Be Informed, But Don’t Get Overwhelmed

/0 Comments/in /by

I often see patients who have been given conflicting advice by previous doctors.

  • One might have said they need a round implant, while another recommended a teardrop
  • One might have suggested a breast lift with implants while another said implants alone would be fine
  • One might say that you should have your tummy tuck first and then your breast reduction, while another says you can do it all in one go
  • One says the implants should go below the muscle and another says they can go above
  • One says that you need liposuction of your upper abdomen at the time of your tummy tuck while another won’t do this

Who are you to believe?

They can’t all be right, can they?
You can understand why it can be confusing and in my Facebook Live Q&A every Tuesday, I often have patients who are beside themselves and don’t know what to do.

As a surgeon, I can see why they are getting conflicting advice

…and as a human, I can see why this can appear to be contradictory.

I think it is good to get different opinions from surgeons, but sometimes, the more opinions that you get, the less clear it can become!
The fact is that, in many cases, they are all right.
You see, there are pros and cons of most of these decisions.
Putting implants under the muscle will make it less likely that you will get rippling
…but it is more likely for the implants to sit high or wide and the possibility of animation deformity.
Combining a tummy tuck with a breast reduction will get it all done in one go with one recovery
…but it is a big operation and it will knock you back.
There is no right answer.
It is about being aware of the pros and cons so that you can make an informed decision about what is right for you.
Teardrop implants might be right for one person, but round implants might be ideal for another.
I think that some surgeons will portray the situation as black and white.

These are the best implants

or

It is better to have the implants under the muscle

But the truth is that if there was one best way of doing something or one type of implant that was the best, we would all do it that way or use that implant.
…but we don’t
We all have our own opinions and experiences that lead to our judgements about what might be best for you.

I always say that the most important decision for you to make is to choose your surgeon.

Do your research about the surgeon and the clinic or facility that you are going to be treated in.
This is much more important than going in to minute detail about nanotextured implants or different types of liposuction.
There are often many different ways to get a good result.
One surgeon might use VASER liposuction while another uses power-assisted liposuction.
The results might be exactly the same.
…or more importantly, the results will be better in the hands of the better surgeon.
It is more about the skill of the surgeon than the technique used.
You can spend months researching the ideal shape, profile and model of breast implant, but if the pocket is

  • too small,
  • or too big,
  • or too high,
  • or too wide,

You will get a poor result.
Some of my patients will go backwards and forwards with an implant choice, giving themselves sleepless nights convinced that their decision will be the difference between a good and a bad result.
…when in reality, their decision will have very little effect on the outcome.
The difference between the implants they are trying to choose from is often millimetres and I could use either and they would not notice.
However, if I am not careful to place the implants properly.

  • …to ensure that their nipple is placed in the centre of their breast
  • …that their cleavage area is maximised and not too wide apart
  • …to be meticulous in creating a pocket for the implant that allows it sit naturally on their frame so that they do not look out of place

They will be unhappy, regardless of the implant they have chosen.

So beware of anyone who tells you that they know the ‘best’ way to do it (especially if they are not actually the person who is going to be doing it).

…and spend you time researching your surgeon rather than the procedure.

Of course you need to educate yourself about what you are having done.
…but you don’t need to know the minutiae about the difference between a dual plane type I and a dual plane III submuscular placement of breast implants.
Good luck and if you want to know more, get in touch or jump on to one of my LIVE Q&A’s on Facebook every Tuesday night at 7pm.
Hope to see you there!

Download a free copy of ‘5 Questions To Ask Your Plastic Surgeon’

Psychological assessment prior to cosmetic procedures

/0 Comments/in /by

It is in the news again about the need to protect patients from unscrupulous practitioners who may prey on the vulnerable and perform unnecessary cosmetic procedures on patients who may have an underlying psychological or mental health problem.
The concept of this is welcomed by our specialty and has always been welcome, but it is the implementation that is more difficult.

