Patient decisions
How Do I Choose a Plastic Surgeon?
Choose a plastic surgeon by considering qualifications, relevant work and the quality of your consultation together. A recommendation, star rating or photo gallery can help you begin your research, but none tells the whole story.
In this episode.
Episode summary
Choose a plastic surgeon by considering qualifications, relevant work and the quality of your consultation together. A recommendation, star rating or photo gallery can help you begin your research, but none tells the whole story.
In this June 27, 2020 episode of Plastic Surgery: Before and After, board-certified New York City plastic surgeon Darren M. Smith, MD outlines five areas to examine: word of mouth, reviews, before-and-after photographs, training and credentials, and communication during a consultation.
Key takeaways
🔎 Use referrals as a starting point.
A friend or colleague's experience may identify a surgeon worth meeting.
🔎 Read reviews for context.
Dr. Smith recommends looking beyond a simple star count and discussing concerns directly during the consultation.
🔎 Explore relevant photographs.
A gallery can help you discuss the surgeon's aesthetic approach and experience with the procedure that interests you.
🔎 Check credentials.
The episode emphasizes certification by the American Board of Plastic Surgery, along with the surgeon's training.
💬 Pay attention to communication.
Dr. Smith describes surgery as a collaboration in which questions, expectations and a comfortable working relationship matter.
Questions this episode answers
Should a surgeon's limited online presence rule them out?
Not automatically. The episode explains that some experienced surgeons have few online reviews. Dr. Smith recommends considering their other qualifications and meeting them rather than judging only by digital visibility.
Can I ask to see more before-and-after photographs?
Yes. Dr. Smith notes that some patients permit their photographs to be shown privately in the office but not published online. Ask about examples relevant to the procedure you are considering; another person's result is not a guarantee of your own.
Where can I verify plastic surgery board certification?
The American Board of Plastic Surgery's official search provides certification information. Certification is one important credential to evaluate alongside the rest of the consultation and your specific needs.
🔗 Related information
Explore Dr. Smith's training and background, practice information, or request a consultation with Dr. Smith in New York City.
Originally released June 27, 2020. Show notes updated September 30, 2026. This is general education. Current recommendations, suitability, risks and expected results require an individual assessment.
Original show notes
Board Certified NYC Plastic Surgery Dr. Darren Smith offers some tips and tricks to help you cut through the noise and make the right decision.
Read the conversation.
[00:08] I'm board-certified New York City plastic surgeon Dr. Darren Smith, and this is plastic surgery before and after. Your source for the real deal about plastic surgery procedures, news about trends in aesthetic medicine, and candid sessions with industry insiders. We hope you enjoy today's episode. The choice of a plastic surgeon is a very important and a very personal decision. So I'm going to go through a couple of criteria to consider so that you can make an informed choice that you're ultimately going to be very happy with. There are really five kinds of things to take into account when selecting your plastic surgeon. And the first thing is word of mouth. Then you can take reviews into account, then look at the surgeon's before and after photo gallery.
[00:58] Then look at their training and credentials. And finally, and perhaps most importantly, judge how comfortable you are with that surgeon in the context of an in-person consultation. So with that framework in mind, let's go back and look at each of those criteria in a little more depth. So first of all, word of mouth. That is the classic, most popular way of finding just about anything. And at least in terms of initial selection, the choice of plastic surgeon is no different. If you have a friend or a colleague who has had work done that he or she is very happy with, it only makes sense that you would go speak to the surgeon or provider that performed their treatment.
[01:45] Word of mouth has become a little more complicated in today's digital world and it is now extended by a provider's digital presence. Where are they showing up in Google search results? What is their social media profile like? What does the online world tend to think of them? And that brings us into the next kind of criteria to take into account when selecting your plastic surgeon, and that is the online review. And online reviews, while important, should always be taken with a bit of a grain of salt. For example, a surgeon that has a hundred five-star Google reviews with no actual comments behind those reviews may invite suspicion for having purchased or otherwise dishonestly gotten those reviews. On the other hand, a surgeon with a string of very positive reviews that go into specifics has a much more plausible and valuable online review profile.
