Cosmetic Surgery FAQs

Posted on 24th January 20209th March 2022 by Pau Webley

We sat down with our Coordinators to go through the cosmetic surgery FAQs that you want answers to.

Q: Is under the muscle better?

A: There is no right or wrong when it comes to placing implants as each patient is different.

If you have enough breast tissue, the surgeon will go under the muscle to give that more natural look and to minimalise the risk of seeing implant edging.

Q: Does it hurt?

A: Yes, but this is mainly due to discomfort, after all, you are having surgery! However, we always give you pain relief and advise you to keep on top of it to ease the pain.

Q: Do I have to buy the bra you recommend?

A: YES! The bra is vital as it is part of your recovery process. This is not your everyday sports bra, it is a medical bra designed for Cosmetic Breast procedures.

Q: Who is the best?

A: We get this question a lot, and our answer is always the same – ALL our Surgeons are fantastic!! They all give different opinions and views on the procedure and the person.

We cannot advise you who to go with so we advise you to do your research.

Q: What is a Pre Op?

A: A pre-op is a pre-examination to prove you are physically fit for surgery. Depending on the procedure you are undergoing, it normally consists of; height, weight, BP, heart rate oxygen levels, MRSA swabs. It is VERY important you attend this examination, as without the results your surgery will be placed on hold OR Cancelled.

Q: Is the surgeon at my consultation, the same consultant performing my surgery?

A: Yes! Whichever surgeon you see at consultation is the same surgeon performing your surgery!

Q: Do you offer a discount?

A: We don’t offer discounts willy nilly unfortunately. However, we have plenty of offers throughout the year for you to take advantage of.

Q: Do you have before and after pictures?

A: Yes we have these pictures on our social media. However, we DO NOT post anything without the patient’s written consent.

If your question was not mentioned in this cosmetic surgery FAQs don’t fret! Get in touch with our fantastic team. They will answer any of your questions you may have.

Your Journey Through Surgery

Posted on 3rd October 20199th March 2022 by Pau Webley

Making the decision to go under the knife for cosmetic surgery is one of the biggest you’ll ever make. If it’s your first time you might be wondering what the process is, so here’s a guide to what you can expect on your journey…

The first step is making contact, if you have come to us direct then we’ll give you as much information about your desired procedure as we can and we will also advise you to get as much information as possible from other sources including the internet, google search, websites, YouTube etc about the procedure, its benefits, potential complications and expected results about the procedure you are interested in.

You’ll then be offered an appointment with a qualified and experienced surgeon or another healthcare professional who has practising rights at our clinic. Once you choose to consult with any of the doctors or other healthcare professionals, they will answer any questions and address any concerns you may have. The choice will be yours to book or not to book the treatment.

YOUR CONSULTATION

If it’s your first visit, then we will need you to complete a medical history form and make us aware of any medication you are taking or have been taking recently. If you already have breast implants, your surgeon would need to know full details of those implants including make and size at the time of your consultation. If you attend or have attended a hospital specialist including a Psychotherapist within the last two years, the surgeon will need a copy of last report from the specialist to your GP or to you. If you omit any information you are potentially putting your wellbeing at risk.

It is essential that you discuss your requirements realistically and honestly during your consultation, so that the surgeon and other healthcare professionals can establish whether your expectations are achievable and within the normal constraints of surgery and other treatments. Photographs will be taken on the day of the surgery. These photographs will form part of your clinical record. They will not be used for any other purpose or shown to other patients without your permission. A chaperone will be present throughout the consultation to take notes on what has been discussed between the patient and surgeon.

If you proceed with surgery you will need to sign a consent form on the day. This may be at the time of your consultation with the surgeon or on the day of surgery or on both occasions. A copy of the consent form will be provided to you so that you can read it through before the day of your surgery. This just ensures that, before your operation, you and your surgeon are in full agreement regarding the procedure that has been planned for you and that you understand the choices of treatment available, the potential benefits and the risks and possible complications of the various options. You will not be able to proceed unless this consent form has been completed and signed by both you and your surgeon.

After the forms have been filled you will be taken to talk to our Patient coordinator. They will discuss with you about available surgery dates, prices and aftercare and also answer any further questions they may have.

After taking the time to really think about whether surgery is right for you and weigh up the pros and cons, if you decide to go ahead you will then book and confirm your surgery date. We know that this is a big step and we appreciate that you may want to take time to do more research and think about your decision. This is why we also have a 14-day ‘cooling off’ period in place, which means you can change your mind about the procedure after booking within that period. If you decided to carry on and go through with the procedure, you will come back to the clinic around 3 weeks before their surgery date to see one of our lovely nurses who will complete a full pre-operation assessment. A week before your surgery date, we’ll email you an admission letter which will tell you what time to arrive on the day of surgery as well as what time to stop eating and drinking and what to bring with you.

