The popularity of cosmetic procedure is growing consistently in India and in the last few decades, the demand of plastic surgery has been on the rise exponentially. Even during the pandemic, the plastic surgery demand is booming amid lock-down. Procedures including face lifts, Liposuction, breast lifts, rhinoplasty, tummy tucks are on high rise.
Plastic surgery now days very progressive and sophisticated with growing demand among both men and women who are interested in intensifying their youthful appearance. Currently people in India spending more on cosmetic surgeries and eager to adopt various cosmetic treatments, which is indicating the growth of plastic surgery market.
Technological advancement, increasingly rising in the demand for minimally invasive and non invasive procedures and increasing awareness are the key propelling forces to accelerate the cosmetic market’s growth.
As the market is growing with increasing number of plastic surgeons in India, hence it’s difficult to get a right plastic surgeon to give you the best ideas and satisfactory result. If you really planning to get plastic surgery, the primary step is to get the best plastic surgeon with years of experience, qualifications and excellent track record.
Determining Factors in Choosing Plastic Surgeon
Even if you search online for best plastic surgeons in India, you will find a number of options. How will you select the appropriate cosmetic surgeon for your procedure ? There are several factors to consider while choosing the right surgeon for you. Plastic surgery can give you an youthful experience, so, you shouldn’t take your decision in hastiness when choosing a surgeon. But what about who should perform it? The perception about a plastic surgeon is greatly related to individualized experience, so a great surgeon for someone else may not be a good choice for you.
If you are researching plastic surgery, its time to think about find the best plastic surgeon who is right for you. some people under the impression that getting a plastic surgeon is easy and they expect that searching for ‘the best plastic surgeon near me’ or ‘the top cosmetic surgeon in my area’ is enough to get the right surgeon. But what criteria you are looking for when choosing a plastic surgeon is also a very important aspect than a simple online search.
There are various factors to consider when selecting the best surgeon for you as mentioned below:
1. Get Referrals and recommendations friends/doctors /acquaintances
Speak to your primary health care provider, friends, family members, acquaintances and other physicians working in health care, who are close to you and open to make recommendations for you. Referrals and recommendations are the most effective way and you can start with your known circle and friends who have undergone the procedure.
Once you create referral list of the best surgeons from your friends and relatives, now its time to narrow down the list to start extensive research about each of them. You can get information about surgeons from forums, social media and other sites for patients testimonials, recommendations and discussions about surgeons. This will help you to get clear information regarding the authenticity and credibility of surgeons.
Through referrals, you can gather following information easily about various plastic surgeons before booking a consultation as mentioned below:
— Whether your surgeon is board certified
— Whether they have Satisfied reviews from former patients
— Extensive portfolio of successful surgeries
This is the first step to get an overall information, which will help you to choose the best plastic surgeon for you.
2. Make Sure Your Plastic Surgeon Is Qualified
Board certification is one of the most determining factors to consider while selecting a plastic surgeon for you. this will give you a clear sign that the doctor consists of all necessary trainings and relevant skills & experience to carry out the plastic surgery.
Without proper credential and certification, your surgeon may not have adequate skill and experience to successfully perform the procedure you are looking for.
Especially in India you can find many plastic surgeons as ‘best plastic surgeons’, ‘experienced cosmetic surgeons’ and award winning plastic surgeons are usually not trained & skilled in the field of plastic surgery. The surgeons who are actually belongs to Indian Association of Aesthetic Plastic Surgeons are specially trained and qualified.
A plastic surgeon should matching the following criteria to become a IAAPS
— Graduated( MBBS) from a reputed medical school
— Completed specialty training in General Surgery to become a surgeon (DNB/MS)
— Super specialty in Plastic Surgery (DNB/MCh) in accredited and recognized institute
— Minimum 2 years of experience
Its highly important that your plastic surgeon should have the above qualifications, because there are a number of non-surgeons are practicing as cosmetic surgeons who are not at all entitle for this job
When you choose a plastic surgeon who is an IAAPS member, you can be rest assured that you have chosen the right plastic surgeon for your desired procedure.
3. Confirm The Surgeon’s Experience In The Specific Procedures You Are Planning For
Every patient wants their surgery to go well. As you know when there is a surgery, there is a potential for complications. Some complications are bit critical and difficult to control, but if your surgeon is experienced then chances of complication is very less. In this context there is a big question mark- How do you know the surgeon you have found consists of enough experience?
Different skills are required for different cosmetic surgeries. So you can understand that performing a nose surgery is completely different from operating on a breast. However you are operating on a nose with bone, cartilage and breathing passage, but while operating on breast it comprises of soft tissues. So you should choose a surgeon who is board certified in cosmetic surgery with adequate and relevant experience in the procedure you are looking for.
