Choose your cosmetic surgeon carefully

Cosmetic surgery can be life enhancing. It is very important therefore that from the outset you get an honest and informed opinion as to whether surgery can achieve your expectations for cosmetic enhancements and rejuvenation.

Performed well, it can undoubtedly change lives and boost confidence, but if performed poorly it can lead to dissatisfaction and even worse, severe complications which may not be possible to correct.

This article is written by Anthony Armstrong,  a leading cosmetic surgeon with a very busy cosmetic surgery practice in Berkshire, Buckinghamshire and Surrey.

You will have certain aspirations of what you want to achieve and you should put this vital information over with a face-to-face consultation with the surgeon who will perform your surgery, not a sales representative. Ensure that you feel confident about the surgeon’s ability to perform your operation.

Ask about their qualifications, how many procedures they have carried out and how many patients needed revisional surgery. Asking for ‘before’ and ‘after’ photographs of patients who have had your chosen procedure will also give you information about the surgeon’s work. After talking to the surgeon you may decide to go ahead with the procedure. But you should not feel that you have been pressured into a decision.  

Many practitioners in cosmetic surgery purport to be experts, but some are not fully trained surgeons. Cosmetic surgery practitioners may have impressive sounding qualifications, but these can have little meaning.

You should ensure that you are fully informed and accept the limitations and risks of any procedure. It is not, in my experience, a recipe for success to travel overseas for cosmetic surgery unless you have the full back up and support that you would receive if your surgery were performed locally. Undergoing surgery is a serious decision, ensure that you feel best placed to make that decision.

Profile of the author

Anthony Armstrong gained Honours in both Dentistry and Medicine at University and was awarded several prizes on graduation. He then undertook higher surgical training in plastic and reconstructive surgery. He is a Consultant Plastic Surgeon in the NHS and is on the Specialist Register of the General Medical Council of the British Association of Plastic, Reconstructive and Aesthetic Surgeons (BAAPS) and a Council member of the British Association of Plastic, Reconstructive and Aesthetic Surgeons (BAPRAS). Mr Armstrong is also an examiner for the Royal Colleges of Surgeons in Plastic Surgery.

View a Anthony Armstrong's profile

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