How to choose a plastic surgeon with discernment.

Plastic surgery usually enters people's lives as a wish — and matures, over time, into a decision. Between one moment and the other lies a choice that weighs more than any other: the choice of who will operate. It comes before the technique, before the date, before any conversation about results.

The good news is that this choice does not have to be made in the dark. In Brazil, there are objective, public, and verifiable criteria that any patient can — and should — check before sitting down with a surgeon. This article organizes those criteria into a simple sequence: the registrations, the training, the consultation, and the red flags.

Start with the basics: the CRM

Every physician practicing in Brazil must be registered with the Regional Council of Medicine of the state where they work. That registration generates the CRM number — the minimum credential, without which no one may practice medicine. The lookup is public: the portal of the Federal Council of Medicine (CFM) maintains a physician search open to any citizen, where it is possible to verify whether the registration exists, whether it is active, and in which state.

The CRM, however, only says that the person is a physician. It does not say in what they specialize. For that there is another credential — and it is the heart of this article.

RQE: the credential that defines the specialist

RQE stands for Registro de Qualificação de Especialista — the Specialist Qualification Registration. It is the registration a physician obtains from the Regional Council of Medicine upon proving recognized training in a specialty — in the case of plastic surgery, a long road that runs through years of residency or specialization in recognized programs, after medical school.

In practice, the rule is straightforward: only a physician with an RQE in Plastic Surgery may present and advertise themselves as a plastic surgeon. A physician without that registration may even perform procedures permitted by law, but may not call themselves a specialist in the field. So when researching a professional, always look for both pieces of information together — CRM and RQE — and be wary when one of them is missing. A true specialist does not hesitate to display them: they are usually on the website, on social media, and on the prescription pad.

SBCP: what being a member means

The SBCP — the Brazilian Society of Plastic Surgery — is the organization that brings together the country's plastic surgeons. Admission as a member requires training in programs recognized by the society itself and evaluation processes — in other words, SBCP membership is an additional layer of verification, on top of the CRM and the RQE. The society's website also offers a public member search.

Let it be said clearly: no credential, on its own, replaces the face-to-face conversation. But the three together — an active CRM, an RQE in Plastic Surgery, and SBCP membership — form a solid starting point, verifiable in a matter of minutes, even before scheduling the first consultation.

The consultation: questions that deserve answers

If the registrations are the objective stage, the consultation is the human one — and it says a lot. A good evaluation is not an order counter: it is a careful examination of your case, your health history, and your expectations. Bring questions. These are a good start:

• What are your CRM and your RQE in Plastic Surgery? The answer should come without hedging.
• Where will the surgery be performed? What facility does the location offer — and how does the team respond if something does not go as planned?
• Who is part of the team? Will there be an anesthesiologist dedicated to my case throughout the entire procedure?
• What are the risks of this procedure in my specific case? Every procedure has risks; an honest answer names them.
• Is there a less invasive alternative to what I want — and why would it be (or not be) suitable for me?
• How does the postoperative period work? Who follows me, how often, and for how long?
• What in my health history could interfere with the recommendation or the preparation for surgery?

Notice that several of these questions have no standard answer. That is precisely the point: a good surgeon answers about you, not about a generic patient. If the answers sound rehearsed, rushed, or the same for anyone, that in itself is information.

Red flags

Certain behaviors, wherever they appear, call for caution:

• Promising a result. Serious medicine does not guarantee outcomes — it recommends, plans, and follows up. The Federal Council of Medicine, in fact, prohibits promising results in medical advertising.
• Rushing to close. Time-limited discounts, an "almost full" calendar, pressure to decide in the first conversation: a surgical decision does not mix with commercial urgency.
• Price as the central argument. When cost is the first and main topic, the clinical evaluation has taken a back seat.
• A superficial or remote evaluation. A surgical recommendation requires an individual examination, a health history, and an in-person conversation — it is not decided over messages.
• Discomfort with questions. Those who master what they do explain with patience. Irritation at legitimate questions is a signal, not a detail.
• Vagueness about where the surgery will take place. You have the right to know exactly where you will be operated on and what facility exists there to care for you.

The decision is yours — and it can take as long as it needs

Seeking a second opinion is not distrust: it is maturity. Comparing consultations, rereading notes, coming back with new questions — all of that is part of deciding well. Plastic surgery works with the body and with self-esteem; the least that combination asks for is time to reflect and quality information.

In the end, the right choice usually brings together three layers: verified credentials, a consultation that examined your case in depth, and the feeling — serene, without euphoria — of having been heard and understood. When the three come together, the decision stops being a leap in the dark and becomes what it always should have been: an informed choice.

This article is strictly informational in nature and does not replace a medical consultation. Every surgical procedure involves risks. An individual consultation with a plastic surgeon is indispensable.

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