Monday, July 14, 2008

10 Questions To Ask Before You Opt For Plastic Surgery

Joan Van Ark's Horrible Choices In Plastic Surgery
The cardinal rule of cosmetic surgery is to gather as much information as possible before making your decision. It's never been easier to access a wealth of knowledge than it is today with the Internet. It shameful to think that, with so much information available, most people still make a pretty uninformed choice. You cannot close your mind to any possibility without researching all probabilities.

You should be able to answer all of the following questions before you go under the knife:

1. Am I ready for plastic surgery? (Be sure to ask yourself why you want to pursue cosmetic body alteration - much like weight loss, or any other body alteration, the people who are most pleased with their undertaking are those that made their initial decisions to do it with their own happiness in mind and not that of any outside force.)

2. Do I know what the procedure entails? (Once you have chosen a procedure, you may still have many options available - the worst thing you could do is let the surgeon choose for you; you have to live with the results, not them.)

3. What are the complications? (If the procedure is performed under general anesthesia, there is a risk of a possibly fatal complication, though that risk is rare - less than half of a percent, or 1 in 57,000 procedures ends with a fatal complication. Still, the risk is present.)

4. What are the arguments against the procedure?

5. Will the procedure work, even if the circumstances are not ideal?

6. Have I gotten a qualified surgeon's opinion? (You would do well to reinforce that opinion with a second and third opinion. Many non-cosmetic surgeons and other medical professionals can and will refer you to a quality surgeon, so ask!)

7. Have I chosen the right surgeon? (Locating a qualified and talented surgeon should be your priority. You should search for the very best that you can afford; if that means traveling elsewhere for a surgeon who produces results that you like, then you should consider traveling as a part of your plan. If you cannot afford the surgeon who you believe will produce the best results, then perhaps you should reconsider having the procedure until such a time when you can afford their services. After all, can you afford it if the surgeon makes a mistake? Above all, always remember that you are choosing a surgeon, not a clinic or a hospital - one is not just as good as another.)

8. Will I ever need a follow-up procedure? (Several procedures, including most implantations do not last a lifetime - most implants have a maximum life of about ten years before they'll need to be removed or replaced).

9. What kind of guaranty does the surgeon provide for the procedures? (The doctor cannot guaranty that something will not go wrong, but you should remember that YOU are the consumer and YOU are paying a great deal for your procedure. You should be satisfied and if you are not, the surgeon should make every reasonable consolation to ensure your satisfaction).

10. What is the after-care procedure? (some procedures will leave you out of commission for a while, and you may still need to follow instructions to ensure a quick and successful recovery).

Do your research and don't take the decision lightly. Death, although a freighting consequence, is but one possibility and the odds may be much greater that you will not be pleased with the aesthetic that the surgeon produces.

SFP often reports on celebrities, many of whom have made the wrong decisions in cosmetic surgery. We do this not out of malice, but illustrate the point that celebrities are people too. They make the same mistakes that you or I make, in and out of the operating room. These celebrities are, in my humble opinion, the exception and not the rule. Many celebrities, just like the millions of people that opt for cosmetic alteration every year, are satisfied with their procedures and look fabulous. If you make the right choices and ask the correct questions, you'll be able to say it along with us: plastic is fantastic!

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