Things I Wish I’d Known Before Getting Plastic Surgery

Plastic surgery is nothing to mess around with.

When I went in for plastic surgery, for a bit of facial rejuvenation, I had a good experience. An acquaintance of mine, however, went to another clinic and ended up with a botched treatment.

The surgeon offered her free touch-ups for the next few years, but her wrinkle-cure left her with a puffy face that never looked the same again. Some of her acquaintances may not have noticed, but. to me, the difference was striking. And not in a good way.

I still get a creepy-crawly feeling whenever I think of it. It’s the stuff of nightmares: trusting your body, face, and skin to a surgeon and ending up with a botched result. While I walked out of my cosmetic surgery, I was walking out with a satisfactory touch-up. My hair still stands on end, though, when I think of what might have happened.

If I ever get plastic surgery again, I’ll be doing several weeks of research before I commit to any practice. Here are the things I wish I’d done before getting plastic surgery.

Interview Your Surgeon

You have the right to interview a surgeon, and you should. Before my surgery, I would have felt awkward and even invasive asking a surgeon a lot of questions. “How often do you perform my procedure?” “Can I see some before and after photos from this procedure?” “Are you board certified?”

Now I know that asking these questions isn’t just okay, it’s important. Your surgeon should be board certified, and they should be performing your procedure on a regular basis.

Ask About Their Equipment

The cosmetic practice I went with offered lower rates, while the disaster-clinic my friend went to, charged more. Why? At the time, I didn’t know and didn’t question why my prices were lower; I just went with it.

Looking into it afterward, I learned that the difference was in the equipment. The disaster-clinic had all new equipment, which can sometimes mean a lack of practice with a new piece. (Never be somebody’s guinea pig!)

The clinic I went to had reliable, used equipment from Cosmetic Laser Warehouse, and they were able to offer discounted prices because of it. They’d been using the same, excellent equipment for years, and they knew how it worked.

Ask About the Risks

My surgeon mentioned the risks to me before I had my surgery, but I tried to tune parts of it out. You don’t want to listen to the oral surgeon list all the nasty complications you could experience getting your wisdom teeth out: you want to blot it away with a quick, “But that won’t happen to me”  — but you really should know the possibilities.

The same is even more true of cosmetic surgery. Really focus on the risks of plastic surgery, because, ultimately, it’s optional. Be ready for the pain of the healing process and the complications you might experience when you heal.

When it came to plastic surgery, I wanted to forget it was actually surgery and that it came with pain and risks and the danger of medical malpractice. You can have an outstanding experience with a cosmetic procedure, but make sure you choose the right clinic first.