Patient guides to cosmetic surgery

Your surgeon gives you a written list at your pre-operative assessment. It usually includes stopping smoking and all nicotine products, cutting out alcohol, and stopping medicines and supplements that can increase bleeding, such as aspirin, ibuprofen, fish oil and vitamin E, unless a doctor has told you to keep taking them. Tell us about everything you take before you stop anything.

Whether they are on the GMC Specialist Register, how often they perform your operation, what result is realistic for you, what the risks are, who looks after you afterwards and what happens if you need further treatment. Our consultation checklist has the full list.

Larger operations on the body, such as a tummy tuck, body lift or a combined mummy makeover, usually take longest, with several weeks before you are back to normal activity. Your surgeon gives you a recovery timeline for your own operation.

All surgery carries risk. It is safest when it is performed by a specialist surgeon, in a CQC-regulated hospital, after a proper assessment of your health. We publish our own clinical outcomes each year.

Usually not. If you have a fever, a cough or a chest infection, your operation is normally postponed until you have recovered. Tell us as soon as you feel unwell before your surgery date.

We ask for at least two weeks between your consultation and your surgery, in line with professional guidance, so you have time to think about your decision.

It depends on your operation and your dressings. Your nurse explains exactly when and how before you go home, and the timing is in your aftercare notes.