There are questionnaires and screening questions that we can use which can go some way to identify underlying psychological issues that may need to be addressed prior to any physical treatment, but it is a challenge to find something that can reliably score and identify a patient who may need some other intervention prior to their procedure.

If it were easy to do, I am sure most plastic surgeons in the land would have no qualms in adopting a pre-operative screening tool.

However, one of the main reasons for the lack of this, is that there is no simple and reliable objective tool that we can use, and most of us rely on our clinical acumen supported by some broad screening questions or surveys.

Plastic surgery is one of those specialties that remains an art rather than a science and the treatment of a cosmetic patient cannot be done by algorithm or pathways.
We do not have clearly defined outcome measures such as reduction in blood pressure or complete removal of a cancer, so our outcomes are entirely subjective and our treatment plans are bespoke and often unique to the practitioner.
There are many ways you can address a breast asymmetry or the aging face and it is a combination of the plastic surgeon’s skills with the patient’s desire that helps us to come up with a plan.

Plastic surgery relies on us as practitioners, to talk to patients and get to know them, so that we can make an assessment and judgement and this goes beyond the physical attributes we see before us.
We are taught to pick up on signs and symptoms that might lead us to request further intervention before proceeding with our treatments.
Things like an unrealistic expectation or a discrepancy between the amount that a physical feature concerns a patient and the degree of abnormality associated with that feature.

These are things that it is hard to score and put a number to in an objective way.

It comes from years of experience and talking to patients and dealing with the outcome.

The media love to portray plastic surgeons as being uncaring and only interested in the surgery rather than the patient behind the surgery.
But in fact, we all want to get good outcomes for our patients and operating on patients with an underlying psychological or mental problem is not only bad for the patient but it is bad for the doctor too, because we do not want to have people who are unhappy with what we have done to them.

We want people who are delighted with their results and want to tell the world.

I have no doubt there are unscrupulous practitioners who do not spend enough time and consideration with their patients, but I do not think it is simple enough to just say that they should be offering a questionnaire prior to have a procedure.
The problem goes deeper and it goes back to training and qualifications, and the fact of the matter is, that there is an enormous variety of doctors who treat patients with cosmetic problems, ranging from fully training plastic surgeons who have gone through an accredited and rigorous set of training and exams in order to achieve a place on the specialist register of the GMC and be awarded a specialist fellowship in the Royal College of Surgeons, to doctors who have no surgical training whatsoever, right the way through to practitioners who may have no medical training whatsoever.

I think this is the underlying problem.

The lack of training and experience resulting in bad decisions and poor patient selection.

This is not good for the patient or the speciality.
Pre-operative psychological assessment is essential but it is not as simple as filling in a questionnaire.
If there is anything I haven’t covered, then join me on Facebook Live at 7 p.m. every Tuesday night when you can pitch your questions directly to me, or you can e-mail here if you would prefer a more direct reply.

Click Here To Subscribe To My Blog

Sam Smith inspiring body confidence

/0 Comments/in , /by

Photo from https://www.instagram.com/samsmith/

I love seeing posts like the one Sam Smith recently posted on Instagram showing him standing topless on a beach.

The standard Instagram photo of a man topless on a beach show him with a chiselled six-pack and rock-hard pecs, but this simply is not what normal male chests look like.

Sam Smith looks great, but he is actually pointing out that it was difficult for him to post the photo because it does not look like the physique of a male model.

I think most men would be proud to have a chest and abdomen like his, but his point is well made.

It has become so mainstream to see these images, men and women with impossibly toned bodies and sometimes quite frankly ridiculous muscle definition, that we feel that we cannot be proud of our normal bodies.
I think the danger with saturating the media with these abnormal images of men and women, is that people tend to think that is what a body looks like.

I am in a very privileged position in my job that I see men and women of all shapes and sizes with their clothes off, and I am here to tell you that what you might think is a normal body is not.
In fact, the photo of Sam Smith where he makes references to his curves, to me looks like quite a slim and svelte physique.

The normal body has rolls and folds, asymmetries and blemishes.

