The American Society for Aesthetic Plastic Surgery

Dr. Mele is an Active Member of The American Society for Aesthetic Plastic Surgery

I am proud to be an active member of the American Society for Aesthetic Plastic Surgery (ASAPS). The ASAPS is the premier American professional medical society for cosmetic surgery. Its members are exclusively Board Certified Plastic Surgeons, who are actively practicing, and refining, the art of aesthetic plastic surgery.

About the American Society for Aesthetic Plastic Surgery

The ASAPS was founded in 1967, to serve both professional and public interests. The organization currently has 2600 members from around the world. The ASAPS membership is a subset of Board Certified Plastic Surgeons who specialize in Cosmetic Plastic Surgery. Only about one-forth of all American Board Certified Plastic Surgeons have been accepted for membership in the ASAPS.

The Goals of the American Society for Aesthetic Plastic Surgery

The goals of the organization are:

• Patient Advocacy –
  • Promoting the utmost in patient safety
  • Promoting the highest standards of ethical conduct
  • Advocating for your right to be fully informed
• Public Education –
  • Public outreach regarding procedures
  • Maintaining an up-to-date web site (ASAPS web site)
  • Media outreach via the ASAPS Communications Office
• Professional Educational –
  • Sponsoring scientific meetings (2010 DC Meeting)
  • Publishing the Aesthetic Surgery Journal
  • Offering Continuing Medical Education
• Research –
  • Collecting data on Plastic Surgery
  • Publishing annual statistics on Plastic Surgery utilization (2009 statistics)
  • Supporting research in Cosmetic Plastic Surgery

American Society for Aesthetic Plastic Surgery Membership

Physicians who have been trained in specialties other than Plastic Surgery, are not eligible for membership. To be a member you must:

• Be a Board Certified Plastic Surgeon
• Be in at least the third year of active practice after achieving Board Certification
• Participate in ongoing Continuing Medical Education to stay current
• Document the performance of a significant number and variety of cosmetic surgical cases to demonstrate experience and dedication to cosmetic plastic surgery
• Be sponsored by two active ASAPS members to help ensure applicants have a high professional reputation
• Adhere to the ASAPS Code of Ethics for professional conduct

Membership in the ASAPS is just one more way that I demonstrate my commitment to my patients, and make evident my dedication to the safe and ethical practice of cutting-edge Cosmetic Plastic Surgery.

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Board Certified by the American Board of Plastic Surgery

Dr. Mele is Board Certified by the American Board of Plastic Surgery

The importance of Board Certification cannot be stressed enough, but what does it really mean, and how do you know if your doctor is certified by a legitimate board?

What is a Legitimate Board?

The oranization that oversees Board Certification in the United States is the American Board of Medical Specialties (ABMS). Anyone can create a Board, but the ABMS is recognized as the “gold standard” in physician certification. The ABMS oversees 24 approved medical specialty boards, and helps to develop uniform standards by which physicians are evaluated and certified. These 24 core boards are sometimes referred to as the “real” medical boards.

So You Want to be a Board Certified Plastic Surgeon?

If you want to be a Board Certified Plastic Surgeon, here is all you need to do:

• Obtain a Bachelor’s Degree
• Complete Medical School (4 years)
• Obtain Physicians and Surgeons License (more exams)
• General Surgery Residency (3 to 5 years)
• 3 years is the minimum and must be completed at the same institution.
• 5 years you can apply for General Surgery Board Certification (American Board of Surgery)
• Written Qualifying Exam (after completing an approved General Surgery Residency)
• Oral Certifying Exam (the year after passing the Qualifying Exam)
• Plastic Surgery Fellowship (2 to 3 years)
• Board Certification from the American Board of Plastic Surgery
• Written Qualifying Exam (after completing an approved Plastic Surgery Fellowship)
• Oral Certifying Exam (the year after passing the Qualifying Exam)

How I Became a Board Certified Plastic Surgeon

Here is how I did it:

