FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
A D.O. degree, meaning Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine is conferred by osteopathic medical colleges and is equivalent to an M.D. degree in practice rights. (Unlike chiropractors, naturopaths, etc., both D.O.s and M.D.s are trained in the medical science.) There are D.O.s who perform neurosurgery, plastic surgery and obstetrics, and there are D.O.s who practice family medicine or internal medicine or cardiology.
Millions of patients today are turning to Osteopaths as their physicians of choice. They recognize that a DO, Doctor of Osteopathy, besides being able to provide regular medical services, offers a variety of non-invasive healing treatments not available from allopathic (conventional) doctors (M.D.s).
Long before it was fashionable, D.O.s advised their patients that the "best drugs" are contained in the body's immune system. Civil War Surgeon Andrew Still, M.D. (1828 to 1917) founded Osteopathy on the principle that the best way to fight disease was by naturally stimulating the body's immune system.
Although Still had long been aware of the appalling degree of medical ignorance that existed at that time; it was a tragedy in his own life that propelled him toward a search for answers and the development of Osteopathic Medicine. In 1874 Missouri was ravaged by an epidemic -- one now identified as viral meningitis. Dr. Still lost three children that spring. Although a physician he had no way to cure them - no way to help them.
Still's loss sent him on a personal and professional search for the truth. He was driven to understand why some people became sick, and others remained healthy. The doctor grew to reject the prevailing medical practices of frequent amputation and the overuse of drugs.
In the late 1800s, Dr. Still broke from traditional medicine when he decried the widespread practice of purging and leeching. For his efforts, Dr. Still was ostracized from his profession. But, undeterred, Dr. Still spent years developing a healing science that could restore normal function and freedom of tissues through a practitioner's sensitive manual diagnosis and manipulation of tissues and fluid. He founded a school for osteopaths over the objections of his colleagues.
Dr. Still maintains a loyal following of physicians throughout the world. His work has been advanced by several generations of Osteopaths. At present time, Doctors of Osteopathy receive traditional medical education, just like Doctors of Medicine, and receive additional training under the principles originally stated by Dr. Still.
D.O.s and M.D.s are both fully licensed physicians who are authorized to prescribe medication and perform surgery.
While attending their own medical schools, D.O.s are responsible for the same academic disciplines as their M.D. colleagues and receive an additional 300 to 500 hours in the study of the body's musculoskeletal system. The table below provides a telling comparison:
| OSTEOPATHIC PHYSICIAN (D.O.) | ALLOPATHIC PHYSICIAN (M.D.) | |
| Undergraduate training | 3-4 years of required. | 3-4 years required. There are some accelerated MD programs for college-eligible high school graduates that combine undergraduate and medical school education into a 6-year program. |
| Professional School Training | 4 years of required. | 4 years required. |
| Hospital Internship | 1 year rotating internship required. | Required, but incorporated into the first year of residency. |
| Hospital Residency | Hospital residency optional, but required in most states. Total hospital training=3-8 years. | Hospital residency optional, but required in most states.Total hospital training=3-8 years. |
| Medication prescribing rights | Can prescribe controlled substances. | Can prescribe controlled substances. |
| Licensed to perform surgery | Yes. | Yes. |
| Continuing education requirement | 42 hours per year (125 hours in a 3 year period). | 25 hours per year. |
| Diagnostic Tests | Licensed to prescribe and perform all diagnostic tests. | Licensed to prescribe and perform all diagnostic tests. |
| Manual Medicine Training | Includes all parts of the body: spine, joints, connective tissue (including fascia) from head to toe. | No formal training. |
| Founder(s) of principles of practice | A. T. Still, (MD from Kansas State University) whose "whole person" approach emphasized treatment of health and disease prevention, as well as cure. | German-trained physicians (M.D.s) who viewed the body as being comprised primarily of distinctive and functionally separate parts, who emphasized treating disease symptoms through drugs and surgery. |
Yes, I am Board-Certified. I am Board-Certified in Facial Plastic Surgery, and I am also Board-Certified by the American Board of Cosmetic Surgery (This board is different from the American Academy of Cosmetic Surgery which does not provide certification).
It is true, that I have created a number of new procedures including Vertical Miracle Facelift, Buttock Augmentation Surgery, Pectoral Enlargement Surgery, Crow's-Feet Removal Procedure, a new procedure to improve one's smiling, which has been labeled by the media professionals as "Hollywood Smile," and numerous other enhancements or improvements in Aesthetic Surgery both in facial and body surgery. The procedures that I have developed are not any more dangerous or any less dangerous than any cosmetic surgery procedure. There are some risks involved with any operative procedure, including infection, bleeding, scarring to name a few.
I do happen to belong to the category of innovative surgeons. I feel that to be able to innovate, you have to know and understand what is available and what is traditionally accepted. Once you are capable of performing those procedures, you can advance the science and technique of medicine to new frontiers. Thus, I feel that an innovator usually is a pioneer in the field of his endeavor and will always base his innovative technique on well-established procedures and thorough understanding of what has already been done in the past.