You might say that as a plastic surgeon I make a living from people’s insecurities with their figure and so I should be happy when someone comes to me to request a change, but I am not.

Yes, I am a plastic surgeon, but I am also a normal human being with a family and young children.

I do not want to live in a society where people have an unhealthy image of themselves and are sad and embarrassed about perceived imperfections, when the reality is that asymmetry is the norm. 
It is not uncommon to have a roll here or a bulge there. 
I would love for us to be more at peace with our bodies and the more celebrities we look up to and perceive to be perfect who are not afraid to show us themselves, warts and all, the more we can get away from the unhealthy image of the body.
Our clinic strapline is ‘everyone deserves body confidence’ and I would like to be part of the movement to empower people to realise how beautiful they are.

There is a quote from St Augustine from 399AD:

People travel to wonder at the height of mountains

…at the huge waves of the sea

¦at the long courses of rivers

…at the vast compass of the ocean

…at the circular motion of the stars

¦and they pass by themselves without wondering

There is definitely a powerful emotional and psychological element that people like Sam Smith, Jess Glynne, Anne-Marie, Keira Knightly and Loose Women, have all done their bit to dispel the myths around body image.
I have a 13 year old daughter and I would hate to think that she would feel in any way unhappy about herself, but I see the pressure young people are put under.
I have no wish to be part of the problem and I know critics would say that plastic surgery helps to propagate these myths, but in my practice I really want to help.

I do think that we can be a force for good and certainly when patients have significant asymmetry or bodies that are out of proportion, we can help to bring things back into line and give back body confidence.

We see it every day.
I know the media would have us believe that plastic surgeons are only about overly inflating the boobs or hollowing out the face, but that is not our reality.
We work with a psychologist because we want to do what is right for the patient. 
I want to be part of a more ethical and responsible face of plastic and cosmetic surgery because it has had a bad image for far too long.

I know that we can be a tremendous force for good and the right operation performed by the right surgeon on the right patient can transform their lives.

Everyone deserves body confidence and that comes from emotional, physical and psychological well-being.

Click Here To Subscribe To My Blog

Different Types Of Skin Cancer

/0 Comments/in , /by

Cancer is a very emotive word and when people hear the diagnosis of cancer they understandably will conjure images of prolonged unpleasant treatment and poor prognosis.

However, when it comes to skin cancer, it can cover a range of different types of cancer from the relatively mild form which can be cured by minor surgery, through to the more aggressive types which can carry with them a poor prognosis.

There are three main types of skin cancer and they can usually be distinguished on their clinical appearance:

  1. first is a BCC basal carcinoma
  2. next an SCC squamous cell carcinoma,
  3. and the other is malignant melanoma. 

Malignant melanoma is in a category of its own, which is why the other types of skin cancer are sometimes known as the non-melanoma skins cancers.

They usually look quite different in that BCCs and SCCs are red patches of dry crusty skin which can be confused with a spot that does not heal up.

They sometimes ulcerate and may bleed or itch. 

Melanoma on the other hand tends to be a pigmented lesion, in that it is brown, can start in an existing mole, or present as a new mole.

It is usually identified by a change in a mole and it becomes bigger, smaller, or starts itching or bleeding. 

They are both due to sun exposure (this is why I keep going on about having SPF on a daily basis not just when it is sunny outside).

However, melanoma is more associated with sunburn, particularly sunburn as a child, but it is very common in sunny climates like Australia.

BCC and SCC are more associated with chronic sun exposure and because our skin is exposed to the sun all the time, over the years this sun exposure can take its toll, which is why BCCs and SCCs are more common the older we get and it is also why they are more common in sun exposed areas such as the face.

Melanoma is at one end of the spectrum and it can be quite a significant disease.

It can spread rapidly and can be associated with a very poor prognosis which is why if you have any moles that you are worried about you will need to get them checked out on an urgent basis.

