THE SINGLE MOST IMPORTANT QUESTION TO ASK YOUR PLASTIC SURGEON

WRITTEN BY FULVIO URSO-BAIARDA CO-FOUNDER AND PLASTIC SURGEON AT ETERNO 360, ETON, BERKSHIRE

There are lots of questions you should ask your cosmetic practitioner before agreeing to have a treatment, but this is the most important one. This cuts through everything. If they can’t answer this then you would be well advised to walk away. Here it is:

“When was the last time you turned down a patient, and why?”

Making the right choice

As Plastic Surgeons, we see lots of people asking for lots of changes to be made to their bodies. Most of the requests are reasonable and appropriate, but quite a few are not – because of unrealistic expectations of the outcome, or psychological body image issues, because they are doing it for reasons other than their own happiness, or simply because they are just not healthy enough for surgery. A responsible, reasonably busy practitioner will have declined at least one patient that month.

So if they can’t remember the last time they turned someone away (and why) then you should be a little concerned that they are not responsible, not reasonably busy, or both. It’s not relevant that you know that you shouldn’t be turned away. It’s important to know that your practitioner has an ethical code that puts your interests first, before their own, before their mortgage or the school fees or the car repayments. This is the most basic attribute of a decent doctor.

If that is missing then it is very possible that the other things you should expect of a good doctor are missing too: skill, competence, indemnity, cleanliness, professional registration and aftercare. You have complete choice in this market: use it wisely.

Good luck, and above all, please be safe out there.