At The Beauty Gurus, a large part of our role as surgeons is to ensure the patient is planning surgery for the right reasons. To please a partner who is applying pressure is simply not one of them. Of course we expect spouses to have opinions, and of course we expect patients to value that opinion. However, the patient’s opinion is the most important one to us as surgeons.

Are they going ahead for the right reason? Are they aware of the risks? Are they aware of the potential and expected outcome? Are their expectations realistic? Good surgeons will take patients through a rigorous process to determine these factors and others. Then we recommend that patients take at least two weeks to think about things.

Following this we see the patients as many times pre operatively as both patient and surgeon deem necessary. Surgery for anyone is a massive step. Elective surgery is arguably even bigger as generally all our patients start as well patients, with no ailments or injuries.

We constantly hear of providers who magically have a cancellation at short notice. Who then pressure the patient into going ahead to fill a list for their own reasons, not to the benefit of the patient other than a small monetary discount. We recommend avoiding these providers. They are putting their goals ahead of yours.

As BAAPS registered surgeons (the British Association of Aesthetic Plastic Surgeons) we adhere to the guidelines recommended to ensure patients are treated properly, fairly and with respect for their well being. However, many of these guidelines are just that: guidelines. And without being mandatory, patients fall foul of the less than ethical tactics of other providers in the business with different standards.

This is why we always recommend patients do their homework.

We happily encourage patients to visit review sites such as Doctify that only carry verified patient reviews.