METHODOLOGY

The America‘s Best Plastic

Surgeons 2022 ranking awards the leading plastic surgeons in the U.S. Plastic surgeons were awarded in five major cosmetic surgery procedure categories: breast augmentation, liposuction, facelift, rhinoplasty and eyelid surgery. Some surgeons were awarded for more than one procedure.

Plastic surgeons who exclusively offer reconstruction or non-elective reconstruction/correction were excluded from the survey. Plastic surgeons from the 20 U.S. states with the most plastic surgeons were included in the survey: California, Indiana, Florida, Texas, New York, Pennsylvania, Illinois, Ohio, New Jersey, Georgia, North Carolina, Virginia, Michigan, Arizona, Maryland, Massachusetts, Washington, Tennessee, Connecticut and Minnesota.

The remaining states were divided into four regions: Northeast: Maine, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, Vermont

Midwest: Iowa, Kansas, Nebraska, North Dakota, South Dakota, Wisconsin, Missouri West: Alaska, Colorado, Hawaii, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon, Utah, Wyoming South: Alabama,arkansas, Delaware, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Oklahoma, South Carolina, West Virginia

During the survey period from March to April 2022, over 2,000 medical experts with knowledge of plastic surgery (doctors/surgeons, plastic surgery clinic managers and health care professionals) were invited to an online survey in cooperation with Newsweek.

Over 5,900 votes were collected and analyzed for each procedure.

SCORING

A score was calculated for each surgeon based on the number of recommendations, a quality assessment and relevant certification.

IN-STATE RECOMMENDATIONS

Participants were asked to name the leading plastic surgeons for each procedure in their own state. The order in which recommendations were provided was relevant to the ranking (number 1 has the highest weight). Self-recommendations were not allowed and led to disqualification. Instate recommendations constitute 45 percent of the overall score.

OUT-OF-STATE RECOMMENDATIONS

Participants were asked to name leading plastic surgeons for each procedure outside their own state (either one of the 20 most populous or by region). Out-of-state recommendations constitute 35 percent of the overall score.

QUALITY SCORE

For in-state recommendations, participants were asked to assess quality of care (e.g., consultation with doctor, complications, follow-up, outcome). For each recommended plastic surgeon, participants rated quality of care on a scale from 1 (“poor”) to 10 (“excellent”). A quality score was assigned to each plastic surgeon. This score accounts for 15 percent of the total score.

ACCREDITATION SCORE

The American Board of Plastic Surgery (ABPS) accreditation is a voluntary credential for plastic surgeons in the U.S. Plastic surgeons must have completed appropriate training and passed oral and comprehensive written exams covering all plastic surgery procedures. Plastic surgeons receive a 5 percent bonus to their score if they have ABPS certification.

The rankings are comprised only of plastic surgeons eligible regarding the scope described here. A mention in the ranking is a positive recognition based on peer recommendations. The ranking is the result of a process which, due to the interval of data collection and analysis, reflects the last 12 months only. Events following May 17, 2022 were not considered. This ranking should not be used as the sole source of information for future deliberations. It should be considered with other information about plastic surgeons or, if possible, accompanied by a visit to the clinic. The quality of plastic surgeons not included in the rankings is not disputed.