Choosing a Cosmetic Surgeon

mrboffo
Choosing a cosmetic surgeon is a critically important process. After all, this is the person who is going to be, literally, rearranging your face (or other body part). The decision to have cosmetic surgery is a major one, and choosing a cosmetic surgeon is no less important. Finding out all you can about your potential plastic surgeon can spare you from having to have a second, corrective cosmetic surgery, or worse: a lifetime of living with an uncorrectable deformity that could have been prevented.

Fortunately, there are things you can do to help keep this from happening. Here are some things to keep in mind when you are in the process of choosing a cosmetic surgeon:

1. Find out the surgeon's credentials. Verify her medical license, as well as any professional memberships or certifications she may have. Find out what it takes to be a member of those organizations or to be certified in their area of expertise. Make sure she's legitimate and qualified to do your surgery.

2. Find out the surgeon's experience. Ask a potential surgeon about his training, specifically in the area of cosmetic surgery and in the actual procedure that you are thinking about. Ask if he's done the procedure before, and how many times.

3. Examine before and after photos of other patients, but take them with a grain of salt. Every person responds differently, and your results may not be the same as their results. In addition, an unscrupulous surgeon could easily modify photos to look better than the actual results.

4. Find out if your procedure would be performed in a surgical center, an office, or a hospital. Depending on where the surgeon intends to do the procedure, check into that facility to make sure that it is accredited by JCAHO (the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations) or AAHC (The Association of Ambulatory Healthcare).

6. Don't be in too much of a hurry. Shop around you should consider at least three different cosmetic surgeons if it is at all possible. Yes, this process will take time. Generally speaking, however, it will be worth the wait and the effort so that you can make sure the most qualified individual is going to be doing your cosmetic surgery.

Published by mrboffo

I am a writer living and working in rural Michigan. I've made my living writing for the past 6 years. I love my profession, and I don't see it changing anytime soon. I love to talk to other writers, and to h...  View profile

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