Does Board Certification matter?

We hear this question asked over and over.  It has mattered, it still matters and will always matter.  

Logically, a more thorough approach to training and experience is going to make one surgeon more effective than one who has not received that specialized training. 

Moreover, a recent study of panniculectomies was done to see if it mattered in practice. (Panniculectomies are excisions of large amounts of skin/fatty tissue secondary to massive weight loss.)  

The study, which came to my attention as a Fort Myers plastic surgeon, looked at a total of 954 panniculectomies.  Of these, 694 were done by plastic surgeons and 260 were by non-plastic surgeons.  Non-plastic surgeons had a significantly higher overall rate of complications than plastic surgeons.  

The rate was 23.08% complications for non-plastic surgeons versus 8.65% for plastic surgeons.  

Wound infection rate was 12.69% for non-plastic surgeons versus 8.65% for plastic surgeons.  

So, in the real world, Board Certification DOES matter!