If you are considering breast augmentation with implants at my Palo Alto or San Jose office, or at any practice for that matter, scheduling a consultation is your first step. This initial appointment sets the stage for your experience, allowing you to meet your surgeon face to face and ask any questions you may have about the procedure. You want to leave a consultation feeling informed, empowered, and excited about the journey ahead—and there are a few questions you can ask to make sure that’s the case.
This blog post will provide suggestions for questions you can ask at your breast augmentation consultation to cover important safety considerations and to fully prepare for your next steps.
7 Questions for Your Breast Augmentation Consultation Checklist
1. Are you a board-certified plastic surgeon?
It’s essential to work with a surgeon who is certified by the American Board of Plastic Surgery. This certification reflects an ability to uphold the highest standards of skill, safety, and ethics while practicing plastic surgery.
Discussing credentials in person will give you extra assurance that your surgeon has the knowledge and experience necessary to perform your surgery safely and successfully.
2. What can I expect for recovery?
Your surgeon will discuss aspects of recovery, including discomfort, post-surgical garments, timelines for returning to work and exercise, and other guidelines you should know. (You can find tips for preparing for breast augmentation recovery in our related blog post.)
3. What are my breast implant options?
During your consultation, you’ll have the opportunity to discuss breast implant sizes, materials, placement, incision locations, and more to customize your result.
Consider asking about the benefits and drawbacks of different implant materials, why a certain incision location may be ideal in your case, and which size will look most proportional to your figure.
4. Am I a candidate for natural breast augmentation?
If you are looking to achieve a subtle size increase without the use of implants, you may be a candidate for natural breast augmentation via small-volume elective liposuction transfer (SVELT). This technique involves taking fat from your own body and injecting it into the breasts. This process is repeated over the course of several appointments to increase breast size gradually.
5. What are the risks of breast augmentation?
Your surgeon will explain the possible complications of breast augmentation, including capsular contracture and infection. Your surgeon also will describe the measures the practice takes to prevent those issues.
It’s important to have a strong understanding of the risks, as rare as they may be, so you are prepared and know what to do if complications occur.
6. Which type of anesthesia will I be under?
Most likely, you’ll be under general anesthesia during your breast augmentation, but it’s wise to ask about anesthetics before any surgical procedure.
Ask your doctor who will administer your anesthetic, why the chosen anesthetic is preferred, and what side effects you may experience after the surgery.
7. Can I see before-and-after photos of patients whose bodies are similar to mine?
Your surgeon should have plenty of cases to review with you during your consultation, both as examples of their work and as visual guides of what your results may look like after your surgery. To see examples of the breast augmentation results you can expect at my practice, please take a look the photos below or visit our before-and-after photo gallery.
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If you’re ready to explore whether breast augmentation is right for you, schedule a consultation by contacting us online or calling (650) 325-1118 (Palo Alto) or (408) 371-1118 (San Jose).
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