Please arrive about 15 minutes early for your appointment to ensure that all pre-appointment paperwork is completed to allow your surgeon to use their consultation time with you most efficiently. Some days the parking in the building can be difficult and it is worth allowing some extra time on those days (Tuesday – we are looking at you!!)
In an initial consultation, your surgeon will go through a thorough medical history and will ask specific questions about the areas that you wish to be operated on. For instance, it is important for your surgeon to know about your breast cancer risk before discussing any breast surgery with you. It may prompt a request for a pre-operative mammogram or cancer screening test.
A thorough physical examination is part of your one hour consultation. Measurements of your body and standardised clinical photography are important tools that your surgeon will use to plan & individualise your procedure.
Many cosmetic & reconstructive plastic surgery procedures are best explained through digital photography & diagrams. Digital photograph is used as a tool to plan your procedure and assess your results. We do our best to ensure that your photographs are de-identified at the time that they are taken. You should be prepared to remove identifying jewellery before photography begins. Your photographs are kept in secure data storage, and you are able to access them at any time by signing a form requesting their release. At the 3 month follow up appointment, your surgeon will offer you a standardised set of before and after photographs. You have the right to request that those photos are released only to you, or are able to be used within the rooms only.
You should have enough time for questions about your procedure, but we hope that we will have provided enough information for you to read ahead of time that you will have most of your answers before you see your surgeon. There are lots of things about surgery that are individual to each surgeon (such as recovery instructions) and surgeons adjust things over time, so feel free to ask questions about the things you are unclear on.
You consultation will finish with some time with the patient co-ordinator, or individual surgeon’s practice manager. They will take you through expected fees, and the booking process. Please be aware that in NSW there is a mandatory 7 day cooling off period between an initial consultation and the earliest date that you can book an operation. The cooling off period is 3 months for children under the age of 18 that are seeking an elective procedure to change their appearance.