YOUR SURGERY/TREATMENT

Many cosmetic surgery companies can appear impressive, meeting with patients in lavish ‘sales’ consulting rooms. However, once a procedure is booked, patients often find that they are sent to a hospital where the company has simply rented temporary space to perform the procedure. This is not the case at New Birkdale. Your surgery will be carried out in our very own private hospital, and your pre-op and post-op recovery will take place in our ward.

Everyone in the theatre will introduce themselves to you before the anaesthetist gets on and sends you off to sleep, they’ll be by your side throughout the whole procedure. The type of surgery will depend on the length of operation and recovery time. Our nurse manager will make the decision on which room your recovery will take place in and this will be dependent on what procedure you’re having, what medication you’re on and any special care you may need.

Most of our theatre lists are all planned as day cases, so if it’s just a straightforward procedure you will be discharged on the same day. If it’s a slightly more complicated procedure needing longer recovery then you may need an overnight stay which we will arrange.

POST OPERATIVE CARE

Once the decision has been made to discharge you, you’ll be given an out-of-hours phone number (24-hour care line) for the nurse manager as well as any medication and painkillers that may be needed to aid your full recovery. You will also receive a post-op care leaflet with tips on what you can and, most importantly, can’t do during your post-op recovery.

You may also be given a date and time to come back and see the nurse, which is normally 1 week after surgery. At this appointment, the nurse will remove the dressings and just check that everything is healing ok. She may redress them, but most of the time, everyone should be healing ok enough to leave the dressings off.

You’ll see the surgeon between 4 and 6 weeks post-op and if everything is fine at that appointment then the surgeon will discharge the patient and there’s no need for them to come back. But if they do want to come back, or if they have any concerns or worries, then they’re more than welcome to. They have aftercare cover for 1 year, with all appointments to see the surgeon, nurse, and staff within that year free of charge.

Post-operative consultations by our nursing team are free of charge for life. Post-operative consultations by your surgeon are free of charge for one year post-operatively.

Remember that every patient’s journey is unique so the process will be tailored to you and your specific needs so if you have any further questions, please contact us.

Interview With A Patient Co-ordinator: Breast Surgery

Posted on 12th April 20188th March 2022 by Pau Webley

Working as a patient co-ordinator at a leading cosmetic and plastic surgeons’ is certainly an exciting, encouraging and rewarding role for Jodie. From providing patients with pre-surgery support and advice to liaising with surgeons and nurses for beneficial aftercare, there’s always much to be done. As many patients considering breast surgery want to understand the whole process, we recently sat down with Jodie to discuss just that. Who better than someone who oversees these surgeries on a regular basis?

I: Let’s start with the basics. A patient calls up. What are the typical questions they will ask?

J: They’ll ask lots of things. Surgery availability, prices, where procedures are held and how long after surgery can they go on holiday are common, as well as where we’re located, our surgeons’ names and how long we’ve been here. Successfully answering these questions is imperative to building trust with potential patients.

I: A prospective patient visits a clinic for a breast surgery consultation. How long will this last and what information will they be provided with?

J: Patients will see the surgeon for approximately 20-30 minutes and then the co-ordinator for another 30. The surgeon will go through any of the risks and complications of surgery and take patients’ breast measurements. They can also (and usually like to) try implants in a bra. A co-ordinator will discuss their pre-op, what happens prior to surgery and coming in for an MRSA (Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus Aureus) test. Some people may also need blood taking. We’ll also discuss with them what happens on the day of the procedure and aftercare. We offer a 1-year aftercare warranty and then we also offer a 20-year cover at an additional £599.

I: It sounds very thorough and well done.

J: It is. It’s a very thorough consultation. On their 1^st visit they get all the information that they could possibly require to help them make the decision about going ahead.

I: What breast surgery concerns do patients have, if any?

J: I think a main concern for patients is probably if they’ve chosen the right implant size. It’s probably the biggest decision on the day of consultation that patients make. So, the surgeon will take all of the breast measurements and he will advise an implant that’s suitable for those measurements. It’s not just a guessing game. He doesn’t just pick out a number and say, you know, you have a ‘325’. It’s all science. When the surgeon does the measurements, he’ll tell them what implant they can have and a lot of people will say, ‘No. I want to go bigger’, because of what their friends have told them to say. It’s obviously the surgeons’ job and our job to make them aware of the limits of what implant size they can have.