On the other hand, BCCs and SCCs which do not tend to look like moles but more like red patches of skin or spots and can sometimes be confused as insect bites, are less aggressive, with BCCs being milder than SCCs.

BCC and SCC can often be cured by removing them and may only involve a minor operation with the main aim to make sure that they are removed completely and if they are completely removed then they may need no further treatment.

This is why they have to be excised and you should not consider other treatment such as curettage or shave because removal of normal skin all the way round and deep to the lesion needs to be attained in order to ensure they have been completely removed.

I have written a guide with what to look for in a mole. 

If you are concerned, then the bottom line is if you have any changes or are worried about it, then you should go to your GP or come and see us to get things checked out.

We will let you know if there is anything to worry about or whether you can simply just keep an eye on things.

Do not panic if you get a diagnosis of skin cancer because it might be one of the milder forms such as BCC which really is not what we normally associate with cancer because once BCCs are completely excised, they do not need any further treatment.

You simply just have to keep an eye out for further lesions because once you have had one you are at a higher risk of getting others.

It is important that we are all vigilant with our skin, look out for any moles or spots that are changing, and as always prevention is better than cure, so be sensible in the sun, keep covered up, use suntan lotion and regularly re-apply it, and without wanting to sound like a broken record, consider incorporating SPF into your daily regime of skin care.

Play safe in the sun.

 

Click Here To Subscribe To My Blog

What is Life-Changing Surgery?

/0 Comments/in , /by

I was invited to a talk on the radio this morning about scar management following a story of a football supporter who had been attacked and had sustained a long laceration to his cheek.
The conversation revolved around the scarring and the emotional impact of scars and what can be done about it.

I am always cautious when talking about scar revision because sometimes people think that plastic surgeons can remove a scar but that is not true.
I think we get that reputation because when we make a scar, we choose where to put them and know how to hide them in natural skin creases or in areas of the body where there are concavities or shadows, so that they can blend in and once settled, can be difficult to see.

Of course, it is a different story with traumatic scars and they are usually a lot more obvious than surgically created scars.
There are things we can do to change the direction of the scar and to improve them if they are raised up or dented in, which is interesting, because the discussion moved onto the psychological impact of having scar revision. 
It is true that the surgery itself is often quite minimal and usually done under local anaesthetic on a walk-in, walk-out basis and the results really can be truly life-changing – except when the definition of a minor operation is one that is not happening to you.
We as surgeons can sometimes think that we are performing minor surgery, but for the patient it can bring tremendous relief from the emotional impact of having an obvious scar, particularly if it is on the face and people’s eyes are drawn to it and they keep asking you about it.
If we can do something to help it blend in and make it less obvious, it can allow you to be you and not to be defined by your physical features.

And this is true of all cosmetic surgery.

It is often deemed to be unnecessary or for vanity reasons, but I think people’s perception is far off the average person seeking cosmetic surgery.
It is usually done for them and not for anyone else and they just want to feel more confident and happier about their appearance.

It was interesting talking to Danny Kelly this morning on BBC WM because it really made me think about the impact that we have on people’s lives and sometimes we can lose sight of this and get caught up in ‘the what we are doing’ rather than ‘the why we are doing it’.

I truly believe that cosmetic surgery can significantly improve people’s quality of life and I am often upset by the adverse media attention, which happens to be part of the positive image of plastic surgery this morning, as this is always what we are trying to achieve because everyone deserves body confidence.

Click Here To Subscribe To My Blog

You Have A Friend For Life

/0 Comments/in /by

We have just been planning how we would like to move forward with the STAIANO Clinic in 2019 and one of my big goals is to create a community for our patients where you really feel like you are being listened to and looked after.

This is something I have always tried to do and one of the reasons that we never discharge anyone is because we are much more about being in it for the long haul rather than just looking to get short term results (once you have been a patient of ours you will always have access to the clinic if you ever have any questions or concerns).

Any sort of breast or body contouring procedure takes time to settle and I am aware that you may have questions or changes many years after your surgery and we are always happy to see our old patients “ but I would like to do more.

