatology
Surgical procedures not including Mohs surgery or skin lesion

OMFS
Any aesthetic surgery below the neck

Internal Medicine
Any surgical procedure

 

To sum up, plastic surgery procedures such as mommy makeover, Brazilian buttlift, liposuction, and tummy tuck should only be performed by board-certified plastic surgeons who are certified by the American Board of Plastic Surgery.