The History of ABCS

On March 26, 1979 the American Board of Aesthetic Plastic Surgery was incorporated in Delaware. The founders dedicated their practices to cosmetic surgery and recognized the interdisciplinary nature of this specialty. They created the Board in the public interest to establish a standard of qualifications. A second corporation was formed in California on March 26, 1982 under the name of the Board of Cosmetic Surgery, Inc. The Delaware corporation and the California corporation subsequently assigned all their rights and obligations in 1990 to the American Board of Cosmetic Surgery, Inc., a corporation organized under the nonprofit laws of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.

Specialty of Cosmetic Surgery

The mission of the American Board of Cosmetic Surgery (ABCS) is to serve the public by promoting the safe and ethical practice of the specialty of cosmetic surgery. Diplomates of the ABCS shall demonstrate the highest standards of training, knowledge, and expertise, as determined by a process of peer review and standardized examination and certification.

• To achieve and maintain the highest professional standards in cosmetic surgery.
• To establish a method for the qualification of specialists in cosmetic surgery and a certification system.
• To establish training standards.
• To carry out such goals and objectives in full compliance with all laws and regulations relating to equivalent surgical specialists.