Ensuring Your Houston Facial Plastic Surgeon Is Qualified To Cut – Part 2

Welcome to Part 2 of my feature article that highlights issues with tertiary surgery specialists performing surgeries that they otherwise should not. (read part 1 here) This NY Times article has raised some eyebrows, and I thought it was very important to discuss some of these issues in a 3 Part Series with one of the best Houston Plastic Surgeons. So, in response to the article, Ear Doctors Performing Face-Lifts? It Happens (NY Times in January), I offer the following insight.

Facial plastic and reconstructive surgery addresses surgery to correct congenital, trauma- induced, and oncologic disorders of the face, head, and neck and improvements in the appearance of that region. That surgery includes cancer surgery and reconstruction after such surgery, repair of facial injuries from trauma such as car crashes, repair of congenital deformities, such as cleft lip and cleft palate and microtia, and procedures to improve the patient’s appearance, such as rhinoplasty (nose surgery), rhytidectomy (facelift) and blepharoplasty (eyelid surgery).

Facial plastic surgeons performing facial plastic and reconstructive surgery. They are trained in residency programs accredited by the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME) and board-certified by appropriate boards affiliated with the American Board of Medical Specialties (ABMS) addressing facial plastic and reconstructive surgery.

Many facial plastic surgeons are initially trained and certified in the specialty of otolaryngology- head and neck surgery. Their postgraduate ACGME-approved training includes five years of surgical residency, including a year of general surgery. Residency training typically occurs within a division of facial plastic and reconstructive surgery in the medical school’s department of otolaryngology. The American Board of Otolaryngology examines those surgeons at the completion of their residencies. One-fourth of the examination covers facial plastic and reconstructive surgery. The ABMS-approved certificate accordingly states that the examination includes “facial plastic and reconstructive surgery.”

Other surgeons also performing facial plastic surgery include those certified by the American Board of Plastic Surgery (ABPS). They perform plastic surgery over the entire body, including hand, extremities, breast, trunk, and external genitalia, as well as head and neck. Many otolaryngologists are certified by the American Board of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery (ABO).

Many facial plastic surgeons are also certified by the American Board of Facial Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery (ABFPRS). That certifying board requires successful completion of one or both of the ACGME-accredited residencies that provide comprehensive training in the specialty: otolaryngology-head and neck surgery and/or plastic surgery.