17 Jun Not all Plastic Surgeons are Board-Certified—Dr. Sudeep Roy Is
Did you know that not all plastic surgeons are board-certified? Dr. Sudeep Roy at RefinedMD is board-certified! But what does that mean exactly? The reality is that any licensed surgeon can also be a “cosmetic surgeon,” but they are not necessarily Board Certified in Plastic Surgery and (legally) they don’t need to be. In some cases, you might find a doctor who is on track to be certified but isn’t quite there yet. Maybe they need to undertake a few more practice requirements or take on a few more exams, and that can take years. But do you really want to be part of their “practice requirements?”
Not only are not all plastic surgeons board-certified, there are many that are not! They also need to undergo a specialized plastic surgery residency. In some cases, there are a few who finished their formal training—but didn’t pass their board certification exam. Others might not have taken their exams or finished their training for a host of other reasons. After all, it does take a lot of time and incredible skill. But, again, do you really want to trust your health and results to someone who hasn’t gone above and beyond?
So, What Are These “Plastic Surgeons” Then?
In the U.S., a physician is known as a “medical practitioner” as deemed by the State Medical Boards. There are no federal laws that oversee the quality of any specialty training or outline what a physician must do in order to be a plastic surgeon. In other words, any graduate of a medical school who has a medical license can legally call themselves a plastic surgeon. This means that it’s completely legal for a doctor who is trained to be something entirely different—such as an ENT—to perform a facelift. But just because you can do something doesn’t mean you should. This is doubly true when it comes to cosmetic surgery.
Fortunately, there are some safeguards in place. For example, hospitals only let plastic surgeons perform plastic surgery. This is called “privileges,” kind of like only a neurosurgeon is legally allowed to perform brain surgery in a hospital. However, not all plastic surgeries take place in hospitals. There might also be some confusion over what constitutes a hospital and what’s a very large clinic.
The Dr. Roy Difference
Dr. Sudeep Roy is part of a selective group of plastic surgeons in the U.S. who is board-certified. He is also specifically a facial plastic surgeon. This is his specialty and he does not perform plastic surgery on the body. What does this mean for you? Dr. Roy is committed to giving you stunning results from the neck up. He is not a jack of all trades like some plastic surgeons, and that’s a great thing for his patients.
It can also be confusing to think about licensing boards vs. board certification. Every state has a licensing board and this organization grants medical licenses. This is completely different than board-certification. State medical boards do not offer board certification. Most plastic surgeons can be state-licensed without being board-certified.
There are a few major specialty boards that provide board-certification for various specialties. One of the largest is the American Board of Plastic Surgery. There are 24 member boards in total, and each one holds the name of board-certified surgeons/physicians that have received their stamp of approval. You can typically search for surgeon names on these various organization websites. This should always be one of the first steps you take when looking for any surgeon.
Questions to Ask
When you have a consultation with a surgeon, you probably already know some questions you want to ask. You’ll want to also ask where they undertook residency and training, and clarify in what fields their training took place. Remember that if a surgeon isn’t board-certified, they probably didn’t complete a training or residency in plastic surgery. You can also ask where they learned to perform the procedure that you’re interested in, whether it was at their residency or elsewhere.
Most certifications require a surgeon to complete four years of medical school, at least one year as an intern in general surgery, a residency in various types of surgery (often general), and then an additional residency of 2 – 3 years in plastic surgery. Your surgeon may have also opted for an optional fellowship. You can ask for details on all of these trainings during your consult with Dr. Roy. To schedule yours, contact RefinedMD today by starting a chat, completing the online form, or calling (408) 688-2082.