Michael L. Thornton, D.O., FACOS
Dr. Michael L. Thornton is a fellowship-trained Cosmetic Surgeon and Diplomate of the American Board of Cosmetic Surgery providing you with an advanced array of surgical procedures in facial cosmetic surgery, cosmetic breast surgery, body contouring surgery, post-bariatric after weight loss surgery, and skin rejuvenation.
Growing up in Texas, Dr. Thornton received his premedical Bachelor’s degree from Baylor University and received his Medical degree from the UNT Health Science Center in Fort Worth. He completed a 
comprehensive five-year general surgery residency through Michigan State University affiliated hospitals at Mount Clemens Regional Medical Center in Mount Clemens, Michigan and completed an additional one-year fellowship in Surgical Critical Care and Trauma Surgery at the internationally recognized R Adams Cowley Shock Trauma Center at the University of Maryland Medical Center in Baltimore, where he acquired extensive knowledge in the management and reconstruction of complex traumatic injuries.
Following a creative passion, Dr. Thornton furthered his surgical expertise by completing an additional, 12-month advanced fellowship in Cosmetic Surgery, accredited and recognized by the American Academy of Cosmetic Surgery, where he gained concentrated knowledge in all major areas of cosmetic surgery including facial plastic surgery, rhinoplasty, cosmetic breast surgery, liposuction, body contouring surgery, non-surgical aesthetics, skin care rejuvenation, and laser medicine.
Dr. Thornton is a Diplomate of the American Board of Cosmetic Surgery (ABCS), which is the only written and oral certifying board that tests knowledge and experience exclusively in art of Cosmetic Surgery, and he is currently serving a 3-year term as an oral board examiner for the ABCS. In addition, he is dual-board certified by the American Osteopathic Board of Surgery in both General Surgery and Surgical Critical Care / Trauma Surgery. Because of Dr. Thornton’s three board-certifications and surgical dedication, he has been bestowed two esteemed honors as Fellow in the American College of Osteopathic Surgeons (FACOS) and as Fellow in the American Academy of Cosmetic Surgery (FAACS). In addition, he has over 14-years of combined surgical training and operative experience and was named “2008 Top Docs” in Fort Worth, Texas Magazine, in the specialty of cosmetic surgery.
In addition to the practice of cosmetic surgery, Dr. Thornton has a personal interest in performing hernia repair and complex abdominal wall reconstruction, as well as performing minimally invasive laparoscopic surgery and various general surgery procedures his patients may encounter.
Dr. Thornton is a talented and compassionate cosmetic surgeon and his philosophy is for you to achieve a natural and imperceptible result that focuses on your specific goals, while carefully attempting to minimize any scars. He believes your cosmetic surgery is only successful when you are happy and pleased!
Education & Surgical Training
- B.A., Baylor University, Waco, TX
- D.O., University of North Texas Health Science Center, Ft. Worth, TX
- Residency: General Surgery, Michigan State University Affiliated Hospitals; Mount Clemens Regional Medical Center, Mount Clemens, MI
- Fellowship: Surgical Critical Care / Trauma Surgery, R Adams Cowley Shock Trauma Center at the University of Maryland, Baltimore, MD
- Fellowship: Cosmetic Surgery, American Academy of Cosmetic Surgery at the English Plastic & Cosmetic Surgery Center, Little Rock, AR
Board Certifications
- Cosmetic Surgery: ABCS – American Board of Cosmetic Surgery
- General Surgery: AOBS – American Osteopathic Board of Surgery
- Surgical Critical Care / Trauma : AOBS – American Osteopathic Board of Surgery
Professional Memberships
- Fellow of the American Academy of Cosmetic Surgery (FAACS)
- Fellow of the American College of Osteopathic Surgeons (FACOS)
- Texas Cosmetic Surgical Society (TCSS)
- American College of Surgeons (ACS)
- American Osteopathic Association (AOA)
- Texas Medical Association (TMA)
- Tarrant County Medical Society (TCMS)
- Society of Critical Care Medicine (SCCM)
Hospital Affiliations / Surgical Privileges
- Medical Center of Arlington
- Baylor All Saints Medical Center at Fort Worth
- Baylor Surgicare at Mansfield
What is Cosmetic Surgery?
Choosing your Cosmetic Surgeon
Cosmetic surgery is a subspecialty of surgery that uniquely restricts itself to the enhancement of appearance through surgical and nonsurgical aesthetic techniques. It is specifically concerned with maintaining normal appearance, restoring it, or enhancing it.
Cosmetic surgery is a multi-disciplinary approach directed to all areas of the face, neck, breast, and body. The educational profile of this specialty is unique in that first begins with a fully trained and board certified surgeon. Cosmetic surgery as a subspecialty fully incorporates surgical knowledge from many contributing disciplines to attain a high level of skill and surgical knowledge. These contributing disciplines include dermatologic surgery, otolaryngology facial plastic surgery, general surgery, plastic/reconstructive surgery, oculoplastic surgery, oral-maxillofacial surgery and others.
The American Academy of Cosmetic Surgery (AACS)
The American Academy of Cosmetic Surgery is a professional medical and surgical society whose members are dedicated to education in cosmetic surgery and the American Academy of Cosmetic Surgery is the accrediting organization for the current 17 Fellowship programs in cosmetic surgery. Founded in 1985, there are now over 2000 members. Practice areas for members include Dermatologic Surgery, Oral & Maxillofacial Surgery, Facial Plastic Surgery, General Surgery, Ophthalmology, and Plastic/Reconstructive Surgery. Dr. Thornton is a Fellow in the American Academy of Cosmetic Surgery (FAACS).
What does it mean if a surgeon is “board certified”?
Being a “board certified” surgeon means that an individual has successfully completed an approved surgical residency training program and a rigorous written and oral evaluation process designed to assess the knowledge, skills and experience necessary to provide quality patient care in a particular surgical specialty or subspecialty. In the case of Cosmetic Surgery, the American Board of Cosmetic Surgery (ABCS) is the only American board that certifies physicians exclusively in the field of Cosmetic Surgery.
Dr. Michael Thornton is Board Certified in three separate specialty areas: 1) Cosmetic Surgery, 2) General Surgery, and 3) Surgical Critical Care. It is advisable to seek a surgeon who is board certified in their specialty or subspecialty.
The American Board of Cosmetic Surgery
The American Board of Cosmetic Surgery is the only written and oral certifying board specifically devoted to examining a surgeon’s skill exclusively in cosmetic surgery of the face, breast, body, cosmetic dermatology, cosmetic surgical principles, and patient safety. It is an independent subspecialty board that examines and certifies surgeons who are already board-certified from well qualified disciplines including dermatologic surgery, facial plastic surgery, general surgery, plastic surgery, otolaryngology, oculoplastic surgery, and oral-maxillofacial surgery.
Dr. Michael Thornton is a Diplomate of the American Board of Cosmetic Surgery and is currently serving a 3-year term as an oral board examiner whereby he actively participates in the oral examination process for potential diplomate candidates.