• Bachelor of Science Electrical and Computer Engineering from the University of California, Davis – Davis, CA
• Completed Medical School at the University of California, Davis, School of Medicine – Sacramento, CA
• Obtained an unrestricted Physicians and Surgeons License from the Medical Board of California
• General Surgery Residency (5 years)
• General Surgery Internship – University of California, Davis Medical Center – Sacramento, CA
• General Surgery Residency (with Chief Residency) – San Joaquin General Hospital – Stockton, CA
• Board Certification from the American Board of Surgery
• Passed the Written Qualifying Exam
• Passed the Oral Certifying Exam
• Plastic Surgery Fellowship (3 years)
• Plastic Surgery Fellowship (with Chief Residency) – Saint Francis Memorial Hospital – San Francisco, CA
• Board Certification from the American Board of Plastic Surgery
• Passed the Written Qualifying Exam
• Passed the Oral Certifying Exam

Maintenance of Certification

A generation ago, once you were Board Certified, you were Board Certified for life, but this has changed. Since 1995 Board Certification needs to be maintained yearly and renewed every 10 years. Maintenance of Certification is now the norm.

In order to retain certification, each board now has specific ongoing requirements. For the American Board of Plastic Surgery, Maintenance of Certification includes yearly submissions and reviews which include reviews of hospital privileges, case logs, licensing, continuing medical education and peer reviews. Additionally, every ten years another written examination must be passed.

I maintain Board Certification and have recertified with two ABMS boards:

• The American Board of Plastic Surgery
• The American Board of Surgery

Why Recertify?

Board Certification is voluntary, expensive and time consuming. So when a Plastic Surgeon is Board Certified, it means they care about their patients and their profession. It demonstrates that they are willing to make the extra effort to prove that they are uniquely qualified to perform plastic surgery.

The goal of Board Certification is to improve patient safety. When you see a Board Certified Plastic Surgeon, you can be assured that their background has been checked by other Board Certified Plastic Surgeons who also care about their patients and their profession.

Board Certified Means

Board Certified means your Plastic Surgeon has:

• the proper medical license
• completed the correct training
• passed a written qualifying exam
• passed a review of patient care and surgeries after training
• passed an oral certifying exam

Board Recertified Means

If your Plastic Surgeon has recertified this means they have:

• maintained an unrestricted State Medical License
• maintained active membership in the American Society of Plastic Surgery
• maintained Hospital Privileges in Plastic Surgery
• operated only in Accredited Surgical Facilities
• completed a minimum of 50 hours of Continuing Medical Education a year
• every three years
• has all the above corroborated by the American Board of Plastic Surgery
• completed a tracer procedure
• completed benchmark reporting
• completed an action plan
• completed a review of 150 hours of Continuing Medical Education
• completed educational activities specific to Plastic Surgery Maintenance of Certification
• maintained an unrestricted State Medical License
• every ten years
• reapplied for Certification by the American Board of Plastic Surgery
• passed a case load review of all surgeries performed for a 6 month period
• satisfactorily completed a written cognitive examination
• and they have the opportunity to start the process over again.

It takes dedication, persistence and effort to maintain Board Certification, and so does being a Plastic Surgeon. You owe it to yourself to do the research and check your plastic surgeon before having any procedure, the Internet makes it easy. The following links, will make it even easier. Just click on what you want to do:

Check if your doctor is Board Certified by the American Board of Plastic Surgery.
Check if your doctor is Board Certified by another American Board of Medical Specialties board. You will need to register to use this site, but it is safe, free and fast.
Check if your doctor has an unrestricted California Medical License. Read the disclaimer and click “Continue to Search” at the bottom. If you are not in California, Google your local medical board for a link.

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The International Society of Aesthetic Plastic Surgery

Dr. Mele is an Active Member of the International Society of Aesthetic Plastic Surgery (ISAPS)

The International Society of Aesthetic Plastic Surgery (ISAPS) will be celebrating it 40th anniversary this summer here in San Francisco. Established to facilitate the sharing of cosmetic plastic surgery knowledge, ISAPS meetings are cutting edge with an international flavor. ISAPS members are worldwide leaders in plastic surgery, and the symposium will include the latest techniques from all around the world.

What Does ISAPS Membership Mean?

ISAPS membership is a privilege. I am proud to be an ISAPS member, one of only 222 in the United States. Membership represents years of training (residency), the successful completion of qualifying and certifying exams (board certification), and active membership in good standing of both American national societies (the ASPS and ASAPS). Membership is by invitation, and I was accepted only after a rigorous evaluation process which thoroughly reviewed my qualifications, capabilities, ethics and commitment to patients safety.