During your consultation ask your surgeon the queries you have. If you get any confusing answer, ask your queries in another ways, and see if things make sense.
What to ask a surgeon:
- When did you begin performing this surgery?
- How did you take required training in the procedure I am making plan for?
- How many years and how often have you been performing this procedure?
- How many times have you been successfully performed this type of procedure?
4. Ask Your Surgeon If You Can View Results Through Before & After Photographs
To get better proof of work, ask your doctor to show their previous work in the form of before and after photos. Ask your doctor to show the photos from different angles without makeup and editing. If your surgeon is reluctant to show their patient’s before and after photos, please don’t hesitate to ask them for proof of their previous work. Thorough casual photos or selfy photos sent by patients, are difficult to evaluate the surgeons work. Once you view different results turned out from different patients, you can get a better idea about the best of doctor’s aesthetic.
5. Talk With Previous Patients To Get Reviews & Recommendations
Choosing the right plastic surgeon has been a challenge for many patients. However, patients always require valuable advice from friends, family and patients having similar experiences. These recommendations provide basic information on surgeons such as their locations, years of experience, accurate diagnosis, friendly staff, promptness, proper follow up and patient satisfactions . This will help you to score the doctors to choose the best one.
Often patient reviews and recommendations are very essential to know the following information before choosing a plastic surgeon.
Patience – This gives an indication whether the doctor spend time with patients without any ignorance and interruptions
Communication – This refers to quality of patient and doctor conversation. Whether the Doctor listened to and address the queries of their patients admiringly.
Respect – This gives an idea whether the doctor treated respectfully. Some patients complain that their doctor was arrogant and behave rudely.
Compassion – This refers to the tenderness, sympathy and humanity towards ‘the patients.
Treatment – This specify how physicians deal with patients diseases. How the doctor prescribe treatment plan and how far the treatment turned out to be effective.
Diagnose – refers to the accurate assessment and recognition of clinical symptoms. How far doctors spotted the symptom and what was the level of accuracy in diagnosis.
Personal conditions – This indicates the personal health condition of the patient after getting treatment from the doctor.
Professional skills – This specify physicians’ overall clinical competence in dealing with complications and rate of success.
6. Pay attention to how the surgeon and staff make you feel
Taking a decision for cosmetic surgery is a big deal, because it will change your looks with new appearance. So thoughtful decision should be taken from choosing the rightful surgeon and their efficient support team to make you feel 100% comfortable. Choose a plastic surgeon to whom you can completely trust in terms of safety and surgery success.
Once you get all information about the surgeon and after consultation Ask yourself:
— Does the doctor and medical staffs make you feel comfortable?
— Whether this surgeon is approachable and comfortable to talk and give unbiased advice ?
— Can you ask smallest questions and doubts to your surgeon?
— Is the surgeon honest with me?
— Is the surgeon board certifies and experienced to do the surgery
— Whether the plastic surgeon has right operating facility
— Can I disclose my full medical history and habits with this doctor
— whether the surgeon capable enough to meet any complication or whether capable of making surgery with minimum complications.
7. Choose an approachable surgeon
During first consultation you might have a lot of queries regarding your procedure, which you might be looking for getting the appropriate answers or solutions. Be sure that the surgeon should be approachable and you should ask your queries and discuss comfortably regarding your surgery. If your doctor is friendly and approachable, you can ask your smallest doubts and questions to get best clarifications. It is always recommended to fix second consultation with the doctor, so that you can better understand the surgeon prior to make a decision.
8. Get answers of all your queries before having the surgery
During the initial consultation with your surgeon ask the below questions and make sure you are getting satisfactory answers subject to your queries. if you are consulting with multiple surgeons then note down the answers provided by various surgeons and refer back to them at later date to compare against other surgeons.
- What precautions to take before surgery?
- What will happen during my surgery?
- Any discomfort or complications after the surgery?
- Will the results of the surgery satisfy my expectations?
- What are my options if the result of your surgery don’t meet my expectations?
- How often and how many procedures of this type have you performed till now?
- What are the potential risks, possible complications and side effects of having this operation?
- How are complications handled or taken care of?
- What is the aftercare and recovery period? what type of help do I require during the recovery period?
- What happens if something goes wrong or if I am not satisfied with the result?
- How much will the hospital and surgery cost, including follow-up care after treatments?
- Where and how will the surgery be performed? will any one assist you in performing the surgery? Will there be any other surgeons during the procedure?
- Am I a right candidate for this procedure?
- what other alternative treatment options are there for me?
Conclusions
There are numerous determining factors in choosing a plastic surgeon. The studies have demonstrated that the most important decision making factors in choosing a plastic surgeon are
(1) recommendation by a physician, relative, or friend
(2) accreditation & year of experience of the surgeon
(3) first or Initial consultation are among the top rankings.
