Dr. Paul Stanislaw is a Board Certified Facial Plastic & Reconstructive Surgeon. This is different than a General Plastic Surgeon, in both training and in scope of practice. A Facial Plastic Surgeon completes a five year residency in Otolaryngology-Head & Neck Surgery Twenty five percent of the Head & Neck Surgery Residency is in Facial Plastic & Reconstructive Surgery. A Facial Plastic Surgeon then finishes a fellowship in Facial Plastic & Reconstructive Surgery which is dedicated to only plastic surgery of the face as well as neck.

After completing a fellowship, the process to become Board Certified in Facial Plastic & Reconstructive Surgery is as follows: The surgeon must be in practice for 2 years, and complete 50 facial plastic along with reconstructive cases annually. These cases are then assessed to make certain they meet strict standards of care. Once these cases are reviewed, the surgeon must then successfully perform a written exam and an oral exam to become Board Certified in Facial Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery. To maintain Board Certification, this process is continued every 10 years.

My practice is strictly Facial Plastic & Reconstructive Surgery.
On the other hand, a General Plastic Surgeon completes a 5 year residency in General Surgery and a fellowship in General Plastic Surgery. A General Plastic Surgery Fellowship encompasses hand surgery, body reconstructive surgery, body cosmetic surgery, facial reconstructive surgery, and facial cosmetic surgery. Usually, a General Plastic Surgeon’s practice involves all of these disciplines.

In today’s healthcare environment, many doctors are offering cosmetic treatments to try to supplement their income in the face of decreasing insurance reimbursements. These doctors may be Board Certified in Emergency Medicine, Obstetrics/ Gynecology, Internal Medicine, Family Practice, or Dentistry, but none of these board certifications include training in cosmetic injections or cosmetic surgery. Therefore, these doctors attend a weekend course that provides “Board Certification in Aesthetic Medicine”. After completing the weekend course, these doctors return home and tell their patients that they are “Board Certified in Aesthetic Medicine”. When talking to a doctor about a cosmetic procedure, it is very important that you ask the doctor about their board certification.