Over the past twenty years, cosmetic surgery has grown in popularity. There are a couple of reasons for this but chief among them is the prevalence of procedures such as Botox and breast enlargement among celebrities and increasing media coverage of such procedures. The good news is that the increased demand for cosmetic surgery has led to some exciting advances in cosmetic procedures. The bad news? It has led to an increasing amount of rogue surgeons performing poor work at the expense of their patients.

Cosmetic surgery is one of the leading areas in medical negligence claims, and this is partially because of alleged surgeons who are happy to undercut competitors on price at the expense of quality. Often, these doctors do not have the correct accreditation and are relatively easy to root out with a bit of research. Finding the right cosmetic surgeon for you requires a bit of work, but its well worth it to avoid potential trauma and the possibility of a medical negligence case in the future.

The first step to finding a good cosmetic surgeon is to thoroughly research the potential surgeons in your area. Start off by researching the procedure you want to have performed, what it involves and the potential risks that come with it – having this knowledge will prove invaluable when you have consultations with potential surgeons later.

Compiling a list of surgeons is quite an easy task, as you will be able to find most of them via search engines or through local directories. Obviously researching them all in depth would be a mammoth task, so refer to any reviews previous users might have left regarding their service. It’s recommended that you choose a local surgeon as travelling post-surgery can be extremely painful. Pick out the best five and then get to work on researching more in depth.

When you’ve got your list of five, start looking into them in depth. Talk to your GP and ask for any information they may have on the surgeons – after all, they will socialise in medical circles and are bound to have heard about any particularly nasty cases of medical negligence. Check for case studies on their websites and any recommendations they may have from previous clients. Also make sure they have accreditation – in the UK, this would be in the form of a Care Quality Commission certificate and accreditation from the British Association of Plastic, Reconstructive and Aesthetic Surgeons. If they don’t have these accreditations, look elsewhere.

Finally, meet the surgeons and have a consultation. Ask plenty of questions and refer back to the info you gathered about the procedure earlier; do you feel as if the surgeon has left any details out or hasn’t been as clear as they could have been? If this is the case, your best option is to stay away. It’s also important to remember that a consultation isn’t a sales meeting. If you aren’t certain that you want to go with the surgeon and they start to offer you deals and offers, resist them – your safety and the quality of the work is much more important than making savings.

Unfortunately, there can be no guarantees that cosmetic surgery won’t go wrong regardless of the provider, and it’s for this reason that medical negligence solicitors exist. However, if you take the steps above, you can significantly reduce the risk of anything going wrong with your procedure.

Ben Greenwood is writing on behalf of Pearson Hinchliffe, specialists in cosmetic surgery compensation

Ben Greenwood is writing on behalf of Pearson Hinchliffe (http://www.ph-medicalnegligence.co.uk), medical negligence solicitors specialising in cosmetic surgery compensation

Author Bio: Ben Greenwood is writing on behalf of Pearson Hinchliffe, specialists in cosmetic surgery compensation

Category: Womens Interest
Keywords: cosmetic surgery, medical negligence