Questions to Ask Your Facial Plastic Surgeon
After you’ve made the decision to undergo cosmetic surgery, the next step is selecting the best facial plastic surgeon to achieve your aesthetic goals. Discovering whether a prospective facial surgeon has the requisite experience and credentials to perform your procedure can be a meticulous process, but a well-informed decision is critical to your safety and the quality of your results.
At your initial consultation, you will receive a plethora of information about the treatment process, recovery period, and the credentials that make a given facial surgeon qualified to perform your procedure. While all of the details may seem overwhelming, our team has compiled the following questions to help guide the conversation and make it easier for you to ascertain whether a surgeon is the right fit for your unique needs:
- Are you board-certified by the American Board of Facial Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery? Board-certification from the ABFPRS indicates an advanced and nuanced understanding, as well as competency, in performing the entire spectrum of facial plastic surgery procedures. Surgical procedures of the head and neck are extremely complex and seeking out a surgeon who is board-certified offers the reassurance that he or she has obtained the extra education and training necessary to give you the best possible results.
- Where do you perform your surgical procedures? It goes without saying that your procedure should take place in an environment that upholds rigorous standards of safety and cleanliness. Make sure you are receiving the highest level of patient care by asking whether your prospective surgeon operates in an accredited hospital or surgical facility.
- Do you participate in continuing education courses? Post-graduate training beyond the bare minimum can demonstrate a surgeon’s ability to stay up-to-date with the newest techniques in plastic surgery — a field that is constantly evolving.
- How often do you perform this procedure? It is often true that the more experience a facial plastic surgeon has with a given treatment, the more capable they can be in optimizing the final outcome.
- Can I see before-and-after photos of your work? Explore a surgeon’s photo gallery to decide whether the results achieved with previous patients align with your aesthetic desires. This can be vital to your ability to place confidence in a surgeon’s expertise, as well as your ability to feel comfortable entrusting him or her with your care.
Your questions should, by no means, be limited to the preceding list, but they can hopefully help you obtain the insight you need to choose an experienced facial plastic surgeon to perform your treatment.
If you would like to learn more, or if you are ready to schedule a consultation with Dr. Scott Shadfar, please reach out to our practice.
