Choosing A Plastic Surgeon

When choosing a plastic surgeon, it’s important to do your research to find the best plastic surgeon in Utah for you. There are many surgeons with varying background offering cosmetic surgery procedures today and it’s incredibly important to understand how surgeons differ before making your decision.

Board Certification

What is the difference between a board certified facial plastic surgeon and a board certified cosmetic surgeon?

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JP Manning

This is incredibly confusing for many patients beginning the research process but also very important to understand. Cosmetic surgery is performed by many types of physicians, and unfortunately, some are not under the guidance of a properly credentialed board. The American Board of Plastic Surgery or American Board of Facial Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery are the only boards acknowledged and approved by the National Board of Medical Specialties. Members are held to the highest standards in regards to skills, knowledge, judgment, safety and ethics in their particular specialty. These agencies, and it’s members, are dedicated to continuously improving plastic surgery techniques, furthering intense research and conducting clinical trials driven towards patient safety and outcomes. Those who call themselves cosmetic surgeons typically belong to another board and come from a wide variety of backgrounds that do not relate to cosmetic or plastic surgery.

Why are these standards so important? It’s important that a surgeon understands the full extent of reconstruction when it comes to cosmetic procedures. Not only can they perform the procedure but are more competent at handling any potential problems should they arise.

Hospitals only allow plastic surgeons and facial plastic surgeons certified by one of the boards above to perform cosmetic procedures in their operating centers. The credentialing process by a hospital is very thorough and often takes months to complete. The surgeon has to provide proof of competency, training and in accredited residency and the proper board certification. If patients need further care or admittance, it’s important to have a surgeon with hospital rights. If you are unsure about a particular physicians credentials, it’s important to ask about their hospital privileges.

Because of their rigorous training, plastic surgeons represent the gold standard. All plastic surgeons are cosmetic surgeons but not all cosmetic surgeons are plastic surgeons.

For additional information, visit the RealSelf forum that discusses the different between a plastic surgeon and a cosmetic surgeon.

Facial vs. General Plastic Surgery

What is the difference between a facial plastic surgeon and a general plastic surgeon?

facial plastic surgeon performs cosmetic and reconstructive surgery of the face, head, and neck regions only. They go through one or two years of post-graduate training in general surgery residency and go on to complete at least four additional years of specialty training in neck surgery and facial plastic surgery. A general plastic surgeons training and operating scheduling encompasses full body and facial procedures. Their training includes three to five years in general surgery residency and two years of specialty training in all body areas.

facial plastic surgeon credentials

4 Most Important Factors

Top Utah Facelift Surgeon States the 4 Most Important Factors to Consider When Choosing the Best Plastic Surgeon For You

Drs. Thompson and Henstrom, top plastic surgeons in SLC, Utah give the four most important factors all patients need to consider when looking for the best plastic surgeon for facelift surgery or any cosmetic procedure of interest.

Facial rejuvenation procedures, such as facelifts, Botox, dermal fillers and chemical peels, showed the biggest increase in 2018 from 2017 according to the American Society of Plastic Surgery. Cosmetic surgery, in general, has become more and more popular with 1.8 million surgical cosmetic procedures performed in 2018. This is largely due to the advances in technology providing less invasive, effective procedures. Unfortunately, clever marketing can make a provider or trademarked procedure appear more promising than they actually are. It’s important to do your research before choosing the best plastic surgeon for you.

The first important factor to address is how often a plastic surgeon performs the specific procedure or surgery of interest. If you are interested in a Utah facelift, compare the number they perform to the national average set by The American Society of Plastic Surgery. Do they focus mainly on breast augmentation and occasionally perform facelifts or is it a big bulk of their practice? This is crucial to information when choosing the best plastic surgeon for you. Look at the physician’s credentials and certifications. If it’s a board certified facial plastic surgeon, they are likely performing a much higher amount of facelifts than a full body plastic surgeon.

Secondly, look at online patient and doctor reviews to determine how reputable the plastic surgeon is and what others have to say about their skill level and character. A good source for review information on plastic surgeons is RealSelf.com. Look for reviews from patients who underwent a facelift or your cosmetic procedure of interest to learn more from their experience. It’s also a good idea to ask for patient references at your consultation so you can speak with them personally.

The third important factor to consider is how well your plastic surgeon and his or her staff members answer all of your questions regarding your procedure. Information on how the procedure is performed, possible risks and complications, and what to expect with recovery should be addressed as well as any additional questions you may have. Does your plastic surgeon also listen to your concerns and really understand your goals? A positive facelift result is best obtained when the patient and plastic surgeon are on the same page.

