Things to Consider When Researching a Plastic Surgeon

Dr. Calvert is a board-certified plastic surgeon. His practice focuses on rhinoplasty, facelifts, breast surgery, and body contouring procedures. Dr. Calvert recommends you take these steps when researching and choosing a plastic surgeon.

ASK FOR REFERRALS: Talk to your primary care doctor, family and friends, or patients you know who have had good plastic surgery experiences. The best referrals come from trusted sources.
CHECK BOARD CERTIFICATION: Check the doctor's status of board certification in the field of plastic surgery at the American Board of Medical Specialties (ABMS), www.abms.org

INTERNET RESOURCES: The American Society of Plastic Surgeons is a great place to find a board-certified plastic surgeon in your area. The website is www.plasticsurgery.org

SOCIETY MEMBERSHIPS: Find out if your surgeon is a member of The American Society of Plastic Surgeons (ASPS); a plastic surgeon cannot be a member of this society unless he or she is board-certified.

STATE LICENSING: Check with the state board of medicine to see if your physician is licensed in the state where you are planning your operation.

HOSPITAL PRIVILEGES: Find out if your surgeon has privileges to perform your operation at the local hospital. If they do, it means that the medical staffing board of the hospital believes the surgeon is properly trained and credentialed to perform the operation you are having.

MALPRACTICE HISTORY: Malpractice suits can be checked through a number of avenues, but may require that you make a trip to the county courthouse to check your doctor. Internet resources are robust in most states.

TRAINING: Verify credentials and training.

SPECIALTY PROCEDURES: Choose a surgeon known for the procedure you wish to have. Most plastic surgeons have several operations that are their favorite and that they are known for, consistently generating excellent results.

MALPRACTICE COVERAGE: Verify malpractice insurance coverage. It is important to know if your surgeon has made a commitment to his patients by carrying some type of malpractice insurance.

CONTINUING MEDICAL EDUCATION: It is useful to know if your surgeon attends local and national meetings to keep up on the latest technology. A commitment to on-going education is a sign that your surgeon has not kicked back into relaxation mode.

ADVERTISING: Advertising has become quite common for plastic surgeons, dermatologists, facial plastic surgeons, and anti-aging physicians of all types. The market is competitive and advertising is a way to spread the word. However, a large amount of advertising does not necessarily mean anything. You must still look at all of the items listed above and make your own judgment.

Further information can be found on Dr. Calvert's website at www.drcalvert.com

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Posted by Gorkgrnx 07/14/09 7:29 AM

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Posted by Efoxftrk 07/14/09 12:36 AM

Hi, Tyra. I just want to say I love your show. It is nice to get home from work and have a talk show to watch that is based on women and how to feel better about yourself. I have three beautiful children and they are my world. Having them has totally change my body. I was just starting to accept my body after my oldest and then I had my twins. I was actually induced with the twins due to the fact that I was almost 40 weeks. So you can just about imagine how huge I was. I gave birth to very healthy full size twins that went home with me when I left the hospital. I am so thankful for all three of my healthy children. I just wish my body was not so deformed. Now I can not see myself ever accepting my body. It has change my self esteem so much. My stretch marks are all over, they are really bad on my stomach they are literally 5 inches above my belly button (if you can even call it a belly button anymore) and all the way down, and they are very wide. My children ask all the time why I have cracks on my tummy. So, I have been considering having a tummy tuck and a breast lift. I feel it would be worth it. My only fear is finding someone I trust and the cost. The cost scares me. Plastic surgery is expensive. I always think to myself that if I spend this money on myself, I am taking away from my kids. I mean they have everything they need and most of what they want but there is always more.