It is true that at present in the United States there are a lot of doctors who perform cosmetic surgery. The main factor affecting this influx is the change in the compensation for medical services that has occurred within the last five years. In the past, doctors were usually well compensated by insurance carriers for general medical services or surgery, whether it is in obstetrics, orthopedics, dermatology, neurosurgery or general surgery.
Now physicians receive a small fraction of the fees that they received in the past from HMOs and groups like Kaiser, Blue Cross or Blue Shield. As a result, a lot of doctors who were involved in general surgery, etc., are striving to perform cosmetic surgery; the doctors who were gynecologists of dermatologists perform liposuction and some other cosmetic procedures.
As such, I would stress that it is crucial that the doctor be Board-Certified whether in Facial Plastic Surgery, in Cosmetic Surgery or in Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery. (Remember, that belonging to An American Academy of Cosmetic Surgery -- which is different from the American Board of Cosmetic Surgery -- without some Board Certification will not guarantee training in Plastic Surgery).
Once you have established the MINIMUM CRITERIA, such as Board Certification, it is very important that you talk to the prospective surgeon's patients who have had similar procedures done. Being referred by a satisfied patient is also an important consideration.
The doctor's experience in the field is vital; you don't want to go to somebody who just hung out his shingle a week ago (although, he may offer very cheap prices). You also want to be treated by a doctor who is an innovator in his or her field and has developed and published new procedures and methodologies.
Remember, this is your body we are dealing with; we're not talking about going and buying fish in the market. So, I feel that you should get the best that you can possibly afford. It is just like cars, you can buy a Pinto or you can buy a Mercedes or a Rolls Royce; which one would you prefer? The same is true of Aesthetic Surgery.
Experienced surgeons who have good reputation and are well known in their community will usually tend to charge higher fees. Such fees only reflect their higher ability and skill -- this is true for all professionals, after all. Furthermore, the fees are as a rule only marginally higher and are still quite affordable (When everyone is trying to do plastic surgery, all of us are forced to be competitive).
I feel that everybody is entitled to his or her opinion. However, the facts, I think, should speak for themselves. Many General Plastic and Reconstructive Surgeons are poorly trained during their residency in the area of AESTHETIC SURGERY. They are trained to take care of BURN INJURIES, to do SKIN GRAFTS; they are trained to do UROLOGIC SURGERY and to do major RECONSTRUCITVE procedures on patients who have had serious injuries or accidents. Their training also emphasizes SECONDARY RECONSTRUCTIVE PROCEDURES, such as mastectomy (breast reconstruction).
As such, the training of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgeons is broader than that of Cosmetic or Facial Plastic Surgeons who train just as rigorously in a smaller field of expertise.
This does not mean that a Plastic and Reconstructive Surgeon would be a poor doctor. After all, experience is the best teacher. You should be careful in selecting your surgeon based on his training, experience, number of satisfied patients, and innovations that he may have pioneered during his career.
As concerns your surgeon's comment that Plastic and Reconstructive Surgeons are the only qualified surgeons in the field of plastic surgery, this is pure nonsense. It is so unfortunate that some Plastic and Reconstructive surgeons engage in sordid acts of belittling other qualified professionals -- Cosmetic and Facial Plastic Surgeons -- all for the purpose of ousting their competition.
Unfortunately in the past General Plastic and Reconstructive Surgeons had a monopoly in plastic surgery for such a long time, they had become complacent. After all, why bother creating something new when old techniques work? You know from experience that unless there is competition, the products will not improve. A point in fact is computers; they get better almost every day.
Surgeons in some countries had to deal with a lot more competition with their surgical clients, where the usual client is very wealthy, well educated and hard to come by. In the United States, plastic surgery is available to almost anyone; you certainly do not have to be a millionaire.
Thus, surgeons in those countries had to be better to satisfy higher expectations. It is fascinating that most Plastic Surgery textbooks are written by foreign doctors. Consider such names as Pitanguy, Gonzalez Ulloa, Jose Juri, Ortiz Monasterio, Planas, and Skoog.
However, at present the situation is different. I would say that now there are many creative aesthetic surgeons in the United States. You can have just as good or better surgery in the U. S. than anywhere in the world. A lot of these elite surgeons belong to the new Cosmetic Surgery Board. I am proud to be a member of this Board, as well.
My colleagues are a tight group of surgeons, many of whom are also members of Plastic and Reconstructive Board and Facial Plastic Board who are committed to making the United States the world capital of plastic surgery. You should know that there are only several hundred members of the Cosmetic Surgery Board in the United States as compared to many thousands members of the Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery Board.
Think of the Cosmetic Surgery Board as a graduate school for plastic surgeons. (Cosmetic Surgery Board is different from the American Academy of Cosmetic Surgery. The American Academy of Cosmetic Surgery is a wonderful institution; however, it is purely voluntary).