Lastly, it’s important that you trust your plastic surgeon and connect with them on a personal level. You have to go with your gut feeling and put your trust in this person knowing that they have your best interest at heart.

Our surgeons are known for their experience, natural-looking results, and meticulous skill as well as their genuine concern for patient well-being and satisfaction. Our surgeons practice in two locations and other surgical centers along the Wasatch front in Utah.

Utah Facial Plastics offers a wide variety of surgical and non-surgical procedures to correct and prevent signs of aging and enhance overall beauty. Botox, lip augmentation, and dermal wrinkle fillers are popular non-surgical procedures as well as laser resurfacing, chemical peels, and laser hair removal. Surgical procedures offered include blepharoplasty (eyelid surgery), facelift, in-office facelift (MACS-lift), rhinoplasty (nosejob), septorhinoplasty, otoplasty (ear-pinning surgery), browlift, midfacelift, and hair restoration. Thompson Facial Plastics may be reached at 801.960.3137.

Interview with Dr. Thompson

Best Facial Plastic Surgeon in Utah Interview on How To Choose A Plastic Surgeon

Utah Facial Plastics Dr. Scott Thompson is a Salt Lake City Utah board certified facial plastic surgeon. In this Interview Adam Loveridge asks Dr. Thompson what he would look for in the event that he were looking for a facial plastic surgeon in the Salt Lake City area. Here’s the transcript:

Adam: Hi, I’m Adam Loveridge with Top Local TV and I’m here with Dr. Scott Thompson of Utah Facial Plastics. Dr. Thompson is a Board Certified Facial Plastic Surgeon in the Salt Lake City are for about the last 10 years. Dr. Thompson, if you were looking for facial plastic surgery in Salt Lake City giving advice on what someone should be looking for, tell a little bit about the types of things that you think would be important.

Dr. Thompson: Well, when you’re looking for a physician or surgeon or anyone that’s a specialist, there’s a couple of things that are pretty important and I would say the number one thing with regard to a facial plastic surgeon is that you find someone that is trained specifically in facial plastic surgery. There are a lot of people out there that are doing facial procedures and they have various levels of training on the face. So ideally you want to find someone that focuses on the face and that’s really where the bulk of their training is. An indication that someone is trained in facial surgery is that they are board certified in facial plastic surgery. Training is really important and it’s important to figure out where their credentials are from, what their experience is. The second thing is experience; how much surgeries and procedures that person has done and how many they continue to do as part of their practice. Is the procedure you’re looking at one of the main focuses of their practice or is it more on periphery and one they don’t do that often. And then I think it’s important to see kind of what the public is saying and other patients are reporting in online reviews. Those kind of things will give further insight to the surgeon. And then the last thing that I think is really important, and this to me is probably the most important thing, is the impression you get when you go talk to that person and meet that person and discuss what your concerns are. It’s important, especially if you’re talking about something surgical, that you have a good connection with the physician.

Adam: And you bring up a very interesting point there, and that is what type of relationship will someone have with their surgeon and along those lines, Dr. Thompson, if somebody were looking for a facial plastic surgeon in Salt Lake City or Utah as a whole and they came to your practice, what type of experience would they expect?

Dr. Thompson: I would hope they would have an experience where they feel like they were listened to, that it’s a positive experience and that they feel comfortable right from the get-go, even from the first phone call. I try to hire people in my office that really care about people and who are going to give you a positive experience. But not only that, I’m going to really focus on what your particular needs are, what your desires are with regard to your face. It’s not my job to push you in a particular direction. It’s my job to listen to what your concerns are, what your desires are, and then really present the options that are available. Then make some recommendations based on that.

Adam: Okay, excellent. And Dr. Thompson, I know that your practice does some special things for new patients. Tell us a little bit about that.

Dr. Thompson: Well, in our practice, at least for cosmetic consults, I like to do that as a consultation so when you call and make an appointment, you can come in I’ll sit down and spend a half hour with you and just talk about you and your needs, desires and what your concerns are. And then, as I said, I’ll make appropriate recommendations with that in mind. And then we also have ongoing specials with regard to usually injectables, skincare, things like that. They are going on all the time and some are manufacturer specials and some are just done in our office but they’re all of great value and change on an ongoing basis. We keep our patients informed of those through email.

Adam: Dr. Thompson, it’s been absolutely great having you on here this morning. I really appreciate your insight. I’m Adam Loveridge with Top Local TV and I’ve been joined here by Dr. Scott Thompson of Utah Facial Plastics and thanks again so much for being here.

Dr. Thompson: You’re welcome, thank you Adam.

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