Posted by Jessica 02/28/09 8:20 PM

Hi! GTusvDA

Posted by DcdDaNj 02/27/09 6:26 AM

Hi Tyra, My name is Courtney, and I am 19 years old, I have a daughter that will be 2 in December. She is the love of my life and I have no regrets, but the problem I have is I cant seem to lose all this weight I have, I cant seem to get back to my size before I did have a baby. I had a C-section which caused me to have a pooch that tends to hang over everything I wear, and I was told the only way to get rid of it was to have a tummy tuck. Everyone tells me not to worry about it because I had a baby. But im not happy with the way I look. Is there any way to possibly get rid of it without having the plastic surgery done??? Thanks so much!!! LOVE, COURTNEY

Posted by Courtney 06/25/08 3:20 PM

Tyra I am 55 years old and female. I have lost 100 pounds since September of last year. and I am in need of some skin help here. I need a tummytuck and pannectomy, my inner thighs need help too and oh my god who would have thought that lsoing weight would make both legs look like a war zone littery, the veins are huge and my legs hurt so badly that I cannot walk like I used too and they feel so heavy, geting out of my pool is like having to lift 50 poun leg weights on both legs. I used to weigh 279 pounds and I am now 180 pounds. Any suggestions? I cnannot afford the surgery so is there something else I could do? I would love to be able to wear dresses and shorts but not with these ugly legs.

Posted by Sharon 06/23/08 10:28 AM

okay so when i was younger i broke my nose but my parents did't think it was that bad. well it was. I m about o turn 18 and i wanted to get plastic sugery. The thing is that my nose it really sensitive and it is sometimes hard to breathe, i doesnt look that bad, but there r times when i can't even sleep. My problem is that my friends thing that i am vain. I really just want to have it fixed. I don't know how to let them know that i want to do this for a completely diffrent reason than the fact that my nose is not cute. they keep trying to talk me out of it.

Posted by ellie 06/11/08 7:17 PM

Hey Tyra my names Alex and im turning 15 years old. Im going into highschool and where i live we start at 7 am, i know soo early in the morning! Well i got the bad jeans of my mom and i have really dark circles but they are not small they go down to like the middle of my nose. My sister who is 18 dont have them as bad as me. I try to conseal them but i cant every find the right color, or anything. When ever i put on i feel like it brings them out more. I really dont want to have surgery cause im young but cause im going to have to wake up early they are going to be worse and they really bring me down. I really need help!!! Oh and also i live in new york and i really want to come to your show! :]

Posted by Alexandra Rupert 06/10/08 3:05 PM

Hey Tyra, Amazing show,I really do look up to you! I'm so upset I missed this show,my mother is having a breast reduction and lipo soon and this show would have helped her with her facts but the tips will sure help! I'm a bit nervous for her... Aslo,I'm only 13 but im self concious about a certain feature...my nose.I've never really told anyone about how i've felt about it except for my good friend.Everyone my friends, and family, have such little cute nose's and in my family i'm the only one with one like this, even my sister's is completly different.Very little people have commented about it but i know that if some have said something everyone else thinks that its ugly.People say im pretty but i feel like thats limited because of my nose, and i want to get into modeling, i've got everything down, im tall and slender,posture,and if i get as far as runway i've even got my walk... but when i look at those models in the magazine's and posters, they're gorgeous and dont have a nose like mine. I dont really know if i'd want to go as far as plastic surgery when im older but sometimes i feel so bad about it i just cant stand it and dont want to go through my life thinking about about it,and being insecure.I dont think it's bugging me just by how people think of this but I,too don't like it,and don't know what to do about this..

Posted by Lulu 05/30/08 2:57 PM

Hi Tyra, My name is Sheila , I'm a 38 yr old single Mother. I raised a now 21 yr old and now I'm raising a 6yr old Daughter all over again. Although I wouldn't Change it for anything in the World , I love my Daughter's but it hasn't been easy. I left a very abusive relationship a few years back, although it feels like it was yesterday. I loved this man dearly but when he couldn't be physically abusive he would be verbally, which is almost worse. I was never skinny enough, pretty enough or educated enough. When I finally had the strength to leave, I packed only our cloths and left most of everything else behind. I lost everything in court to him because we weren't married and even after living together for 10yrsm, I couldn't prove common law. My daughter and I lived from house to house , with relatives and friends, I picked myself up and I bought myself a HUD home and begin to fix it up, Almost finish but in time it will be complete but I love that it is mine and no one can take from me, except the bank of course. I have always been a Strong independent woman but this man tried to take me down and i fought it for 10yrs, I gained weight, i was stressed, depressed and I had thoughts of suicide. Amazing how the day i walked out that door with our bags of cloths all those feelings disappeared. I felt like a huge weight off my shoulders, i could breath, no more bad thoughts, i felt so good. I called my sister and said "can you make room for us, I'm leaving today"? With out hesitation she said come home. It was a struggle

