Michael Law, MD, has a reputation for being an outstanding plastic surgeon and a physician who truly cares about his patients. While in California, he had the type of esthetic practice most surgeons dream about in the heart of Beverly Hills. His patients included celebrities, athletes and socialites; he was responsible for keeping some of the most famous faces and bodies in Hollywood looking youthful and beautiful. He followed his heart, however, to live his dream of raising a family in his hometown of Raleigh, North Carolina.
It was hard to say goodbye to Beverly Hills, but he was ready for his new life. What he was not ready for was the number of patients who continue to travel from all parts of the country to see him for surgery. They say, “I only have one face,” or “I only have one body,” and are willing to travel for hours and stay away from home as long as a week or more to recover from plastic surgery. He appreciates everything they do to see him, and in turn the red carpet is rolled out for them.
Physicians do not need to have formal training in plastic surgery, or any surgical training for that matter, to call themselves plastic surgeons. Some physicians refer to themselves as a board-certified facial plastic surgeon, a board-certified cosmetic surgeon and more. These boards are not recognized by the American Board of Medical Specialties (ABMS), www.abms.org. In most states, physicians legally can perform plastic surgery in their offices, even if they have not received appropriate formal training in that surgery. Some physicians have operating rooms in their offices because no hospital will grant them privileges to perform surgery. Liposuction, for instance, is performed by many physicians other than plastic surgeons in their offices and often under local anesthesia only because no hospital or surgery center will grant them privileges to perform liposuction. Some will attempt to perform liposuction after no more than a weekend course. Basically, be aware. Physicians are not board-certified plastic surgeons unless they are a diplomate of the American Board of Plastic Surgery, the only ABMS-recognized board for esthetic surgeons. To check out whether a physician truly is a board-certified plastic surgeon, go to www.plasticsurgery.org.
