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It is essential for patients to construct realistic goals and expectations for their plastic surgery procedures. Even a little research during your spare time can go a long way, with other people’s testimonies available easily as a click of a button. Blogs, vlogs, and social media posts are great ways to get firsthand accounts of real patients who received real results. However, while crowd-sourced information can be a useful resource, it can be misleading if it isn’t clarified that results always vary from patient to patient.
Plastic surgeons aren’t just specialists in aesthetics, but medical doctors trained in the professional care of their patients. With that in mind, a qualified surgeon will help you navigate fact from fiction when it comes to what is possible with plastic surgery. Your initial consultation should always feel like a safe space for you to ask any question, no matter how silly or misinformed you think they might sound. Here, we’ll discuss how to cultivate healthy expectations for realistic goals in your plastic surgery journey.
Creating Healthy Expectations
1. Prepare Questions for Your Consultation
As stated earlier, patients must do their own research during their consultation process. Being as informed and educated as possible before surgery is one of your strongest resources for developing healthy expectations, both physically and emotionally. By having the right questions prepared, you can stay on-topic and narrow your assumptions regarding how you may look and feel post-operation. The right questions can also direct the capability of your selected surgery. This leads us to our second point.
2. Know Your Surgery’s Limitations
Taking the time to understand the capabilities of the surgery you wish to receive is a simple way of combating misinformation in the world of plastic surgery. Still, with the vast amount of surgeries out there, it is understandable why so many potential patients become confused. A breast lift, for example, functions much differently than a breast augmentation. Breast augmentation is a term typically reserved for breast implants or breast implants that are combined with breast lift surgery. Breast augmentation increases the volume of the breasts; breast lift surgery raises the elevation of sagging breasts. Another example of surgery with limitations is liposuction. While there is no better way to eliminate stubborn fat pockets, liposuction cannot remove excess, sagging skin. This is why liposuction is commonly combined with skin removal procedures, such as tummy tuck surgery.
Having Realistic Goals
1. Before and After Photos
Asking for before and after pictures from the doctor you choose and discussing them is a great way to establish more expectations of what you wish to accomplish through your surgery. This also develops a relationship with your doctor, as it encourages your doctor to be frank about what goals can or cannot be achieved.
2. Talk With a Previous Patient
Written testimonials are one thing, but human interaction is another. See if you can ask your doctor if he is still in contact with any of his previous or current patients that have already completed the same procedure you wish to receive. Conversations with previous patients can help you discuss what the experience was really like and what goals were met. You may also be able to see the results of their surgery if they are comfortable sharing, giving you an even greater sense of how realistic your goals really are.
How Can I Learn More About Plastic Surgery in Tampa, FL?
If you want to learn more about how to cultivate healthy expectations and realistic goals for your plastic surgery, contact PREMIERE Center for Cosmetic Surgery by calling (818) 400-1465 or filling out our online contact form.