Learn important cosmetic surgery tips with Dr. Phil Richardson in this blog post.

A woman’s decision to undergo cosmetic surgery is deeply personal and can be a difficult journey to navigate. With so much information available to patients online, it can be easy to come across misinformation and contradicting advice. This is especially true when so many forums are not moderated by healthcare professionals. While researching is extremely important, it’s also important to be able to distinguish between fact and opinion. This blog post aims to provide 10 valuable cosmetic surgery tips from a Brisbane Plastic Surgeon  These cosmetic surgery tips will apply to patients undergoing breast augmentation mammoplasty, breast reduction mammaplasty, breast implant revision, breast lift with implants (mastopexy with augmentation mammoplasty), and more!

Dr. Phil Richardson has been performing cosmetic breast surgery from his Brisbane Plastic Surgery practice for over 19 years, and has seen patients from all walks of life. Over this time, he has seen the victories and struggles of patients navigating their surgical journey. Dr. Richardson has used these experiences to formulate the ultimate guide to decision-making in breast surgery. Here are his 10 important lessons for anyone undergoing cosmetic breast surgery.

(1) START your journey with the consultation

The majority of women view the consultation as one of the major stepping stones towards booking a surgery date. These patients do the bulk of their research and planning before even booking a consult. The pitfall of this approach is that every patient is different! Any research conducted will be guided by what the patient believes they need, and what they believe they can achieve. It happens all too often: a patient comes in for a consultation very well-researched…in the wrong procedure! The number of patients that come in with in-depth knowledge of breast augmentation mammoplasty surgery when they require a breast reduction mammaplasty surgery or a combination would astound you.

Attending a consultation as the first step of your journey has numerous benefits. Firstly, the plastic surgeon is able to recommend the treatment plan required to achieve your goals. They can also answer any major questions you have regarding breast surgery. This can inform all future research you undertake to ensure that you’re on the right path to making the best decisions for you. Your consultation can also provide you with a guide for financial costs. You will discover the intricate details of the clinic process, and all of those elements that will be integral to your preparation and planning. Doing the consultation first is a great way to avoid time-wastage, and the great news is the majority of Brisbane plastic surgeons offer complimentary second consultations within the first 12 months – take advantage of it!

(2) Reach a stable weight

This point isn’t about losing weight necessarily – there is no need to get down to a certain dress size or body fat percentage by any means. This point is about understanding how weight fluctuations can affect results. Reaching a stable weight prior to surgery ensures that you are receiving the right surgical techniques and breast implant sizes for your long-term anatomy. A significant weight loss after surgery can cause your breasts to lose volume, while significant weight gain will similarly provide more coverage over the breast implant and make the implants appear less enhanced. It’s important to understand that weight fluctuations will increase the likelihood of aesthetic changes and desires for implant revision surgery. For this reason, we recommend that patients find a stable weight and not have surgery until they feel they are at their comfortable long-term weight – whatever this may be!

(3) Try not to be time or price sensitive

Compromising on quality will always be a mistake when it comes to cosmetic surgery. While that seems like a no-brainer, price and timing can very often be a determining factor in patient decision-making. Being sensitive about time and rushing the process can lead to undesirable outcomes. By the same token, choosing your lesser-preferred plastic surgeon whose results don’t impress you as much just to save a few thousand or have surgery a few months earlier can result in post-operative dissatisfaction and regret. Ensure you invest time, money, and energy into your choice of surgeon to avoid problems later on.

(4) Be realistic about cosmetic surgery recovery

Recovery after breast surgery should not be rushed, so when you’re planning for surgery you should be realistic about what activities and actions you will be limited to. Ensure you have the appropriate help organised and you are choosing an appropriate timeframe to have your surgery. Remember you are to avoid any heavy lifting for 6 weeks, so if you have young kids that need to be picked up – do you have help with this? You can’t drive for one week following surgery – can you organise somebody to take you to your post-op appointment? Somebody must stay with you for the 24 hours after surgery – do you have an appropriate support person available? There are many factors you need to consider so be realistic about what timeframe will work for you.