They then try implants in a bra with a vest on in front of a mirror and then they are told that what they see in the mirror is how their breasts will look naked. With a bra you can enhance them and make them look bigger. If the patient is unsure or a bit dubious about the size then we’d never let them go ahead with the surgery until they were completely happy. So, if they saw the surgeon and then came through to see a co-ordinator and were still ‘umming’ and ‘ahhing’ about the size, we’d send them back to see the surgeon again, or we’d make them an appointment to see a surgeon again so they can have a think about it.

I: That’s good. How long after a consultation will a patient typically come in for surgery?

J: They have to have a 2-week cooling off period. So, from the day of their consultation, they must wait 2 weeks until they can have the operation. Some people go ahead after 2 weeks. Some people go away, have a think about it and then call up and book a date. A lot of people have to take their time, you know, checking with work to see what holiday availability they can have.

The consultation, and all of the associated paperwork lasts 6 months, allowing a patient to go ahead with surgery within that time. But if they decide to go ahead after 6 months, they’d have to come back and do it all again.

I: What kind of things are patients asked to do pre-surgery?

J:1 week before their surgery date, we’ll email them an admission letter. On that admission letter, it tells them what time to arrive the day of surgery, it tells them what time to stop eating and drinking and what to bring with them. We always advise patients to bring something comfortable to travel home in, so something that zips up or buttons and nothing that they pull over their head. We also advise they bring some slip-on shoes so they haven’t got to bend over to put them on, and we’ll also discuss a post-op bra with them. They do have to bring a post-op bra with them and we’ll give them details about which one to order, depending on their size.

I: What should a patient expect on the day of their breast surgery?

J: On the day of surgery, the surgeon and the anaesthetist will both come onto the ward and speak with the patient. The surgeon will draw his measurements on the patient’s chest and the nurse will do some observations. She’ll take the oxygen levels and ion levels for example. Once the surgeon and anaesthetist are happy, then the patient will be gowned up and will walk down to theatre.

Everyone in theatre will introduce themselves to the patient, and the anaesthetist will then put a cannula in the patient’s hand and the patient will be asked to count down from 100 and then she’ll be asleep. The anaesthetist is stood by the side of the patient throughout the whole procedure. The surgeon makes an incision underneath the breast pocket. He makes a pocket inside the breast for the implant to go into. He’ll wash the pocket out, he’ll put the implant in and then close the pocket. He does obviously the same on both sides and then the patient will be taken to recovery and be woken up and taken back to bed to rest for between 4-6 hours before she’s discharged.

We have 3 rooms. A room with 4 beds, a room with 2 beds and a single room. The nurse manager will decide who’s going onto which ward. She’ll decide that the week before and it’ll be dependent on what procedure they’re having, what medication they’re on and any special care they may need.

I: Are they always discharged the same day, or is dependent on each person?

J: Most of our theatre lists are all planned as day cases, so if it’s just a straightforward breast augmentation, then yes, it’s just a day case. If it’s an uplift or breast reduction then they may be required to stay overnight.

I: How do patients usually feel after the surgery?

J: Very, very sleepy.

I: What post-surgery support do New Birkdale Clinic provide?

J: When they’re discharged they are given an out-of-hours phone number (24-hour care line) for the nurse manager. They are given antibiotics and painkillers and they take that for a week. They’re also given a post-op care leaflet and it tells them things such as not to shower and not to take the resins off. It gives them a date and time to come back and see the nurse, which is normally 1 week after surgery. At the appointment, the nurse will remove the dressings and just check that everything is healing ok. She may redress them, but most of the time, everyone should be healing ok enough to leave the dressings off. However, they must continue to wear a sports bra day and night for 6 weeks.

They’ll see the surgeon between 4 and 6 weeks post-op and if everything is fine at that appointment then the surgeon will discharge the patient and there’s no need for them to come back. But if they do want to come back, or if they have any concerns or worries, then they’re more than welcome to. They have aftercare cover for 1 year, with all appointments to see the surgeon, nurse and staff within that year free of charge.

I: Do you have any advice for those considering breast surgery?

J: I think I’d probably say don’t listen to friends and family, and listen to only your surgeon, because the surgeon will take your breast measurements and they advise on the best possible implant size for you. A lot of people come with a pre-conceptive idea about what implant size they want and it’s not always suitable for them.

Do some research. Make sure it is the right thing for you and that you have the time afterwards to rest and recover. Remember, no heavy-lifting for at least 6 weeks post-op and no holidays within that time because you can’t wear bikinis or go in chlorine water.

Discover our range of breast surgery procedures here.