Are You Considering Cosmetic Surgery?

Cosmetic surgery can achieve almost unbelievable results. It has never been so popular and accessible, and celebrity endorsement has made it top of the wish list for not just the rich and famous, but for ordinary people as well.

But whether you are contemplating a simple Botox treatment to iron out your wrinkles, liposuction for troublesome areas of flab, or a more major procedure on our breast or face, it should never be undertaken lightly.

When a patient's expectations are unrealistically high or when inexperienced surgeons, employed by less reputable clinics, are let loose on an unsuspecting public, disappointment or even disaster can ensue.

It is always vital that the right surgery is done for the right reason, on the right patient, by the right surgeon. It is also imperative that sufficient time is devoted to preoperative counselling, so that informed consent can be given and the patient is fully aware of what to expect.

We live in a world where most media coverage of the subject is either journalistic hype, corporate advertorial or blatant scaremongering. It is difficult to know what to believe.

What is a Surgical Operation?

A surgical operation is a controlled injury and the body reacts to it like it does to any injury. Cosmetic surgery is not just about undergoing a surgical procedure, however. Before any patient is subjected to the physical injury of an operation, many other factors have to be considered. Indeed, we are firmly of the opinion that the preoperative considerations and preparatory events leading up to the big day when the surgeon makes the first incision, are equally if not more important, than the actual operative procedure.

Many people who undergo cosmetic surgery have never been in hospital before and are understandably frightened by the prospect. Some are more afraid of having a general anaesthetic than undergoing the operation itself. Fear of the unknown is natural and forever present in the field of surgery.

A fully informed patient is far more likely to be less apprehensive about undergoing surgery, be less nervous on the day of surgery and more likely to accept and come to terms with the possible, common postoperative events that are likely to be encountered. A fully informed patient is forewarned and therefore forearmed to face any possible eventuality. This can only be of benefit to the patient (as well as the surgeon and his staff).