There is no such thing as “the best plastic surgeon.”
First, not all plastic surgeons do all plastic surgery procedures. Even for those that tend to do most procedures, they will naturally do more of one type of procedure compared to others. Therefore, the best plastic surgeon for someone that needs a breast reduction might be different than the best plastic surgeon for breast augmentation, a facelift, or tummy tuck.
Different Plastic Surgeons, Different Philosophies
Second, not all plastic surgeons have the same philosophy of service and results. This is the same for all business categories like restaurants, hotels, house painters, etc. Some plastic surgeons have a business philosophy that may be based on charging less and doing more surgery with perhaps less time invested in the surgery process from start (inquiry/consult) to finish (long-term follow-up). Some plastic surgeons prefer to be on the opposite end of the business spectrum, always trying to provide more quality and better service. This comes down to personal choice. My recommendation is for each patient to decide what type of service you want and expect, then seek that type of plastic surgeon and surgery practice.
The Importance of Communication and Relationship with Your Surgeon
Third, the process of getting plastic surgery should involve having a good relationship between patient, plastic surgeon, and the plastic surgeon’s staff. Getting surgery requires good, accurate, and helpful listening and communication between everyone involved. You can find yourself in a situation where your plastic surgeon can deliver the surgery result that you want, but that the communication with staff and the plastic surgeon is not great. In the ideal world, not only would you get the results that you want, but you would also feel educated, listened to, reassured, and supported along the journey. Think about all the great businesses that you have used in the past. Chances are you felt listened to and valued by everyone there. Mistakes will happen and not all outcomes can always be perfect, but most people will appreciate good, honest, sincere communication and the integrity to do what needs to be done to make things right.
Key Factors in Choosing the Right Plastic Surgeon
Choosing the right plastic surgeon should involve evaluating the three categories above. We are assuming, of course, that you have already verified the basic safety information of your prospective plastic surgeon. If you have not, the pieces of information that you should make sure of are as follows:
Board Certification
Your plastic surgeon should be Board Certified by the American Board of Plastic Surgery. This is especially the case if you are having breast and body work. Some plastic surgeons that only focus on face work get their training through Oculoplastic and Facial Plastic Surgery training programs, which is fine. However, Plastic Surgeons certified by the American Board of Plastic Surgery have received 6-7 years of training in face, breast, and body plastic surgery and reconstruction. Here is a resource to verify: ABPS Surgeon Search
Good Standing
Each doctor and therefore each plastic surgeon must have a state medical license. You can see if there are concerns or complaints against any doctor by going to the state medical board that your surgeon practices in. This is important since sometimes a surgeon starts having a pattern of issues for one reason or another that may not show up in online reviews.
Online Reviews
The key here is to look at the broad picture. Be wary of the extremes. There are instances where someone may only have 5-10 reviews and then one or two patients give 1-star reviews and skew the results disproportionately low. There is not much that you can tell from this. Someone who has 50 reviews and an average of 3 tends to mean you are not likely going to get either top-notch results or top-notch service. At the other extreme, be wary of the 100+ reviews with all 5-star ratings. It’s not impossible, but it becomes highly improbable. A recent patient of mine who traveled from out of town shared a local surgeon's 300+ five-star rating but noted that it did not match up with what she felt when she went to see the surgeon in person. Later on, we learned that surgeon was sued by the federal government for illegal practices related to online reviews.
Word-of-Mouth Referrals
Last but not least, a word about word-of-mouth referrals. This tends to be the best type of information, especially if it’s from someone you trust and who has direct experience with the surgeon in the type of surgery you are considering. I would still go through the same process as outlined above, even with a word-of-mouth referral, just to make sure that things haven’t changed since your friend had their surgery, or if by chance your friend had a “one-off” experience, but all the other information points to a likely different result.