How to Determine if a Plastic Surgeon is Qualified to Operate on Black Skin?

For African Americans looking to enhance or rejuvenate their physical appearance, finding a surgeon skilled in ethnic skin is vital. Achieving an improved but natural look requires a surgeon who has the knowledge and experience to preserve ethnic qualities. For example, the nose and lips are very distinctive facial features in African Americans. Altering these features could render them unrecognizable by taking away ethnic characteristics. In addition, African-American skin tends to require gentler lasers and treatments to reduce the risk of trauma to the skin. Therefore, choosing a qualified plastic surgeon who has studied black skin is very important.

Instructions

• 1

  Ask the surgeon if he has operated on people with darker complexions. Find out the type of surgery and how many procedures he has performed. In addition, find out if he has conducted extensive research on African-American patients who suffer from skin conditions like keloids (scar formation) or vitiligo (pigmentation loss).

• 2

  Contact your insurance company to request a list of plastic surgeons that specialize in ethnic skin concerns. Also, request a copy of the surgeon's curriculum vitae (CV or resume) to view his medical background and experience.

• 3

  Request testimonials of his ethnic patients to gauge their level of happiness with the outcome of their procedures. Also view their before-and-after photos to judge for yourself.