The American Society of Plastic Surgeons (ASPS) is the largest plastic surgery specialty organization in the world. Founded in 1931, the Society represents 94% of all the board-certified plastic surgeons in the United States and more than eight thousand plastic surgeons worldwide, making ASPS a global institution and leading authority on cosmetic and reconstructive plastic surgery. Members meet high standards of training, ethics, physician practices and research in plastic surgery.
The mission of ASPS is to advance quality care to plastic surgery patients by encouraging high standards of training, ethics, physician practice and research in plastic surgery. To support its members in the provision of excellent patient care, ASPS will provide: education, advocacy, practice support and enhanced public awareness of the value of plastic surgery, while fostering the highest professional, ethical and quality standards. The Society is a strong advocate for patient safety and requires its members to operate in accredited surgical facilities that have passed rigorous external review of equipment and staffing.
The American Society for Reconstructive Microsurgery (ASRM) was established in 1984 and has served “to promote, encourage, foster, and advance the art and science of microsurgery and complex reconstruction” and to establish a forum for teaching, research, and free discussion of reconstructive microsurgical methods and principles. Today the society is comprised of more than five hundred members from sixteen countries and continues to evolve and grow providing a major engine for microsurgical advancement.
The society was born from the initial desire to nurture the emerging field of digit and limb replantation. Over the past two and a half decades, members of the ASRM with their tireless work and innovation have helped transform this initial desire into an entirely new area of medicine (reconstructive microsurgery).
Since its inception, the field of microsurgery has grown rapidly with major advances in instrumentation, suture fabrication, microscope technology and enhanced understanding of vascular anatomy, coagulation, nerve regeneration, bone biology and transplantation immunology.
The advent of free tissue transfer (free flap) has enabled surgeons to borrow tissues from areas of relative excess and re-establish its circulation with microsurgical connections at a distant location. The revascularized tissue can then be utilized to restore missing form and function. Free flaps have provided a powerful tool for breast reconstruction and restoration of the jaw, tongue and esophagus after removal of head and neck cancers. Free tissue transfers have also proved invaluable in the treatment of traumatic injuries and open fractures of the extremities and hand. Combined with vascularized toe transfers free flap surgery has revolutionized the management of many congenital hand deformities. Members of the ASRM have been pioneers in the area of microneurosurgery developing techniques for nerve repair, grafting and transfer that have significantly improved our ability to restore motion and sensation after nerve injury. Nerve repair techniques have also been successfully utilized to power free muscle flaps providing an opportunity to restore motion to individuals with facial paralysis and brachial plexus injuries.
Recent developments in immunology have opened the door for composite tissue allotransplantation (CTA) and ASRM members have been principle movers in the emerging fields of hand and face transplantation. Advanced computing and robotics continue to foster the expansion of more precise and minimally invasive techniques while the potential to biologically engineer missing tissues and structures (tissue engineering) offer an exciting gateway to the future.
The American Society for Reconstructive Microsurgery, proud past, bright future and a tireless commitment to advancing the art and science of microsurgery and complex reconstruction.
The American College of Surgeons (ACS) is a scientific and educational association of surgeons that was founded in 1913 to improve the quality of care for the surgical patient by setting high standards for surgical education and practice. From 2012 to 2013, the College observed a year-long commemoration of its Centennial, “100 Years of Inspiring Quality.“
Mission Statement
The American College of Surgeons is dedicated to improving the care of the surgical patient and to safeguarding standards of care in an optimal and ethical practice environment.
Membership
Members of the ACS are referred to as “Fellows.” The letters FACS (Fellow, American College of Surgeons) after a surgeon’s name mean that the surgeon’s education and training, professional qualifications, surgical competence, and ethical conduct have passed a rigorous evaluation, and have been found to be consistent with the high standards established and demanded by the College.