I would like to create more of a community.

We have our closed Facebook group for patients with over 200 members, but I would like to utilise the wonderful clinic space and gardens we have here, and so in 2019 we will be hosting meetings and events at the clinic for our previous and current patients.

This will be an opportunity to get together and interact on a less formal basis than the normal clinical setting that we see you in.

I also want it to be a more holistic approach to looking after you and it does not necessarily need to be anything about plastic surgery.

I have got a few ideas myself about things I would like to cover, things like yoga, mindfulness, diet and nutrition, and general lifestyle because I have always wanted the clinic to be somewhere where we do the right thing for our patients.

I am committed to making patients feel better about themselves in whatever way we can, because I see this as our role as doctors and the fact that we are plastic surgeons just happens to be the specific niche we have skills in.

If you have got any suggestions for topics or speakers you would like to hear, then please let us know by getting in touch, either by email, leave a comment below or call us.

I am very excited about the future and watch this space for details of our next event.

 

Click Here To Subscribe To My Blog

Our ‘See & Treat’ On The Day Service

/0 Comments/in , /by
REQUEST A PRICE

 

One of the founding principles of my clinic is to deliver a patient experience over and above expectation. 

I spend a lot of time thinking about how the clinic is perceived by potential patients, to work out ways that we can deliver a better service, give more relevant information, and increase patient satisfaction.

I often speak about having outcome measures, which is quite common in medicine, but cosmetic surgery is one of those areas that fortunately has very few complications and morbidity associated with it.

It is therefore difficult to get objective outcome measures, such as return to theatre rates, infection rates, or implant failures rates, as these are universally very low, so it is hard to distinguish between practitioners on these bases. 

The main outcome measure that I feel we are judged on is patient satisfaction and I think this is an idea that has got room for significant improvement amongst providers of cosmetic surgery and in fact across the medical field.   

 

One of the many unique features of the Staiano Clinic is that we offer a ‘See & Treat’ service. 

This means that patients can come to the clinic with a problem that we can treat in our local anaesthetic operating theatre, such as a mole, a cyst, a split earlobe, unwanted tattoo, inverted nipple, or areola reduction and have the procedure done on the same day as the consultation if they wish.

Clearly not everybody would want this and many patients are happy to come for a FREE consultation in the first instance so they know what to expect and then book in for the procedure at a later date.

Of course, this is perfectly reasonable and the way that most medical practices operate.

However, because I own the whole clinic and so control the minor operating room, I can decide what the best use of time in the operating room is. 

Classically in any hospital, operating theatre time is the most expensive commodity and so hospitals will aim to maximise efficiency and utilisation of the operating theatre which is best done by having pre-booked operating lists.   

 

A see & treat clinic, when the patients may or may not have a procedure, is not an efficient use of the operating theatre as it could result in the operating theatre being booked out for an hour, and the patient may decide not to go ahead with the procedure for any reason.

However, I see the benefit to patients, particularly if they have a troublesome mole or some other lesion that they know they want to have removed and they do not particularly want to come to see the doctor for consultation and take more time off work to come back to have the procedure, and so while the see and treat clinic is not an efficient use of the operating space, it does result in high patient satisfaction and is therefore achieving the ultimate goal of my clinic to give the best possible result to every patient and to do everything we can to ensure that we can deliver a world class service. 

 

 

 

If you book a see and treat appointment with us we ask for £100 deposit to secure the slot and this is fully refundable if you are not suitable.

You can still come and have a consultation with a plastic surgeon and if you remain unsure, simply book in to have the procedure another day or just go and have a think about things.

It is one of the benefits of owning my own clinic that I can make decisions like this. 

If the clinic was run by a commercial organisation, this would not be allowed because it is always about the bottom line with profits and efficiencies, and whilst I accept that these are important and realise that I am running a business, I also believe that when we stand out and go the extra mile for our patients it is a move towards my goal of delivering a national brand that stands for quality and service in plastic surgery.   

