Many people believe that plastic surgeons and cosmetic surgeons are one and the same, but there are a few significant differences. Here are some comparisons that can help you decide which to choose.
1. Medical School Training
Becoming a plastic surgeon requires completing medical school and a 3-5 year general surgical residency followed by another three-year residency that focuses on plastic surgery training (or 6 years of plastic surgery residency.) A cosmetic surgeon can be a practitioner from any specialty who then seeks out additional training to perform specific cosmetic procedures.
2. Board Certification
The American Board of Plastic Surgery (ABPS) is acknowledged by the American Board of Medical Specialties, so board certified plastic surgeons are held to the highest standards of excellence with regard to skill, ethics, judgment, safety and knowledge.
Cosmetic surgeons typically belong to another specialty, such as dermatology, ENT or OBGYN, but there’s no official board certification process for cosmetic surgery because it’s not recognized as an official specialty by the ABMS.
3. Ongoing Requirements to Maintain Board Certification
Achieving your board certification from the ABPS is one thing, but keeping it is another. Board certified plastic surgeons must adhere to a strict regimen of continued, accredited education in their field in order to maintain their board certification. This point is moot for cosmetic surgeons, as board certification in cosmetic surgery doesn’t exist.
4. Experience Level
Plastic surgeons are highly experienced after years of required, procedure-specific training, while cosmetic surgeons may or may not undergo additional voluntary training in cosmetic procedures. Although certainly there are some skilled cosmetic surgeons out there, it’s also possible to find (for example) gynecologists performing liposuction. Before trusting your body and results to any surgeon, do extensive research on his or her training, experience and board certifications.
Dr. Glenn M Davis knows that not every patient has the same goals, and applies his years of experience and extensive education to create results that are personal and natural. Focusing mainly on facial plastic surgery procedures in the Raleigh, NC area, Dr. Davis also offers a selection of enhancements for the body and breasts, including abdominoplasty, liposuction, and combination breast lift and augmentation.
Dr. Davis received his medical doctorate from the Medical University of South Carolina in Charleston, and trained in general surgery at the National Naval Medical Center in Bethesda, MD. After refining and focusing his surgical technique in a plastic surgery residency at the Eastern Virginia Graduate School of Medicine in Norfolk, VA, Dr. Davis developed his skills as Assistant Chief of Plastic Surgery at the National Naval Medical Center. Dr. Davis is board-certified by the American Board of Plastic Surgery, is committed to utilizing the most up-to-date and successful techniques for each of his patients, and serves in leadership roles in multiple local and national plastic surgery organizations. A past president of 3 medical surgical organizations including the Raleigh Academy of Medicine, Dr. Davis has also chaired a number of committees for the American Society of Plastic surgeons, and continues to serve as Clinical Associate PRofessor of Plastic Surgery at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
