Consultation with a Plastic Surgeon before considering a procedure

Affordable plastic surgery - consultation with a plastic surgeon
Your initial one-on-one consultation with the plastic surgeon is an essential part of your decision to undergo a cosmetic surgery or any reconstructive procedure during the consultation, you and the plastic surgeon will get to know one another and discuss the changes you want to make. Your consultation will reassure you and enable you to get the procedure that's right for you. Be sure that you are comfortable with the physician, a give-and-take dialogue can ensure that you and the physician have the same vision of what you want the end result to be.

Consultation with plastic surgeon helps you with regards to the following:

Judging how good a candidate you are?
A consultation with a plastic surgeon helps you to decide whether you are good candidate for the surgery or not. Some doctors won't perform certain procedures (like rhinoplasty) on a teen until they are sure that person is old enough and has finished growing, it cannot be considered before a girl is about 14 or 15 of age and boys are at least of 16, 17 years of age. Similarly, saline implants are only approved for women 18 and older. There are exceptions in some cases, particularly when it is a reconstructive procedure – when there's a significant size difference between the breasts or one breast has failed to grow at all, a plastic surgeon may get involved earlier.

It is only after a consultation with the plastic surgeon that you can come to know about how good or bad a candidate you are for a particular plastic surgery procedure. For example, a decision about a hair restoration plastic surgery can only be undertaken only after a proper review about your scalp hair is made.

Most plastic surgeons operating on teenagers and young women will like to know whether they are emotionally mature enough to handle the surgery. In fact, many a plastic surgeons will not perform plastic surgery on teens and women who are depressed or have other mental health problems until these problems are treated first.

Most surgeries involve anesthesia, wound healing, and other serious risks. A consultation with the plastic surgeon helps you to understand whether you are capable handling the stress of surgery.

In your initial consultation, the surgeon will discuss your medical history, conduct a routine examination, and photograph you. He or she should explain the procedure in detail, along with its risks and benefits, the recovery period, and the costs.

Essentiality of the procedure:
It's never a good idea to choose plastic surgery as a first option for something like weight loss that can be corrected in a nonsurgical manner. Gastric bypass or liposuction though seem like quick and easy fixes compared to sticking with a diet, they however, carry far greater risks than dieting, and doctors generally reserve them for extreme cases when all other options have failed.

Possible outcomes
It is very essential to know about the outcomes of the procedure. Consultation with a plastic surgeon helps you learn what to expect before, during, and after the procedure - as well as any possible complications or downsides to the surgery. You should also know about factors such as pain or swelling or bruising which may be caused after the procedure.

Recovery time
Each plastic surgery is different, it is very important to discuss the time of stay at the plastic surgery center and time required to resume the normal activities such as driving and working.

Affordable plastic surgery
How much cost is involved in the procedure? Is your plastic surgery affordable? What are the actual plastic surgery costs ?Does insurance cover them? Most cosmetic surgery procedures are expensive. Although medical insurance covers many reconstructive surgeries the cost of cosmetic surgery procedures is mostly paid by the patient. Consultation helps you to find out such possibilities like breast enhancement surgery is not covered under the insurance but breast reduction surgery is because of the physical discomfort associated with the large breasts. Similarly, dermabrasion is generally not covered under insurance, but you can get insurance cover if it is for removal of cancerous growth. Consultation helps you to discuss such issues.

Need for blood transfusions
Does the procedure needs any blood, also try to consider the possibility of donating your blood before the procedure.

Preparation for the surgery
Your surgeon will give you specific instructions on how to prepare for surgery, including guidelines on eating and drinking, and on avoiding aspirin and other medications that affect blood clotting. You may also be given special instructions regarding the care and treatment of your skin prior to surgery. If you smoke, you'll probably be asked to stop for a week or two before and after surgery, since smoking decreases blood circulation in the skin and impedes healing.

Brief Outline of the consultation procedure

• Try to have more and more information on surgical procedure you want to undergo and write down as many questions ahead of time so you won't miss any while you take the consultation. If you don't understand something, ask your surgeon about it. Here is a list of questions to get you started.
• If it is possible, take a friend along with you who can be objective about issues such as cost, time and need of post operative care or any type of risk involved. The person can also help you to remember what has been said and what has been discussed.
• Take along with you photos or sketches to help the surgeon in visualization what you want and what you don’t want and help him to understand your expectations.
• Remember to take the list of medications and past history of plastic surgery or any other surgery for reference.
• Have a look at the photos of patients who have undergone plastic surgery procedures similar to the ones you are considering conducted by the surgeon.
• Some plastic surgeons have a computer imaging facility you can ask the surgeon about it to have better understanding about the realistic possibilities.

Make sure that the consultation helps you to be fully satisfied with the procedure. Best of luck with your plastic surgery!