Prometric Exam for Plastic Surgeons: Specialist Plastic Surgery Licence for DHA, MOHAP, DOH, SCFHS & QCHP — the 10-Area Blueprint, 65% Pass Mark, Cosmetic Surgery Rules, MCh and DNB Recognition and Salaries (2026)

Few specialties are as commercially attractive in the Gulf as plastic surgery, and none is more tightly policed. Patient complaints about cosmetic procedures are a standing concern for every regulator in the region, so the title, the scope and the facility in which you operate are all controlled. If you hold an MCh, DNB or DrNB in plastic surgery, FCPS plastic surgery, FRCS (Plast), Arab Board or equivalent, here is the route — and what to expect from an exam that is much more about reconstruction than about rhinoplasty.

The exam

• Specialist / Consultant Plastic Surgery (PLA5671): 150 single-best-answer questions, 3 hours, pass mark 65% — 98 correct answers
• References: Mathes and Hentz, Neligan's Plastic Surgery, Green's Operative Hand Surgery and Selected Readings in Plastic Surgery

Green's Operative Hand Surgery is on the list for a reason: upper-extremity surgery is a whole blueprint area. Candidates from purely aesthetic practices are the ones who fail this paper.

The ten blueprint areas

1. Wound repair and integument — wound healing phases and what impairs them, the reconstructive ladder and elevator, skin graft types and take, flap classification and blood supply (Mathes–Nahai), Z-plasty geometry and gain in length, tissue expansion, scars and keloids, pressure sores, skin cancer margins, negative-pressure therapy
2. Anaesthesia, critical care, transplantation and immunology — local anaesthetic maximum doses and toxicity, tumescent technique, fluid and blood management, vascularised composite allotransplantation, rejection
3. Burns — depth assessment, body surface area estimation, fluid resuscitation formulae and end-points, inhalation injury, escharotomy indications and incision lines, chemical and electrical burns, early excision and grafting, contracture release
4. Head, neck and craniomaxillofacial — cleft lip and palate timing and repairs, craniosynostosis, facial fracture patterns (Le Fort, orbital floor, mandible) and their management, facial nerve reanimation, head and neck reconstruction with free flaps, rhinoplasty and facial aesthetic surgery, ear reconstruction
5. Upper extremity — flexor tendon zones and repair protocols, extensor injuries, nerve injury classification and repair, replantation indications and ischaemia times, compartment syndrome, Dupuytren's disease, carpal tunnel and other compressions, congenital hand differences, hand infections
6. Lower extremity — open tibial fracture soft-tissue cover by level (and its timing), diabetic foot reconstruction, lymphoedema, limb salvage vs amputation
7. Genitourinary system and trunk — abdominal wall reconstruction and component separation, chest wall and sternal wound reconstruction, abdominoplasty and body contouring after weight loss, perineal reconstruction, hypospadias principles, gender-related surgery principles
8. Breast — reconstruction options (implant, latissimus dorsi, TRAM, DIEP) and their selection, reduction and mastopexy techniques and nipple blood supply, augmentation planes and complications, capsular contracture grading, implant-associated lymphoma, gynaecomastia
9. Patient safety — VTE risk in body contouring, safe liposuction volumes, fire safety, fat embolism after gluteal fat grafting
10. Professionalism and ethics — consent in cosmetic surgery, advertising, body dysmorphic disorder, managing the dissatisfied patient

What repeats

• Flap anatomy. Pedicle, classification type and the defects each workhorse flap covers — latissimus dorsi, radial forearm, anterolateral thigh, fibula, gastrocnemius, soleus, gracilis, TRAM and DIEP.
• Leg cover by thirds. Proximal, middle and distal tibia each have a classic answer.
• Burn resuscitation arithmetic and the indications for escharotomy.
• Tendon zones and nerve injuries. Zone II flexor repair and rehabilitation; Seddon and Sunderland grades and what recovers.
• Replantation. Indications, contraindications, order of repair, warm vs cold ischaemia limits.
• Cleft timing. The ages for lip repair, palate repair, alveolar bone grafting and definitive rhinoplasty.
• Free-flap failure. Recognising arterial vs venous compromise and the first action.
• Cosmetic safety questions. Local anaesthetic doses in tumescent liposuction, large-volume liposuction limits, the danger zone in gluteal fat grafting, implant complications.

