Classification of plastic surgery malpractice complaints brought before the São Paulo Medical Board that were treated as professional-misconduct cases: a cross-sectional study

ABSTRACT BACKGROUND: Nowadays, there is an ethical and moral necessity to establish rules that govern professional attitudes and conduct. In the medical field, these rules are multifaceted, given the health consequences inherent to medical procedures. Ethics is an even more delicate subject when it comes to plastic surgery, since one of the aims of this particular medical specialty is esthetic improvement of the body. OBJECTIVE: To survey and classify São Paulo State Medical Board investigations of plastic-surgery complaints that were treated as professional-misconduct cases between 2007 ...