Cosmetic surgery can give you a new lease on life, helping you to look as confident and attractive as you feel. That said, it’s important to consider the decision carefully, as you’ll be living with it for the rest of your life.
Here are 5 things to consider beforehand.
1). First, Consider What You Want
Before you choose a cosmetic surgeon, you need to know what you are really trying to get out of a cosmetic surgeon.
As Revivology, a Utah cosmetic surgery center, explains, a good cosmetic surgeon will insist on taking the time to talk with you about your expectations and make sure you understand what they can do and what the risks and recovery times are.
It’s important to understand that cosmetic surgery is fundamentally about improvement, not perfection.
Some people go into it with the expectation that they will come out looking like models or movie stars. This is unfounded, and bound to lead to disappointment.
On the other hand, if you go into it with the expectation that it will help you look reasonably younger and more attractive, you will be more likely to be happy and have improved confidence with the results.
2). Your Health is Important
There are two points here, the first being that you need to be in relatively good health, and the second being that you will need time to recover from your procedure—and you will want to choose a surgeon with a sterling reputation and the least chance of any complications.
If you are a smoker, a heavy drinker, obese, have diabetes, high blood pressure, a bleeding disorder, heart disease, or depression, you are not a good candidate for surgery. It’s quite common for surgeons to ask patients who are smokers to cease smoking for between two and four weeks prior to surgery, and stay off of the habit for at least two to four weeks after, since this allows the body to heal properly.
Before you get cosmetic surgery, expect a long and in-depth conversation with your doctor about your health and lifestyle. This is important for making sure you are not taking on any undue risks.
3). Find Out if Your Cosmetic Surgeon is Experienced
There’s a problem you should be aware of in cosmetic surgery, and that is that not every practicing cosmetic surgeon is qualified to perform the procedures they advertise.
Government regulations do not require surgeons to be specifically trained in every single procedure they offer, so to some degree this can be an issue with other types of surgery.
However, because there is a lot of money in cosmetic surgery, some surgeons with expertise and training in general surgery go into business as cosmetic surgeons.
There’s a way to protect yourself here: make sure the surgeon you choose has experience in the procedure you want. You might specifically ask them about their training—how did they train in the procedure you want, for how many years have they been performing it, and how many times have they performed it.
When you find a highly-qualified, experienced surgeon who can perform the procedure you want, you’ll know you’re on the right track.
4). Does the Surgeon’s Aesthetic Sense Appeal to You?
Here’s something you need to be clear about: while cosmetic surgery is obviously a very technical discipline, and there are definite right and wrong ways to perform cosmetic surgical procedures, there is also an element of individual human art.
Cosmetic surgeons are working to create beauty, and beauty, as the saying goes, is in the eye of the beholder.
What this means for your purposes is that you will want to choose a cosmetic surgeon with an aesthetic sense that is compatible with your own.
A good place to start is with the photographs of their results. To be perfectly clear, you should look not only at the results but also at what they were working with: the before and the after pictures.
Pay the most attention to patients with similar qualities: around your age and with similar issues. If you’re after facial surgery, look for patients with similar facial structure. If you are after a body surgery, look for patients with a similar build, and so on.
Pay attention to all of these things, and then pay attention to how consistent the results are. Consistency is good when it means the kind of results you want.
5). How Do the Surgeon and Staff Make You Feel?
This one may sound unduly subjective, but it really isn’t: you need to trust your instincts about how the surgeon and their staff make you feel. If you don’t find the surgeon in particular pleasant and trustworthy, it’s not a good fit. When you find a surgeon you like and feel comfortable around, that’s a good sign.
Conclusion
Cosmetic surgery can be a ticket to a better look and a restored sense of beauty and confidence. However, it’s important to consider carefully whether it’s right for you, and if so, which surgeon to trust. The tips we’ve discussed here will help to guide you toward the most satisfactory experience possible.