Choosing the best plastic surgeon is no joke. It’s a choice that you have to live with for years if not your entire life. While a successful procedure will help you enhance your self-confidence and self-esteem, ending with an inexperienced surgeon will cost you a lot of time, money and of course, heartache.
Tips for Finding the Right Plastic Surgeons
Wondering how to find the best plastic surgeon for you? Read on as we’ve listed a few useful tips below:
Ask Your Loved Ones and Acquaintances for Recommendations
Start with people whom you can trust. Have any of your family members or friends had work done? Or, would anyone at the office know a good center for plastic surgery that they’ve heard good reviews of?
If you do, you should immediately follow up with them asking for reviews. This way, you’ll get an honest rundown of the doctor’s plastic surgery process, his experience, and the final results.
Also, knowing someone who’s working in healthcare could be another lead. Plastic. surgeons who are recommended by the anesthesiologists, nurses and other health practitioners that they have worked with are often a very good bet. Dr. Torkian takes pride in being known as a doctor of doctors. Having this trust is the best recommendation possible.
Do Your Homework
The internet can also be a good place to find the perfect surgeon for carrying out facial plastic surgery or reconstructive surgery. There are several forums where thousands of people happily post their past experiences with various surgeons. They even document their entire experience right from the research phase to months after undergoing surgery.
Check the Credentials of Your Prospective Candidates
After you’ve zeroed in on a few candidates, do a little background research. You have to know that plastic surgeons aren’t the same as a cosmetic surgeon or an aesthetic surgeon. Hence, check the qualifications of every candidate to find the perfect fit for yourself.
If you have a specific procedure in mind, look for surgeons that have expertise in it. For example, for rhinoplasty, take all necessary measures to find a surgeon who does many rhinoplasty procedures.
Also, check to see what Board Certifications your surgeon has. Currently the only BoardCertifications that allow plastic surgery procedures to be performed are the American Board of Facial Plastic Surgery, American Board of Plastic Surgery, and the American Board of Ophthalmology / Occuloplastic Surgery.
Another tip would be to ask about your plastic surgeon‘s affiliation with any hospital. This can be helpful in case of any undesired complications as you’ll have hospital facilities on standby.
Be Careful with the “Before and After” Photographs
You should always ask your prospective surgeon for pictures of their past work – several at that. This can be very useful to give you an idea of how experienced and skilled the plastic surgeon really is.
At the same time, you have to be careful when inspecting these “before and after” photos. Make sure that the patients don’t have any make-up on and that the photos aren’t manipulated by Photoshop or lighting and shadows.
The most important part of your relationship with your surgeon is the ability to have honest and open conversations with the surgeon. So feel free to ask Questions.
If you feel comfortable with a specific candidate, schedule a face-to-face appointment. At the meeting, be prepared with a list of questions that you want to ask. Don’t be afraid to communicate with the surgeon. Tell him/her about the results you want and your budget. Ask him/her about his process, potential risks and recovery time. If the surgeon takes the effort to answer all your queries and put you at ease, there’s a high possibility that you’re got yourself a suitable match.
After you’re done with the meeting, think about the answers given by your surgeon. Whether or not he is skilled with a knife, has a friendly approach, and values you as a patient – all these are important factors that should be on your checklist.
Finally, listen to your instincts when making your decision after going over all the pros and cons. You’ll be surprised how accurate it can be in such situations!
