You may have noticed ophthalmologists offering cosmetic eyelid surgery. It is reasonable to assume that an expert in eye care and eye surgery would be a safe choice for eyelid surgery. However, most eye doctors are not trained in cosmetic surgery and do not have the experience to give you the most beautiful results. A highly trained cosmetic surgeon is an artist as well as a doctor and has very special training in creating the most aesthetically pleasing look for each individual patient.

What is A Cosmetic Surgeon?
This can be a very confusing subject. The problem is, any doctor, or even dentist for that matter, can call himself a cosmetic surgeon. You do not actually have to have any special training, education, or experience to make that claim. You just have to be a doctor.

Most doctors who claim to be cosmetic surgeons have had some kind of training, but it could be as little as a weekend seminar. This can be misleading because by attending these little events they may earn themselves certificates and other things that look meaningful hanging on the wall, but that does not mean that they actually have the qualifications you want them to have before they start cutting into your face.

What you need is a board certified cosmetic surgeon, and he needs to be certified by a board that is recognized by The American Board of Medical Specialties.

What Does Board Certification Mean to Me?
Board certification guarantees that your cosmetic surgeon has completed ample training in cosmetic surgery and passed rigorous tests. For instance, in order to be certified by the American Board of Plastic Surgery, a cosmetic surgeon must have completed medical school plus at least five years of residency training in surgery, two years of which must be devoted entirely to training in plastic surgery. After all of that, the surgeon must pass written and oral testing.

But My Eye Doctor Specializes Is an Eye Surgeon. How is This Different?
It is very different. Your ophthalmologist may be the very best at eye surgery for vision correction and medical problems of the eye, but that has nothing to do with creating beautiful eyelids. A cosmetic surgeon has learned to shape and sculpt the skin and tissues surrounding your eyes, for the most aesthetically pleasing results. While ophthalmology requires just as much skill, it is skill in completely different tasks.

Think of it this way, would you go to a cosmetic surgeon for laser vision correction even if he specialized in eyelid surgery?