 

That is my goal and I truly believe we are delivering a world class service and will continue to innovate and grow, so that we can find new ways to give you a better service and make your life a little bit easier. 

Coming to a plastic surgery clinic or any doctor’s surgery can be daunting and I have set up the clinic so that it is a calm and peaceful environment that is non-threatening and more akin to a five star hotel than a doctor’s surgery.

I have built the clinic around ethics and values and everyone that works here knows what we are trying to achieve and are aligned with our goals.

I have always wanted to create something that I am proud of and it has driven me throughout my medical career and all the decisions I make.

 

I am very proud of the service we offer and I can safely say that every decision is made for patient satisfaction, comfort, peace of mind, and expectations at its heart. 

The freedom to build the clinic how I want, employ the staff that I choose, and utilise the facilities as I feel best has been liberating and we have been running the see and treat clinic for the last five years now and I believe it is a great comfort and convenience to many patients and so we will continue to do so.   

 

We are always asking for feedback and so if there is anything that you feel that we could do better or differently, please let us know.

 

We are constantly looking for ways to surprise and delight patients and we are always looking to get a wow factor. 

This is right from having the most highly trained surgeons in the country so that the surgical results will be second to none, but also from the moment you walk through the door, meet the staff, and engage and interact with us both in person and in the virtual world with our closed Facebook group for patients and our other social media channels.  

 

If you think you like to come for a see and treat appointment please let us know before booking so we can ensure that we have got enough time, but rest assured that there will be absolutely no obligation to proceed, so if your surgeon feels that you may not be suitable for surgery on the day, or if for any reason you are not sure whether you want to proceed, there is absolutely no obligation and no charge as any deposit paid is fully refundable with no questions asked.

If you have any questions, you can always join me on Facebook, Instagram and YouTube where I do a live Q and A every Tuesday at 7 p.m. and I will be available live to interact and discuss any issues.
Feel free to leave a comment below, or drop us an e-mail.

If you want to come for a consultation with one of our plastic surgeons, please call or email us or fill in the on-line contact form.

View Our See & Treat Guide

BOOK AN APPOINTMENT ONLINE


I’m a doctor, so can you trust me?

/0 Comments/in /by

Times have changed and patients are becoming a lot more informed these days with the freely accessible wealth of information available on the internet.

There is no need to pay for information anymore and the days of people investing in the Encyclopaedia Britannica are long gone.
The value these days comes in the interpretation of information, because the more you know, the more you will see that life is not black and white.

Many cosmetic surgery patients go to several doctors before they settle on the final one and will often post questions online asking about the best procedure for them, or the best implant choice, or the best way to do something.
I understand how it is confusing when one doctor would suggest one thing and then another suggests something else.
It is usually not because one is wrong, they are just making a judgement on their own experiences and expertise, and this is what you are really getting from a doctor.

Patients are often seeking the answer as to what they should do, but there is no answer, particularly in cosmetic surgery because it is such a subjective area and there are no algorithms or standard pathways for us to follow.

We have to listen to patients, understand what their aims and objections are, taking into account where they are starting in terms of their body shape and tissue quality, as well as making allowances for the future depending on the patient’s age and lifestyle.
We often cannot answer the question:

what are the best implants for me?
or should I have a full facelift, a mini-facelift or just non-surgical treatment?

Different options will give different outcomes and there will be pros and cons of any treatment, so we will not tell you what the best way forward is, but we will listen to you and try to understand your expectations and advise you as to what the best way to get there might be.
There is and never will be any guarantees, at least in terms of a guarantee of what the outcome will specifically be.
We never guarantee the cosmetic results because we are dealing with tissues and scarring and the effects of gravity and ageing over time, so the results are always unpredictable.

However, what we can guarantee is that we will do our best, we will listen to you and we will try to understand what you are seeking to achieve.  We will give you our best advice and do everything we possibly can to get you there.

In the days of more and more information being available, it is even more important that you trust the doctor.
You may be able to find a contrary opinion or article on the internet, but taken in the context of your own body, it would be open to discussion because the internet will never give you the answer and can only give you information in the broadest sense and is subject to misinterpretation.