[02:54] On the other end of the spectrum, you may have a surgeon that's getting consistently poor reviews. And that is obviously probably someone that you want to stay away from. However, there's that gray area in the middle where you have primarily positive reviews with a few negative reviews sprinkled in here and there. And that is a very realistic scenario. And someone with a review profile like that might be an excellent surgeon. And that's the kind of person that if you're otherwise interested in his or her services, it might bear looking into and going to visit with that surgeon and seeing what you think. And you can even bring up individual reviews that you're concerned about and see how he or she handles those questions. And you can make your own educated judgment based on the conversation that you have with the surgeon. Another scenario comes into play when there is a surgeon that has almost no online reviews or very little online presence at all. And while that might be alarming to some, that really should not necessarily be a reason to run for the hills. There are many surgeons out there, especially older surgeons who can be very, very seasoned that just aren't as tech savvy or aren't as concerned with building an online reputation for themselves. So if you otherwise have all the positive indicators in place, for one of these individuals, it's still probably worth going in for a consultation and speaking with them. And I would not necessarily be deterred by the fact that they don't have much of an online presence. Another online piece of the surgeon selection process is that surgeons before and after photo gallery. And that is important from two perspectives. One, you can often get a sense of a surgeon's experience with a certain procedure or interest in performing a certain procedure.
[04:46] by the distribution of photos in their photo gallery. And also, you can get a sense of the surgeon's aesthetic. Do you like the results that they're achieving? Is that the kind of surgery that you would want to have? Are these the results that you would want to achieve after your procedure? If there is a surgeon that you are interested in, but you're not seeing the kind of before and after photos that you'd like to be seeing either in quality or quantity, there is nothing wrong with asking the surgeon about that and asking to see some additional photos in the office. Sometimes patients will give consent to show their photos in the context of the doctor's office, but not to actually post them online. So you can never go wrong asking the question. Moving out of the online arena and into the in-person consultation, It's very important to make sure that you're comfortable with the surgeon. Just see what kind of rapport you develop, what the conversation is like, and how you get on with them. Is this someone that you want to embark on a journey with? And ultimately, that's what an aesthetic surgery procedure is. You are forming a team with your surgeon and working towards an excellent result together. And just like any relationship, communication is key to making it successful.
[06:01] And finally, it's important to take the nuts and bolts of the surgeon's background into account, namely, his or her training and certifications. Now, you probably won't know the relative merit of the surgeon's residency program or their fellowships, but what you can do is look out for some very important landmarks in that person's resume. And far and away, the most important criteria of a plastic surgeon and knowing that you're going to someone who is a safe surgeon and a skilled surgeon is looking for board certification by the American Board of Plastic Surgery. To be board certified by the American Board of Plastic Surgery, the surgeon has had to complete a rigorous surgical residency and then pass a series of exams, both oral and written, and demonstrate proficiency to their more experienced colleagues.
[06:59] So as you can see from this discussion, there really are many criteria to take into account when selecting your plastic surgeon. And, you know, you really have to form a complete picture for yourself by looking at the ins and outs of each of these categories. And just because someone doesn't quite meet your specifications in one category, that's not necessarily a reason to discount him or her. For example, you might love a surgeon's before and after photos, they might have stellar views, they could be board certified, and you could get along with them really well, but you might not have heard of the institution that they did their training. Well, that may not matter. If all the other box have a big check in them and there's one box that you're not so sure about, that could still be the right choice for you.
[07:45] Ultimately, it comes down to doing your research, having lots of open conversation with the surgeon and any of your friends or colleagues who have had procedures, and forming a well-rounded opinion so that you could feel confident in your choice and go forward in getting a great result that you'll be thrilled with. Thanks for listening, and don't forget to subscribe, share the show, and head over to darrensmithmd.com for more real-world plastic surgery talk.
Sources and context.
Original Captivate episode. Original release date: 2020-06-27. The recording is the source for the transcript and episode discussion. Later context in the written summary is identified separately.
Behind the conversation.
Darren M. Smith, MD, FACS