01/10/2019

How to know if your Surgeon is official or not?

I think this is something that is good to speak about freely and explain how to know if the surgeon who is treating us is in fact, a surgeon. From now on, this surgeon who claims to be official will be referred to as Dr. Sparrow.

Clues that can serve you:

1. – He operates in his consultation: Although exceptions exists which I can tell you about in private, operating in a consultation is not a good sign. This is because in general, hospitals ask for a Plastic Surgery licence in order to perform the surgeries in them, surgeons without this licence cannot practice there. However, Dr. Sparrow is clever and provides these hospitals with licences from a doubtful origin, pending homologations which never arrive. But in general, operating in the consultation is not a good sign.

2.- Non European licenses. The buying of licenses, I’m a surgeon because my father was one or my father is someone in my country, facilitates the obtainment of licenses of an origin not based on the meritocracy that occurs in Europe. Europe is an area of the world with the best juridical and social security systems. Here, everything is certified, revised, recalibrated, stamped etc. to ensure the veracity of these documents. Latin American countries are not a good example in this or in many other things especially taking into account that the specialty certificates with these origins are difficult to validate.

3. – I am a Cosmetic, Aesthetic Surgeon etc. If someone says this to you, he is not a Plastic Surgeon. We went to great lengths and through battles to achieve this title and we carry it with great honour.

4. – I am a General Surgeon in the public hospital and in the private hospital I practice Aesthetic surgery. No comment.

5. – My licence is being validated. The validation is done in 15 days. I have personally experienced this. My wife, Dra. Arpino, with her Italian licence, waited 15 days for it to be validated. If it cannot be validated it will never be done, meaning that it will be in process …. in eternum.

6. – In www.coma.es, a doctor’s licence which is shown is that of General Medicine. He says he is a Plastic Surgeon, but according to the web of medical doctors he is a General Doctor. Do you get it? He is not a Plastic Surgeon. I ran to hand in a copy of my licence when they gave it to me. You have the obligation as a doctor to present your licence. If you are licenced in Plastics, you prove it. I can assure you.

7. – He is not in the SECPRE. Although being a member of the Spanish Society of Plastic Surgery is not actually obligatory, it is a good criteria to see if he is a plastic surgeon. Just one official title and with the recommendation of two associated members, allows you to be an aspiring member. Not being a member of the SECPRE does not mean you are not a plastic surgeon, but if the doctor is inscribed (www.secpre.org) , you can be sure he is.

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