When you are choosing a plastic surgeon, you are looking for certification by the American Board of Plastic Surgery. In order to be board certified by the American Board of Plastic Surgery, one must graduate from an accredited medical school, do internship and residency training in either general surgery or otolaryngology, complete an approved residency in plastic and reconstructive surgery, practice a minimum of two years after graduation, and pass extensive written and oral exams which include a review of all cases done by that surgeon in the past year. This is an incredibly long and tedious process taking a minimum of 7 1/2 years after graduation from medical school.
 

The reason for this extensive training is that the plastic surgeon is one of the few medical specialists who is truly called upon to help with every part of the body. From brain surgery, to cleft lip in infants, ear, throat, breast, malformed genitals, injured hands, legs and feet, there is really no body part that plastic surgeons aren't called upon to fix when other surgeons run up against difficult situations. While many people feel that plastic surgeons spend all of their time doing Noses and Liposuction, that is far from the case.

While, in order to be board certified by the American Board of Plastic Surgery, a surgeon must be experienced in all of the areas of plastic and reconstructive surgery, many Plastic Surgeons focus their practices on Cosmetic Surgery and others on Reconstructive Surgery.