Posted by Sheila 05/30/08 7:26 AM

Posted by Sheila 05/30/08 7:25 AM

Hello Tyra. Thank you for coming to New York. I am so mad at you because you had that hot line for tickets, and I called and never got them! Any way, I will try again,on line, as I so love your show. I come home from work,kick off my shoes, and get in front of the TV with a nice cool drink and watch your show. The reason I am writing is because of a problem that I have. I used to weight over 247 pounds. I lost about 37 of those pounds and am working on getting down to about 170, which is good for my height. The problem is,I had an accident where I tore out my stomach muscles from lifting something that was much heavier than I thought is was, and since then I suffer from loose skin. It hangs around my stomach and my back in folds and it jiggles. It's embarrassing. I am self concious and it depresses me greatly. I find myself looking at other females and seeing their bodies and worrying about the folds under my clothes. I wear long shirts and jeans even in the summer. I feel so bad and I cant even stand to look at myself in the mirror. I saw that you had a wonderful doctor on your show that helped people and I would like to get in touch with him. I dont have much money, but I would be willing to pay him something. I dont know what else to do to tighten my skin, and it is a problem that depresses me daily. I am sensitive about it, and it prevents me from really being myself. I am 35 years old and my body is a train wreck. I dont know what to do,

Posted by Donna 05/30/08 7:12 AM

Hello Tyra. Thank you for coming to New York. I am so mad at you because you had that hot line for tickets, and I called and never got them! Any way, I will try again, as I so love your show. I come home from work,kick off my shoes, and get in front of the TV with a nice cool drink and watch your show. The reason I am writing is because of a problem that I have. I used to weight over 247 pounds. I lost about 37 of those pounds and am working on getting down to about 170, which is good for my height. The problem is,I had an accident where I tore out my stomach muscles from lifting something that was much heavier than I thought is was, and since then I suffer from loose skin. It hangs around my stomach and my back in folds and it jiggles. It's embarrassing. I am self concious and it depresses me greatly. I find myself looking at other females and seeing their bodies and worrying about the folds under my clothes. I wear long shirts and jeans even in the summer. I feel so bad and I cant even stand to look at myself in the mirror. I saw that you had a wonderful doctor on your show that helped people and I would like to get in touch with him. I dont have much money, but I would be willing to pay him something. I dont know what else to do to tighten my skin, and it is a problem that depresses me daily. I am sensitive about it, and it prevents me from really being myself. I am 35 years old and my body is a train wreck. I dont know what to do, and

Posted by Donna 05/30/08 7:11 AM

Dear Tyra, My name is Ashley and I am 21 years old. I love what you have been doing these couple years with your talk show. The reason that I am writing you is because I am over weight. And I want to lose weight SO BAD.!! I have tried to do it by myself. It’s like I just lose all focus on it. Or I will start work or go to school and there isn’t enough time in a day. And I can’t make it to the gym. I’m tried of making excuses for myself. I just turned 21 and I want to be healthy and have more fun. I know this crazy to write a talk show for this kind of help. But I don’t know what else I can do. I NEED HELP, I WANT HELP. !!!!! I don’t know if you get this letter or not. IF CAN PLEASE HELP ME!!!! I have never written a talk show before. This is a first for me. I don’t know if this will work either. All I can do is ask you, and if this does not reach you then I will try to something else. And I have thought about having some kind of surgery to help me lose the weight. I;m not sure on what to do. Sometimes I just want to give up. Not sure on what to dp anymore. Thank you so much for taking time to read my letter. Love you and will see you on the television. -Ashley

Posted by Ashley 05/30/08 12:46 AM

Posted by Anonymous 05/30/08 12:45 AM