Why do Plastic Surgeons Join Plastic Surgery Societies?

For me, the main reason is patient safety. Professional plastic surgery societies help disseminate information about the latest techniques. The ISAPS is worldwide professional medical society focussed primarily on Aesthetic (Cosmetic) Plastic Surgery. We spend most of our time talking about the best that plastic surgery has to offer, so that as individual physicians, we can offer our patients better results with a shorter recovery. We also review the lesser outcomes to learn how to prevent complications and provide the utmost in patient safety. A professional society is a forum in which I can share my experience and learn from the experience of my peers.

A Brief History of the International Society of Aesthetic Plastic Surgery

The ISAPS was established on February 12, 1970. To affirm its global nature, the site of inception was the United Nations Headquarters in New York City. Today, the society has 1864 Board Certified Plastic Surgeon members from 87 countries. The twenty countries with the largest memberships are:

• United States (222 members)
• Brazil (205 members)
• Mexico (131 members)
• Spain (73 members)
• Japan (69 members)
• Germany (63 members)
• France (62 members)
• Australia (60 members)
• Italy (59 members)
• Turkey (59 members)
• Argentina (56 members)
• Switzerland (49 members)
• Taiwan (46 members)
• South Africa (44 members)
• Serbia (34 members)
• United Kingdom (33 members)
• Russia (29 members)
• Greece (28 members)
• Canada (27 members)
• India (27 members)

The goal of the organization is the sharing of up-to-date and accurate information about the cosmetic side of plastic surgery to both its members and the public.

The Two Sides of Plastic Surgery Remain United

The discipline of Plastic Surgery encompasses both Reconstructive Plastic Surgery and Aesthetic (Cosmetic) Plastic Surgery. The distinctions my seem clean; however, they are difficult to separate. Both halves contribute to the whole of what the practice of Plastic Surgery means.

The ISAPS was the first chapter of the International Confederation of Plastic Reconstructive and Aesthetic Surgeons (ICPRAS). It was important to the founding members that the Aesthetic Society not divide plastic surgery into reconstructive and cosmetic disciplines, but to maintain aesthetic surgery as a specialty within Plastic Surgery. At the time cosmetic plastic surgery was the ugly step-sister, so it took some effort. This guiding principle lives on. The ISAPS maintains the word “Plastic” in its name to convey that its members are specialists in Plastic Surgery. Eventually, the International Society also added Aesthetic to show the inclusive principle was mutual.

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The American Society for Aesthetic Plastic Surgery 2010 (ASAPS)

The American Society for Aesthetic Plastic Surgery concluded its 2010 annual meeting in Washington DC. From all over the world, leading Plastic Surgeons, specializing in the cosmetic side of Plastic Surgery, gathered to share the secrets to their success. The latest and greatest in Cosmetic Plastic Surgery was presented and discussed from head to toe.

It was a great meeting. Below is a selection of the hottest topics. Some you will recognize as recent posts here on the San Francisco Plastic Surgery Blog. Others you may be seeing here soon.

• Treatment of the Jowls
• Treatment of Frown Lines
  • Transpalpebral (through the eyelid incision)
  • Endoscopic
• Creating Beautiful Lips (extensively covered in this blog)
• Rhinoplasty – planning and revisions
• Fat Transplantation for Breast Augmentation (small volumes, no long term data, interference with mammography?)

• Breast Implants and Rare Lymphomas (very rare and not normally aggressive)
• Maintaining Breast Elevation and Upper Pole Fullness
• Acellular Dermal Matrix (ADM, Alloderm, Stratus, Flex HD, Neoform (discontinued) )
• Breast Augmentation Revision (extensively covered in this blog)

• Injection Lipolysis (Mesotherapy/Lipodisolve) – Still not ready for Prime Time
• Laser Liposuction (SmartLipo) vs. Tumesccent Liposuction (DumbLipo) – Dumb wins (extensively covered in this blog)
• Body Sculpting after Massive Weightloss (extensively covered in this blog)
• Variations on the Tummy Tuck (extensively covered in this blog)

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