If you’ve been considering a plastic surgery procedure, you may have noticed a few different surgeon “labels” that can make it difficult to choose between them. So what do these labels mean, and which one is right for you?

“There’s a lot of marketing out there, and you’ll see people labeled as cosmetic surgeons, as aesthetic surgeons, but truthfully really what you’re looking for is for somebody who has specific training at length in the area of need,” explained Dr. Justin B. Heller, a Santa Clarita plastic surgeon.

Dr. Justin B. Heller

As a board-certified plastic surgeon, Heller was required to complete five to seven years of what he called “honed surgical training” in all areas of reconstructive surgery, as well as aesthetic procedures like face lifts, breast augmentations and body contouring.

Related: Heller Plastic Surgery Patient Discusses Benefits Of Procedure

“In fact, (plastic surgery) is the only board-certified area that can be achieved in this realm,” Heller said, meaning that aesthetic and cosmetic surgeons do not receive the same level of training and cannot be board-certified in their specific areas.

“When you look at aesthetic and cosmetic surgeons, (their required training) is very unclear,” he explained. “It can be an ear, nose and throat surgeon who went through a year fellowship at the end. It can be somebody who did a weekend course. It can be somebody who did a couple month fellowship, so it becomes very less distinct.”

Marketing tactics may still lead to an aesthetic or cosmetic surgeon being called board-certified, but Heller stressed that unless they are a board-certified plastic surgeon, their certification is in another area of surgery.

“When somebody calls themselves board-certified, you really want to know, is that board certification in plastic surgery?” he said. “Then you want to go a step further and make sure that they have the training that you’re looking for.”

Dr. Justin B. Heller is a board-certified plastic surgeon in Santa Clarita who specializes in breast augmentation, body contouring, liposuction, tummy tucks and more. As a Santa Clarita cosmetic surgeon, clients in need of a “mommy makeover,” which usually addresses excess or sagging skin in the breasts and abdomen area, can turn to Heller Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery. In addition, Dr. Heller is trained in orthopaedic microsurgical techniques of the hand and upper extremity, which he performs at the Hand Surgery Center of Los Angeles in Lancaster.

Heller Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery

23838 Valencia Blvd., Suite 260

Santa Clarita, CA 91355

661-434-0092