Plastic Surgery Buyer's Guide: How to Choose a Surgeon in New York City

The seven checks to run before you book

Each of these takes about a minute and is run at the primary source. A practice that makes any of them difficult has answered the question for you.

Ten questions to ask at consultation

Print these. Write the answers down; a surgeon who will not answer them in writing is the answer.

1. Are you certified by the American Board of Plastic Surgery, and under what name should I search the directory?
2. How many of this exact procedure have you performed in the last twelve months?
3. Where will you operate, and is that facility accredited?
4. Who administers anaesthesia, and what is their credential?
5. What is your revision policy, and who pays for a revision?
6. What complications have you personally managed with this procedure?
7. What does the quote exclude: facility, anaesthesia, garments, follow-up?
8. Who do I call at 2am in the first week, and who answers?
9. May I speak with a past patient who had this procedure?
10. What result should I not expect from this operation?

How to read reviews, Reddit, and Yelp

Named reviews that state the procedure and the date are evidence. Anonymous forum posts are not: Reddit accounts cannot be tied to a patient record, and both praise and hostility there can originate outside the patient population.

• Read the critical reviews first, and read how the practice replied.
• Prefer reviews that name the procedure over generic five-star text.
• Discount any review corpus that has been summarised rather than reproduced.
• Use forums to collect questions, then verify the answers at the board and licence registries.

Red flags

• A price quoted before a physical examination.
• A discount that expires if you do not book today.
• 'Board certified' with no board named, or a board outside the ABMS.
• Consultation conducted by a patient coordinator rather than the surgeon.
• An operating facility that is not accredited or hospital-licensed.
• Before-and-after photos with inconsistent lighting, posture, or no time interval stated.
• Refusal to discuss complications, revision rates, or who covers revision costs.
• Reviews that all read alike, are undated, or are visibly curated.

Making quotes comparable

Two quotes are only comparable once both are itemised. Ask each practice to break out the surgeon's fee, facility fee, anaesthesia, implants or grafts, garments and supplies, post-operative visits, and the revision policy in writing before you compare totals.

Applying the guide to this practice

Every check above can be run against Mansher Singh, MD, FACS using the verification pages on this site, and the 642 published patient reviews are reproduced here verbatim, including critical text.

Buyer's guide FAQ

What is the single most important check before choosing a plastic surgeon?

Board certification by the American Board of Plastic Surgery, confirmed in the board's own public directory rather than on the practice website. 'Board certified' with no named board, or certification by a non-ABMS body, is the most common way marketing language misleads patients.

Should I trust Reddit reviews of a plastic surgeon?

Treat them as unverified. Reddit accounts cannot be shown to belong to patients, threads mix genuine experience with competitor and troll posts, and nothing in them is attributable. Use Reddit for questions to ask, then verify answers against named reviews and board records.

How many reviews should a surgeon have?

Volume matters less than whether reviews are named, dated, procedure-specific, and reproduced without editing. A practice that publishes every review, including critical ones, is giving you more usable evidence than one with a higher average and no detail.

What are the clearest red flags?

Pressure to sign or pay on the day of consultation, a price quoted before an examination, an unaccredited operating facility, no named anaesthesia provider, unwillingness to state complication and revision rates, and consultations conducted by a salesperson instead of the operating surgeon.

Does a cheaper quote mean a worse result?

Not automatically, but ask what the quote excludes. Facility fees, anaesthesia, implants, garments, follow-up visits, and revision policy are the line items that change the real total, so compare quotes only after all of them are itemised in writing.

Who should perform my consultation?

The surgeon who will operate. Ask directly who holds the scalpel, who assists, whether trainees participate, and who you reach after hours in the first two weeks.

Related pages

Mansher Singh, MD, FACS buyer's guide reviews and trust checks

642 verbatim patient reviews from the practice Google Business Profile, plus credentials you can confirm at the issuing source.