(5) Ensure you have a financial buffer

This is one of the most important cosmetic surgery tips. Part of undergoing surgery with a Brisbane plastic surgeon is accepting that complications can occur, and there may be out-of-pocket costs involved. Before proceeding with surgery you should have a financial safety net in place. This ensures you are prepared in the rare event that a complication occurs. You want to be able to comfortably cover the costs of any complications management to avoid stressful situations. While complications are rare, and incurring additional costs is equally rare, there is always a chance. Being prepared for this chance will help you have a smooth and stress-free road to recovery.

(6) Take time to learn your pre-operative anatomy

A huge part of managing expectations of cosmetic breast surgery is understanding your natural anatomy. Perhaps your breasts sit at different heights, or are slightly asymmetrical. Maybe you have a wide chest wall or naturally wide-set breasts? While these breast characteristics can be slightly altered by surgery, they often can’t be completely changed. For example, if your breast folds sit at different heights it’s difficult to achieve perfect symmetry through breast augmentation mammoplasty. Repositioning of the breast fold can help to improve this asymmetry, but will likely not completely eliminate the asymmetry. The same goes for different breast sizes and the use of different implant sizes to correct this asymmetry. Patients with wide-set breasts will see an improvement in their breast gap, but may never achieve close breasts.

(7) Communicate with patient communities

There are so many patient communities on social media and they are a goldmine of information and cosmetic surgery tips. Check whether your surgeon of choice has a patient community group on social media and join it today! It’s important however to remain wary that these sources should not be trusted for medical or surgical-related advice. They are great for things like tips on what to buy for recovery, or how to save for your surgery. That being said, please be aware of when not to use these resources. Unqualified social media users cannot comment on what procedure is right for you. Likewise, they can’t tell you what implant size or placement you should get. Understand which aspects of your journey require professional advice, and avoid the forums for these questions.

(8) Avoid comparisons

While interacting with patient communities can be very beneficial, it’s important to understand that making direct comparisons and trying to choose your desired implant size or reduction size from photos of other patients is never a good idea! Each patient has completely different anatomy, whether you can see it in photos or not. If you like a result you see the best thing to do is ask the person if you can save the image to show your surgeon. At your consultation you can show the photos of the results you have compiled to help communicate your expectations to your surgeon. From here, you and your surgeon can have a meaningful discussion about what can be realistically achieved!

(9) Make yourself aware of the post-op symptoms and risks you should be concerned about

There are many different symptoms and sensations that can occur after breast surgery, so it’s important to be able to differentiate between what’s normal from what isn’t. Normal symptoms include:

• Feeling sunburnt and tight
• Having tingling sensations or sharp shooting pains
• Minor drainage from the incision
• Discomfort, pain, bruising, swelling
• It’s normal to feel moody, depressed, “up and down” or anxious
• It’s normal for the scar to be slightly red for the first 6 months
• The breasts may remain swollen and sensitive for a month or longer
• Swelling may even travel to other areas such as under the arms or abdomen

Abnormal symptoms, and instances where you should contact your operating surgeon include:

• Sudden and intense swelling in one or both breasts
• Increased pain with widespread redness or discharge from the wound
• A feeling that the breast is warm-to-touch or has a rash
• Feelings of light-headedness, dizziness, or nausea or vomiting

(10) If you are unsure, seek a second opinion!

A consultation is not a contract. There is no obligation to go ahead with surgery with the first surgeon you see. This is particularly important if you aren’t feeling 100% confident with them. If you’re unsure about any aspects of your consultation or decision you should seek a second opinion! This will help you get an understanding of any knowledge gaps, will highlight any differences in the practices and bring to light your preferences when it comes to bedside manner, surgeon experience, and advice.

If you’re a woman considering cosmetic breast surgery, the giant web of information available to you can definitely be overwhelming. This blog post aims to provide 10 helpful cosmetic surgery tips to make sure you’re getting the most out of your time and money. The key takeaways? Don’t waste your time researching what you think you need, find out first hand. Be realistic about your journey and invest your time, money, and energy into making a good and informed decision for you. Take advantage of the valuable resources available to you, but take everything with a grain of salt. Be wary of fact vs opinion, and seek a second opinion if you don’t feel 100% secure in your decisions.

If you have any questions regarding cosmetic breast surgery, feel free to contact the Brisbane Plastic Surgery Team here.