Tummy Tuck: Prices, Photos, Reviews, Info, Q&A

Choosing a board certified plastic surgeon

If you are considering having a tummy tuck, I would recommend having a board certified plastic surgeon perform your procedure.

There are many physicians out there who claim to be “cosmetic surgeons”, but have never completed a fully accredited residency program in plastic surgery.

The American Society of Plastic Surgeons has initiated a “Do your homework” campaign to help educate the public about the importance of choosing a board certified plastic surgeon.

Please do your homework and carefully research the credentials of your board certified plastic surgeon prior to undergoing any surgery.

Board of certified plastic surgeons

Make sure that they are certified by the American Board of Plastic Surgery.  (Josef Hadeed, MD, Beverly Hills Plastic Surgeon)

I would recommend that you visit the ASAPS and ASPS websites and type in your zip code and seek a board ceritified plastic surgeon in your area. Plastic surgeons listed on both sites are qualified board certified plastic surgeons with extensive training. You can google the terms and the sites will come up. (Allen Gabriel, MD, FACS, Portland Plastic Surgeon)

Plastic Surgeon or Dermatologist for Tummy Tuck

The only board recognized by the American Medical Association for the training and certification of plastic surgeons is the American Board of Plastic Surgery.

Find a plastic surgeon

Unless your dermatologist is certified by this board, he is NOT certified in plastic surgery, in which case he probably just took a weekend course somewhere and decided to present himself as a REAL plastic surgeon. Check credentials! Let the buyer beware!

Don’t compromise your results and cut corners with your health at stake. Get the most qualified doctor that you can to do your procedure. (Edwin C. Pound, III, MD, Atlanta Plastic Surgeon)

I would suggest starting with the American Society of Plastic Surgery and/or the Aesthetic Society of Plastic Surgery to obtain a list of well experienced board-certified plastic surgeons. Then, I would suggest you visit a few surgeons whose practices concentrate on aesthetic surgery.

Certified plastic surgeons

Ask to see lots of examples of their work and preferably speak/see patients who have had similar procedures done. Be very careful with your decision-making. You will find, while doing your due diligence, that there are many different “specialties”who will offer their services to you; again, I strongly recommend you concentrate on surgeons certified by the American Board of Plastic Surgery.

Your tummy tuck should only be performed by a board certified plastic surgeon. Make sure to do your homework. Your safety and optimal outcome depend on it. (Gaurav Bharti, MD, Johnson City Plastic Surgeon)

Plastic surgeon vs dermatologist practicing plastic surgery

Tummy tuck surgeons

You should only have a plastic surgeon who is board certified by the American Board of Plastic Surgery perform your procedure. There are no other legitimate certifications for plastic surgery. Do not be fooled by phony cosmetic “boards.” It is possible for a doctor to have multiple board certifications, however you need to ensure that one of them is the ABPS.

You can verify certification on the American Board of Plastic Surgery website. You can also verify to see if your surgeon is a member of the American Society of Plastic Surgeons.

From a plastic surgeon’s perspective, your question is similar to asking if a family practice doctor should do your heart surgery or if an ENT physician should deliver your baby. (Erik Miles, MD, FACS, Charlotte Plastic Surgeon)

Tummy tuck it is best performed by a board-certified plastic surgeon. board-certified dermatologist are not surgically trained and specifically not trained in plastic surgery. (Earl Stephenson, Jr., MD, DDS, Atlanta Plastic Surgeon)

The answer to this question has to be based on training and experiences that vastly differ between these two specialties. It is clear to a medical physician that a Dermatologist, although highly trained as a non surgical specialty, oftentimes today has some surgical training, but it is significantly reduced to basic skin excision and closure techniques of skin lesions.

A Plastic Surgeon who is board certified, on the other hand, has between 6 and 8 years of surgical residency in Surgery. Choosing a board certified Plastic Surgeon for a Tummy tuck procedure does not guarantee successful results after the procedure, but by all means carefully review the training, experience and results of the doctor that you may consider for your surgery. (Francis (Frank) William Rieger, MD, Tampa Plastic Surgeon)

You definitely want a board certified plastic surgeon performing your tummy tuck. These are involved procedures that require surgical training. Make sure you do your homework prior to proceeding, ask for before and after photos so you can be confident of the results. (Joel Patrick Maier, MD, Cincinnati Plastic Surgeon)