Most otolaryngology training includes significant facial cosmetic training, including face lifts, rhinoplasty eyes etc, probably at least as much as plastics.The tummy tuck, not so much.
Here's an excerpt from a recent New York Times story:
After moving from New York to Los Angeles in 2010 to take a job with a financial services firm, Joan, now 59, believed she needed to freshen her look. So she got a face-lift and tummy tuck from a board-certified doctor in Beverly Hills.
What she did not realize was that his certification was in otolaryngology — ear, nose and throat — not plastic surgery. The outcome was less than ideal: thick scars on her temples and a wavy abdomen.
“I had to use all my savings to get a real plastic surgeon to fix what he did to me,” said Joan, who asked that her last name be withheld to protect her privacy. “I have an M.B.A. I’m not stupid. But when the doctor has a nice clinic and all those diplomas and certifications on the wall, you think he knows what he’s doing.”
With declining insurance reimbursements, more doctors, regardless of specialty, are expanding their practices to include lucrative cosmetic procedures paid for out of pocket by patients.
You can easily check a doctor's board certification on TMB's website. On the upper left side of the homepage, click on "Look Up a Doctor." Accept the useage terms, enter the physician's name, then click on the name to reach the doctor's full profile. Scroll down to the section titled "Specialty Board Certification."
For the NYT story, click here: http://www.nytimes.com/2012/01/31/health/non-specialists-expand-into-lucrative-cosmetic-surgery-procedures.html
