How to Choose a Plastic Surgeon

In San Diego, California

Choosing a cosmetic surgeon is one of the most important decisions you will make in your life.  While a good surgeon can improve your quality of life by fixing detriments to your physical and mental well-being, a poor surgeon can similarly make you feel self-conscious and potentially even force you to seek surgery to remedy his or her mistakes.  For this reason, you should take the time and thoroughly evaluate any prospective surgeon before putting yourself in his or her hands.  Therefore, it is important that you follow a thoroughgoing process in selecting your surgeon.

Ask Friends and Family
Obviously the best place to start is asking friends and family if they have worked with a cosmetic surgeon.  Do not limit yourself to asking only those people you know have had work done, since the best plastic surgery results will not be highly visible.

Many people will feel reluctant to ask friends and family about this because it will reveal that the asker is considering plastic surgery, but personal testimonials from people you know and trust are so valuable that you should not let this anxiety stop you, for three reasons:

• First, you should ask only those people you trust, so you should not have too much concern that they will judge you too harshly. 
• Second, if you are too ashamed to let people know you are considering plastic surgery, maybe the surgery itself is not the right decision for you.  Consider your choice carefully. 
• Finally, if you do not ask people for recommendations and work with a bad cosmetic surgeon, you can be sure that all your family and friends will see the evidence. 

Research on the Internet
The next place to go is right where you are now, the internet, which contains a lot of good information on whatever plastic surgery procedure you are considering, although it does contain some bad information as well. Research the procedure you areconsidering, for some general information, but, more important, research the doctors that might perform the operation.  There are a number of places you can go for information:

• The doctor’s website will tell you about the doctor’s credentials, professional associations, and experience. You should also look at before and after pictures, although you should also remember that these pictures might be altered.
• The state medical board and professional associations such as the ASPS or ASAPS
• Discussion groups or forums on cosmetic surgery

The latter area can be both very fruitful, since it contains the most personal information, but also the most biased and misleading.  Make sure you check up on all information you receive through discussion groups or procedure forums.  Some of these groups are sponsored by particular doctors, organizations, or companies and may not give accurate information.

Schedule a Consultation
Although many doctors charge for consultations, these fees are relatively small when compared to the amount you will pay for your procedure, or, worse, to have a failed procedure treated or corrected.  It is well worth your time and money to schedule consultations with multiple doctors before making your decision. Ultimately, you cannot know whether you trust a doctor until you meet with him and her.

If you follow these steps, you will be much more likely to choose a surgeon who will perform your surgery expertly with the minimum chance of error.  At Facebeautiful Plastic and Cosmetic Surgery, we encourage you to look around in making your decision because we are confident that we will provide you the best of all possible care.  To learn more about our practice, please email us to schedule a free initial consultation.