Initial Consultation

Asking about year one and everything after

How a surgical result holds up, and what affects it over the years, is a question to put to a surgeon directly, and an initial consultation is the first chance to ask it. If you are weighing a procedure, consider arriving with questions about the future as well as the first few weeks.

Some questions worth writing down before you go:

1. What changes should I expect in the first year, and what changes should I expect after that?
2. What maintenance choices does this result depend on?
3. How often does this surgeon see patients return for revision, and what tends to prompt it?
4. What follow-up visits are planned, and for how long?

Reading ahead can sharpen those questions. If your interest is the face as a whole, the Cleveland Clinic overview of facial surgery is one place to start. If injectables are on your list, start with the American Society of Plastic Surgeons' botulinum toxin questions. The American Society of Plastic Surgeons page of skin rejuvenation questions lists questions patients commonly bring. For a view of how outcomes can be measured from the patient's side, see this rhinoplasty outcomes study that uses the FACE-Q questionnaire.

Reaching a practice directly

For anything about a specific practice, use that practice's own published contact details.

None of the reading above is medical advice. A consultation with a licensed surgeon is the place to discuss your own situation.