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There are important factors in choosing a plastic surgeon, and Dr. Michael Vennemeyer of Southlake Cosmetic Surgery has summarized the top six to make the task a little easier.
1. Board Certified by the American Board of Plastic Surgery
Being a good plastic surgeon starts with having proper training. Unfortunately, anyone with a medical license can call themself a plastic surgeon and advertise their services. They may even say that they are board certified; however, it may not be in plastic surgery. The American Board of Plastic Surgery is the only plastic surgery board recognized by the American Board of Medical Specialties.
2. Member of the American Society of Plastic Surgeons (ASPS)
To be a member of the ASPS, you must be board certified by the American Board of Plastic Surgery, you must be in good professional standing, and you must operate in accredited hospitals or surgery centers.
3. Good Before and After Pictures
Make sure you like the results the surgeon produces. Perfect results are not possible, and the amount of improvement possible is different for everyone. However, you should be happy with the amount of improvement you do see in most of the surgeons before and after photos.
4. Takes time to explain choices, risks and sets expectations for recovery
It's very important you understand your choices as a potential patient to make sure a procedure is right for you. The surgeon should be clear about potential risks to make sure you are willing to accept them—no matter how unlikely complications may be. Setting forth clear expectations about recovery is CRITICAL. You need to know what to expect with healing, how to avoid messing up your result and when to expect your result to look good.
5. You are confident the surgeon understands your goals
You are considering plastic surgery because you want to achieve a certain result. A plastic surgeon has little hope of getting that result for you if they do not clearly understand what you want. Further, your expectations may be unrealistic, and the only way you will know is if the surgeon figures that out and educates you about what is possible.
6. Surgeon and office staff are warm and responsive
You will be spending a lot of time interacting with your surgeon and their office staff. Make sure the surgeon and staff makes you feel better after an interaction than you felt before. If a surgeon and office staff seem unresponsive, rude or indifferent before surgery, the situation will seem a lot worse during recovery—a time when you are not feeling your best.