You will want to choose your plastic surgeon differently from how you choose other doctors. The usual way to choose a specialist is to get a referral from your own physician. Then you interview him, asking the questions you find in the many magazine articles, "How to choose a Doctor."

For cosmetic surgery, you need more than this. You need to see the result. Just as you wouldn't choose an artist because he went to a particular art school, neither would you choose a cosmetic surgeon solely on his schooling. Though credentials are important, they are not as crucial as the surgeon's art work.

One of our patients said, "It was really simple to choose you as a plastic surgeon. I asked my five friends with the best results where they had their cosmetic surgery. They all went to the Austin-Weston Center". We were delighted.

She chose by checking out the results. Smart. We suggest you begin this by asking around. You might ask, "I have a friend who wants a face lift. Who is the best around?" Find out which surgeons have the best reputations. Talk to several people who have had cosmetic surgery and ask what their experience was. Ask to see before and after photos… and their scars.

Visit the two surgeons whose name comes up the most. Visiting more than two gets confusing — cosmetic surgeons are artists and their styles vary.

How do you choose between them? Two ways. Does what they say sound right to you? And which do you like the best? Trust your intuition. If you don't like them, or if what they tell you seems "off", or if you just don't "click", then leave and restart the process.

Doing your homework gives you a greater chance of getting the result you want.

How does a plastic surgeon choose you?

We think of cosmetic surgery as a partnership where you are the senior partner and our job, as your partner, is to serve you. This partnership is built on trusting each other. Not only do you choose your surgeon but we also must choose who we feel comfortable partnering with. So the consultation is a two-way street. Just as you must ask, listen, intuit and trust, so do we.

We are looking for people who will have a great physical and emotional result. Our surgeons need to discover if you are open-minded, responsible, willing and grounded in reality. In short, will we be glad we performed your surgery?

Open minded — Are you locked into your own thinking… or do you listen to and consider the possibilities we might see for improvement? Not that you must agree, but are you open to the possibility?

Responsibility — Are you hoping we will tell you exactly what to do and make us responsible for your choices? Or do you exercise your free will as an adult and take responsibility for your choices and actions?

Willing — Are you willing to do what you need to do to have the results you want? Will you keep your agreement to come to the pre-op appointment? Will you get a responsible support person? Will you treat our staff well? Are you willing to follow our post-op instructions?

Grounded in reality — To be grounded in reality means something special to us. One aspect is your knowing what cosmetic surgery is in general and what it can and cannot accomplish. We suggest you read articles about cosmetic surgery, read our book and look at our video. They are free for the asking.

You must also be realistic in your expectations of what cosmetic surgery can produce for you in particular. Wanting a particular result and hoping it occurs must be grounded in the reality of whether we can obtain it. Better to ask than to assume.

We are all human so we all have some of these four qualities. What we are looking for are enough of these for us to become partners. Enough so our staff can take care of you through the process and have you come out the other side thrilled with your result.

Harvey W. Austin, MD
Box 1470
Berlin MD 21811
email: h.austin@mchsi.com