5 Things You Need to Know About Plastic Surgery Before You Do It

Know who’s operating on you.

Only trust a board-certified plastic surgeon or facial plastic surgeon with proper training and credentials who is practicing within scope. “You must trust your surgeon to understand your concerns and communicate expectations,” says Westborough, MA, facial plastic surgeon Min Ahn, MD.

Every procedure comes with risks.

“Many procedures are elective, and if you are investing the time and money, you should minimize any potential risks,” says McLean, VA, plastic surgeon Alex Mesbahi, MD. To avoid complications, it’s important to disclose your medical and surgical history and all medications your take, to your doctor.

Don’t choose your doctor based on price alone.

Price may be a deciding factor to some degree on who you choose to have operate on you, but it shouldn’t be the only reason to select a doctor and a surgery. While there are options available to finance your surgery, you shouldn’t skimp on quality just to save a few bucks.

It takes time to see the final results.

This isn’t the case with all procedures, but you’ll need to fully heal before you can see the end result. “Full healing takes about one year. The tissues need time to settle and it takes a while for the swelling, discoloration and numbness to subside,” says Dr. Ahn.

Nothing lasts forever

Plastic surgery can turn back the hands of time and give you something you may have always wanted. Although the results are permanent, you’ll probably need to keep up with what you’ve had done. “Surgical results do not last forever. However, the improvements can last several years,” says Dr. Mesbahi.