When searching for a plastic surgeon, most potential patients look at the usual markers of excellence, including:
- Before and after plastic surgery pictures
- University training
- Board certification in plastic surgery or head & neck surgery
But, due to a quirk in the way today’s plastic surgeons are trained, there is a key in surgeons’ credentials which, when found, unlocks access to master plastic surgeons. (Continued below.)_________________________________________________________________________________________
The middle aged patient below had the bump on the left photo removed along with refinement in her bulbous tip that brought her nose closer to her face. Result on right? A near perfect profile. (Robert Kotler MD, photo)
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(Continued.) It’s the fellowship. Here’s why it’s so special:
University training of a plastic surgeon takes place in a residency program at leading universities for anywhere from three to five years. But in almost all programs, the emphasis is on reconstruction surgery where surgeons learn techniques like:
- Burn treatment
- Repairing cleft lip and palate
- Other procedures restoring normal function to non-normal, damaged anatomy
Due to slim university budgets, however, universities must train plastic surgeons and receive medical insurance payments, too. But cosmetic patients are wont to see surgeons-in-training for rejuvenation surgery (medically known as making the unhappy, normal happy with their appearance) because patients want top results.
So the question is how can a university trained plastic surgeon also master cosmetic surgeries like:
- Rhinoplasty
- Other nasal surgery
- The popular cosmetic procedures like face lift?
Here’s where the fellowship enters the picture, even if the newbie surgeon is already board-certified in plastic surgery.
The fledgling plastic surgeon agrees to work at the side of an older, much more experienced cosmetic plastic surgeon who has decades of experience performing four to seven rejuvenation procedures that make a person look better. In short, the fellowship is a hands-on apprenticeship.
Most fellowships last a year while some others go on for two years. (Read more about plastic surgery fellowships.)
The apprentice plastic surgeon, in addition to doing surgery at the side of the master surgeon, may also do some medical research tasks, using the older surgeon’s patient base.
Typically, the younger surgeon will sift through all the data on the master surgeon’s nose job patients to, say, compare the healing rates of open rhinoplasties against closed rhinoplasties. When the research appears, the apprentice will have his or her name listed as a co-author on prestigious medical journals.
It’s a time-honored way for apprentices to learn skills and practical knowledge to become yet another master surgeon after a decade or so of experience is under the belt.
That’s yet another reason for selecting a plastic surgeon who specializes or super-specializes in just a handful of cosmetic plastic surgery procedures.