The final decision to receive plastic surgery should be based on the following:
- Confidence in the surgeon comes from the surgeon’s empathy, his experience (an older surgeon doesn’t necessarily mean more experience), proper training, attendance of frequent meetings, courses and naturally providing team approaches
- The surgeon must be able to provide realistic expectations, explain the risks and complications and discuss the procedure’s challenges. It is the responsibility of the surgeon to highlight the possibility of surgical revisions and the absence of a perfectly symmetrical result
- Seeing similar before and afters and eventually social media cases and videos
- It is important to understand that human tissue does not always respond in the expected way, especially if there are existing scars, asymmetries, previous surgery, or if the patient is a smoker, has a condition like diabetes or hypertension, an autoimmune disorder or another serious health condition.
- Post-surgery care is critical for the final result: each procedure implies different limitations, and the therapist plays a fundamental role in recovering the tissues and rehabilitating the patient for his professional and social life.
Choosing a surgeon
To begin with, I recommend the website of the Portuguese medical association is used, and the name of the doctor inserted, to check what speciality he/she has – ordemdosmedicos.pt/medicos-registados-na-ordem-dos-medicos/
For plastic surgery, choose a plastic surgeon! Then check his CV and his affiliations to national and international societies. The more rigorous ones demand experience to become a member.
Choosing a clinic
Surgeries must be carried out in a licensed medical clinic or a hospital. In Portugal, the rules, protocols and standards are quite demanding. You can therefore be assured that Portugal is a safe country for any surgical procedure.
Tiago Baptista-Fernandes is a plastic surgeon and can be contacted through www.upclinic.pt or tiago.baptistafernandes@upclinic.pt
