Frequently Asked Questions
Our most frequently asked questions appear below.
11. What is the difference between ASPS and ASAPS?
A: ASPS – The Australian Society of Plastic Surgeons if the governing board for Plastic Surgeons in Australia. ASPS membership tells you you’re dealing with a qualified Plastic Surgeon. Unfortunately in Australia, formal qualifications are not currently required to perform cosmetic work, which is dangerous practice when you consider the level of education and training that separates a surgeon’s expertise from a doctors and different areas of surgical fields from each other. To be recognised as a Plastic Surgeon in Australia, a surgeon must firstly have recognised training in Plastic Surgery and secondly be a Fellow of the Royal Australasian College of Surgeons (FRACS). Becoming a Plastic Surgeon requires extensive training beyond becoming a doctor. In Mr Turner’s case, after qualifying as a doctor, he then qualified as a general surgeon and committed a further 4 years of training beyond general surgery to become a plastic surgeon.
ASAPS – The Australasian Society of Aesthetic Plastic Surgeons. This is an educational offshoot of the Australian Society of Plastic Surgeons and deals specifically with cosmetic and/or aesthetic surgery. The group is made up of Australian Plastic Surgeons and Plastic Surgeons from New Zealand. This Society provides an avenue for Plastic Surgeons to remain up to date and share educational information while experiencing new ideas for procedures or methods by way of lectures and visiting international experts. Mr Turner is a founding member and past president of this Society. Not all Plastic Surgeons are members of ASAPS, it is purely by choice, and other Plastic Surgeons may have a specific interest in other areas of Plastic Surgery such as hand surgery, which also has its own dedicated Society, or may practice in a burns or paediatric unit.
12. What is ISAPS?
A: The International Society of Aesthetic Plastic Surgery. This too is a Society that provides education and information to Cosmetic Plastic Surgeons, the difference being that it’s members come from all over the world rather than from within Australia. This diverse Society allows an international sharing of ideas and information. The 2008 conference for this Society is being held in Melbourne and we are very much looking forward to attending the meeting and getting a ‘global perspective’ on what’s new and what’s happening in cosmetic/aesthetic surgery internationally.
