The yellow pages plastic surgeon.

Did I really have to go through 3 years of general surgery training and 2 years of plastic surgery training in residency programs approved by the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME) to become a plastic surgeon? After recently graduating from the Grand Rapids Plastic Surgery Residency program and an aesthetic plastic surgery fellowship with Dr. Richard Ellenbogen in Los Angeles, I’m currently setting up a solo practice in Rochester Hills, Michigan. Because I’ve been taught that one important aspect of establishing and maintaining a busy plastic surgery practice is advertising, I contacted the local Yellow Pages in Rochester Hills to set up an ad. Although my practice will have the words “plastic surgery” in the name, it surprised me that the advertising sales representative did not require any proof that I was actually a plastic surgeon to allow me to advertise under the category “Physicians and Surgeons, M.D.–Plastic and Reconstructive.” With all of the attention being paid by the media and our various professional societies to choosing a qualified plastic surgeon, this lack of background checking made an impression on me. The obvious next question then presented itself: Can a physician advertise in whatever section of the Yellow Pages that he or she wants to? Can a plastic surgeon advertise as a dermatologist, an otolaryngologist, or even a neurosurgeon? On that note, can a dermatologist or gynecologist advertise as a plastic surgeon? Intrigued by this question, I went ahead and contacted the advertising representatives of several major Yellow Pages. All of them informed me that I could advertise in whichever subsection of “Physicians and Surgeons, M.D.” that I wanted, as long as I paid for the ad. Further intrigued, I took it one step further and reached for a local Los Angeles Yellow Pages. Under the category “Physicians and Surgeons, M.D.–Plastic and Reconstructive” there are a total of 58 listings (not counting double listings for both physician and practice name). Of these 58 listings, 35 were for plastic surgeons who are either board-certified or boardeligible by the American Board of Plastic Surgery. Twelve listings were for physicians who are certified by the American Board of Facial Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery. Five listings were for physicians who are certified by the American Board of Ophthalmology and who are members of the American Society of Ophthalmic Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery. Five physicians were certified by the American Board of Cosmetic Surgery, with backgrounds in dermatologic surgery and otolaryngology and, in one case, an unspecified osteopathic residency. The final physician was a dermatologist (Fig. 1). With all these board certifications and professional society memberships for patients to consider, it’s no wonder most people do not know the difference between these various “plastic surgeons.” If the differences between these various boards are not clear to a boardeligible plastic surgeon like myself, how can we expect the public (or a Yellow Pages advertising representative) to know the difference between physicians certified by the American Board of Facial Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery, the American Board of Plastic Surgery, or no board at all? With this in mind, it seemed only reasonable to attempt to create a detailed listing of the requirements of these different specialty boards so that I, and others, it is hoped, can be educated and educate our patients as well. The following list begins with the board and specialty that the vast majority of us