subject: Everything You Wanted To Know About Liposuction Surgery [print this page] Everything You Wanted To Know About Liposuction Surgery
If you're thinking of having some liposuction work, you probably already know what liposuction is, what it can do, and what makes a good candidate. You've decided that you are seriously interested in liposuction and may have found at least one, and perhaps more, potential doctors. Your next step is to make an appointment for a consultation so the doctor can examine you, talk with you about your concerns, find out why you want liposuction, and let you know what can be done. In this article, you will learn what happens at your consultation or first visit, what you can do in advance to make this first meeting more productive, what questions you should ask the doctor, and what questions the doctor might ask you.
Q: Is your first visit to the doctor always a consultation?
A: Yes, it is.
Q: What should a patient bring along for this first visit, or consultation?
A: It's a good idea to bring a written list of your questions, so you won't forget anything. I like to explain the procedure to patients and when I'm finished, have them ask me questions. If there are certain things they bring up that I haven't discussed, it helps me to think about them and possibly discuss them with future patients.
That's all you really need to bring. You don't have to bring pictures of yourself, but you can do that if you have a specific reason. For example, if there is some fat on your neck that you want trimmed down and you have a photograph of how it used to look, that can be helpful for the doctor. We might not be able to get it back to exactly the way it was before, but photos give us a clear idea of what the patients want. Then we can show the patients what we think we can do, so they will have realistic expectations.
Q: Is it a good idea to ask the office to send forms to your home in advance so you can arrive with them already filled out?
A: Some offices may do that. It depends on how many days in advance you make your appointment. You can also have them faxed or e-mailed to you, but some patients prefer to fill them out when they come in to the office. Some patients fill out the forms at home and forget to bring them in. But if the office is willing to send them and you want to save a little time, you can ask about it. Of course, you can't fill out everything in advance. In my office, there is a substantial number of forms to fill out, including your medical history, much of which is taken down verbally.
Q: What other forms have to be filled out?
A: There is a demographic form with the patient's address and phone number, there's also a patient's medical history form listing any medications they're taking, any allergies to medication, and any vitamins or herbs they take. Then there are forms that the nurse and doctor fill out when they interview and examine the patient. These include notes on the physical examination, plans about what will be done during the liposuction surgery, a quote sheet for the fees, and a consent form they can read so they will be fully informed of any possible side effects or complications that could occur during the liposuction recovery period.
Q: Do patients have to sign the consent form at the consultation?
A: No. It is signed prior to the actual procedure as consent for the surgery. Patients are also informed that they have to have someone to go home with, that they cannot go home and stay there alone following liposuction surgery.
Q: After the patients fill out the forms, what happens next?
A: In my office, they meet with the nurse first. The nurse takes some of their history and finds out why they are there. If they want liposuction, the nurse will ask where on the body they want it and what they hope to achieve. They are also asked about their normal weight, their maximum weight, their ideal weight, what kind of diet they eat, what exercise program they follow, if they are pregnant or nursing, and so on.
We have an extensive checklist that helps us make sure we take a very complete history for every patient. We have the same routine for the physical examination, because no matter how many patients you see and how experienced you are, you can't afford to forget anything.