Who may perform cosmetic surgery

UAE regulators publish standards for cosmetic and plastic surgery that define which procedures each specialty may perform and in what type of facility. In outline: surgical cosmetic procedures — rhinoplasty, facelift, breast surgery, abdominoplasty, large-volume liposuction — belong to licensed plastic surgeons, with defined areas open to other surgical specialties within their own anatomical field (ENT for the nose, ophthalmology and oculoplastics for the eyelids, maxillofacial surgery for the facial skeleton). Non-surgical procedures have a wider list of eligible practitioners, led by dermatologists. Procedures above a certain risk level must be done in a hospital or a licensed day-surgery centre, not an outpatient clinic. Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and Qatar apply similar logic. Each procedure you intend to offer is privileged on training and logged cases, so arrive with a logbook that separates reconstructive, hand, burn and aesthetic work.

Recognition of qualifications

Plastic surgery is licensed on a dedicated qualification: MCh or DNB/DrNB plastic surgery after MS surgery, FCPS plastic surgery, Arab Board, FRCS (Plast) with a CCT, North American boards. An MS in general surgery with cosmetic surgery courses or fellowships does not make a plastic surgeon for licensing, whatever the certificates say — this is one of the most common and most expensive misunderstandings we see. Read the recognition guide, the exemptions guide for Tier 1 holders, and run the eligibility check.

Process

1. Portal registration and title selection.
2. DataFlow verification of the primary degree, the surgery qualification, the plastic surgery qualification, registration, experience and good standing (DataFlow guide, good standing). A clean disciplinary record matters more here than in most specialties.
3. Eligibility, booking (lead times), exam. An interview or oral assessment may be added for senior titles.
4. Offer, credentialing and privileging, activation. Malpractice insurance is mandatory and, for cosmetic surgeons, priced accordingly.

Fees are in the fee guide.

Salaries

Hospital-based Specialist plastic surgeons in the UAE typically earn AED 40,000–70,000 a month and Consultants AED 70,000–130,000. Private aesthetic practice is usually a base plus 30–45% of surgical revenue, and established surgeons earn well beyond those bands. Saudi and Kuwaiti packages are comparable. Compare structures in the salary calculator and register in the talent pool.

Ten-week plan

1. Weeks 1–2: principles — wound healing, grafts, flaps, expansion, local anaesthetics.
2. Week 3: burns.
3. Weeks 4–5: hand and upper extremity.
4. Week 6: craniofacial, cleft and facial trauma.
5. Week 7: breast and trunk.
6. Week 8: lower extremity and microsurgery.
7. Week 9: aesthetic surgery, patient safety and ethics.
8. Week 10: timed mocks from the Plastic Surgery question bank.

Frequently asked questions

What is the pass mark for the Prometric plastic surgery exam?

65%. The paper has 150 single-best-answer questions in three hours, so 98 correct answers are needed.

Is the plastic surgery Prometric exam mostly about cosmetic surgery?

No. Most of the blueprint is reconstructive: wound healing and flaps, burns, hand and upper extremity, craniofacial and cleft, lower-limb and trunk reconstruction, and breast. Aesthetic topics appear within those areas and in patient safety.

Can a general surgeon with a cosmetic surgery fellowship work as a plastic surgeon in Dubai?

No. The plastic surgeon title requires a dedicated plastic surgery qualification such as MCh, DNB or FCPS. Short fellowships and courses do not change the title a general surgery degree supports.

Can plastic surgeons operate in clinics in the UAE?

Minor procedures can be done in appropriately licensed clinics, but procedures above a defined risk level must take place in a hospital or licensed day-surgery centre, under the authority's cosmetic surgery standards.