Plastic Surgeons

It was with a great deal of pride that I read of the extraordinary feat of microvascular surgery performed by two of my colleagues, Drs. John Gross and Bala Chandrasekhar, in “Ghastly Accident Tests Skill of Doctors, Victim’s Pluck” (May 6).

As a president of the 400-plus-member California Society of Plastic Surgeons Inc. (CSPS), a medical society of physicians who are board certified in plastic surgery, I would have welcomed the designation of both doctors as plastic surgeons rather than simply doctors or surgeons.

No other recognized specialty requires more surgical training in reconstructive and cosmetic surgery prior to qualification to practice than plastic surgery. To be eligible for board certification by the American Board of Plastic Surgery, we must have had between five and seven years of training after medical school.

The successful completion of rigorous written and oral examinations by a board of distinguished examiners on a wide range of subjects in the field of aesthetic and reconstructive plastic surgery is necessary, as is moral and ethical standing satisfactory to the board.

JACK G. BRUNER MD

Sacramento