What Makes a Plastic Surgeon a Plastic Surgeon?

Plastic surgery is one of the most competitive branches of surgery and involves the formation of 5 or 6 years in surgery before applying for a job training in plastic surgery. These are highly sought after and most surgeons need to undertake a higher degree and an interview compete with a high level of competition for a higher position training in plastic surgery. Plastic surgery training lasts six years during which most surgeons specialize in a particular area. charlotte plastic surgeons are concerned about fitness and function of everything they do. Plastic surgeons will often do an internship in surgery specifically towards the end of their training.

In the West Midlands, there are only 7 hospitals with plastic surgeons and there are fewer than 300 plastic surgeons throughout the UK. This means that surgeons in other areas have opted for cosmetic surgery. Your cosmetic surgeon can be trained in surgery, ENT General (ear, nose and throat), ophthalmology or maxillofacial surgery. In fact, your cosmetic surgeon may not even be a surgeon at all, dermatologists and general practitioners (GPs) can provide cosmetic surgery without surgical training at all.

What all the letters following the name mean?

MBBS, MBChB (Bachelor of Medicine, Bachelor of Surgery) - this is the basic medical qualification that all doctors will and must be registered with the GMC (http://www.gmc-uk.org/) and allowed to prescribe medications.

MRCS, FRCS (Member of the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons, Fellow of the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons) - this is the basic surgical skills and is usually obtained after 4 or 5 years of surgical training base. It means that a minimum level of surgical skills have been met and that you are able to carry higher surgical training.

FRCS (Plast) - letters in brackets means that the surgeon is a specialist and is qualified to work as a consultant in the NHS. The field surgeon specializes in is shown in brackets, in this case, a plastic surgeon:

Plastic or Plast - plastic surgeon

ENT - ENT surgeon

Gen - General Surgeon

OMFS - Maxillofacial Surgery

Ophth - Ophthalmology (Eye)

How can I ensure that my plastic surgeon is a plastic surgeon?

Physicians are encouraged to do their GMC number of patients available, so if you have that, you can check on the GMC's website to see if your doctor is registered and if they are a specialist. Alternatively, you can search using the name of the doctor. If your doctor has completed specialized training, they will be listed on the register as specialists in their relevant field.

If your doctor has letters after his name, and FRCS (Plast) means a plastic surgeon fully formed.

Finally, if your surgeon is a consultant plastic surgeon in the NHS, so they trained in plastic surgery.