Different qualifications and memberships

What do the different qualifications and memberships a cosmetic surgeon hold mean?

Membership in professional organisations is one of the many factors in determining a surgeon's qualifications. Of the professional societies, some are more specialised than others and have more strict requirements than others.

There are two main organisations in the UK

• The British Association of Plastic Surgeons (BAPS)
• The British Association of Aesthetic Plastic Surgeons (BAAPS)

These are the largest inter-disciplinary medical organisations and they are exclusively devoted to cosmetic surgery. Unfortunately, BAPS and BAAPS members represent only a minority of surgeons in the UK practising cosmetic surgery.

BAPS and BAAPS members have undertaken courses dedicated to cosmetic surgery. BAPS and BAAPS Members are fully trained Plastic Surgeons. They have undergone a rigorous training programme. The cosmetic surgeons that are members are dedicated to advancing the science and art of cosmetic surgery, and give highest standards of surgical excellence andpatient care.

Members of The British Association of Aesthetic Plastic Surgeons are plastic surgeons who are on the General Medical Council's Specialist Register. This means that, once they have qualified as a doctor, they have successfully completed specialist training in plastic surgery (usually for 6 years). BAPS and BAAPS members regularly attend conferences in this country and abroad to keep themselves up-to-date with the latest techniques at least twice a year.

Fellowships

FRCS is the qualification of a general surgeon; it means your surgeon is a Fellow of the Royal College of Surgeons, having had several years experience and passed a stiff exam in general surgery. It does not signify any special training in cosmetic surgery. Your surgeon is only a Fellow in General Surgery.

An experienced, fully trained cosmetic surgeon will have the letters FRCS (plast) after their name. This means that that he is a Fellow of the Royal College of Surgeons, having had several years experience and passed a stiff exam in both general and plastic surgery.

If you have any doubts whatsoever, do not go ahead until you're sure about your surgeon and your decision to have surgery. If your are in any doubt about the qualifications of your surgeon you can contact us and we can show you how to check the credentials a surgeon has.