CACS Position Statements

The California Academy of Cosmetic Surgery (CACS) was initiated in 1997 as a regional extension of the American Academy of Cosmetic Surgery (AACS).  The purpose of this original organization of the CACS was (and continues to be) the promotion of AACS goals within the state of California.  Our most important goal is the encouragement of the "safe practice of Cosmetic Surgery" in California through continuous physician education and through the achievements of board certification.
 
Our CACS Mission includes defending the legal rights of qualified California physicians, who are trained in Cosmetic Surgery, to provide cosmetic services to their patients.  The CACS has actively cooperated with the Medical Board of California (MBC) to improve patient safety guidelines, through the American Society of Lipo-Suction Surgery (ASLSS), by advancing guidelines for patient safety in the area of liposuction within the state.  Also, the CACS has greatly assisted the American Board of Cosmetic Surgery (ABCS) in their efforts to obtain MBC Member Board Certification equivalency status in California.  This equivalency status will be achieved by proper education and instruction, appropriate physician testing, and by working within the standards established by the MBC.  The future acceptance of the ABCS, as a Member Board by the MBC, will allow for the public advertisement of the specific terms "Board Certified in Cosmetic Surgery" through the ABCS as Board Certified Cosmetic Surgeons.
 
With the help of the CACS, the ABCS has submitted two previous applications for the purpose of achieving California equivalency with the MBC.  The last ABCS application, submitted in June 2003, was upheld twice by our state legal system at the Superior Court level in 2007.  However, a 2008 Sacramento California Appellate Court ruling reversed these prior decisions that granted the ABCS its appropriate equivalency status in California.  Therefore, with the help of ABCS legal council, the CACS will continue to work with the MBC for future equivalency.  The AACS has strongly supported the ABCS by ensuring that all AACS Cosmetic Surgery Fellowship Programs throughout the nation are on the same academic level with the Accreditation Counsel of Graduate Medical Education (ACGME).  The CACS will continue to financially support its own educational programs and the interests of its own AACS Fellows & Members who practice Cosmetic Surgery in California.  The CACS will also encourage the training and education of its existing ABCS Diplomates and promote the proliferation well trained ABCS Diplomates as they become "Board Certified in Cosmetic Surgery."

The CACS fully recognizes that "board certification" is merely a starting point or milestone for cosmetic surgeons because our scholastic academy firmly endorses lifelong education and continuous learning while representing "excellence" in our eternal pursuit of knowledge.