I think it is great that the internet exists and we work hard to put out information for patients to understand as much as possible about their proposed procedure.
This is why I will always say to patients that the choice of their surgeon is probably more important than any other choice, certainly in terms of the precise procedure you have or particular type of implant that you have.
You need to be comfortable and confident with your surgeon and to be able to ask questions.
You should be completely at peace that the operation is the right choice for you at the right time, and also comfortable that the surgeon and the clinic will be there for you after the procedure to help to get you through the post-operative period.
It is often difficult initially, with swelling and asymmetry, red tight scars, and pain and discomfort.
It is important that you feel nurtured through this period because it can be frightening and unsettling and you need to trust in your surgical team who have seen it and been through it countless times with previous patients and should be in a position to let you know when and when not to worry.

So, trust me, I am a doctor! 

 

I will give you the best information I can and I will do the best I can to make sure you are looked after.

I cannot guarantee that things will go well, but will guarantee that if they do not go well (a surgeon without any complications is a surgeon who does not operate), we will do everything we can to make things right.

If you have any questions, you can always join me on Facebook where I do a live Q and A every Tuesday at 7 p.m. and I will be available live to interact and discuss any issues.
Feel free to leave a comment below, or drop us an e-mail.
If you want to come for a consultation with one of our plastic surgeons, please call or email us or fill in the on-line contact form.

Click Here To Subscribe To My Blog

Why you need to keep your documentation if you have surgery

/0 Comments/in /by

 It is not uncommon for us to see people here at the clinic who have had surgery many years before.

Typical examples would be patients who have breast implants and may now have some problems with them or would like a different size or shape, or maybe a patient who had a breast lift many years ago and the tissues have sagged again and perhaps needs another lift.

As a surgeon, it is important to have as much information as possible.

This is particularly true when treating patients who have had surgery before and this is why it is important to keep as much information as you can, even though you may not think it is relevant at the time.

We now have a national database of breast implants and we encourage all our patients to sign up to it (it is voluntary) and this has not been the case for many years, so it can be difficult to find details of your original operation.

Sometimes patients forget who their original surgeon was or their original surgeon might have retired or moved on.  Clinics tend to come and go and so it may not possible to approach the original hospital or organisation who did your surgery.

So if you do have any information about your surgery I would encourage you to keep it.

We give all our patients copies of the clinic letters that we write to your doctor and we also give details of the breasts implants that they have.

It may not seem that these letters or details are relevant at the time, but they can be very useful in the future.

If you are changing your breast implants it is always nice to know the size and shape of your current breast implants, particularly if you want to go bigger or smaller, because then we can give you a reasonable expectation of what sort of size you can change to.

Similarly, if you have had a breast lift or a breast reduction in the past, this operation involves isolating the nipple and there are many different ways you can isolate it, and if you are going to have another breast lift or reduction, you must isolate in the same way in order for it to maintain its blood and nerve supply.

This will usually require a copy of the operation notes and so it would be great if you knew where your original operation was held so that we could approach them, as most hospital are very accommodating in giving details of surgery.

If you have had surgery with us and you have not got details of your operation, let us know because we would be happy to forward them to you and of course, you can rest assured that we will always be here so if you do need anything in the future, you or your new provider can always approach us and we would be happy to provide them with details of what you have had done (with your consent of course).

If you have any questions and want to get in touch, then contact us on the website or on Facebook where I do a live Q and A on Facebook every Tuesday at 7 p.m.
Feel free to leave a comment below, or drop us an e-mail.

If you want to come for a free no obligation consultation with one of our plastic surgeons, please call or email us or fill in the on-line contact form.

Why we get so many 5 star reviews

/0 Comments/in /by

 
We often see patients who are at the clinic who have a mole or a cyst or a lipoma, which they have never really liked the look of.
It may be in a prominent position such as the forehead or the cheek and they have finally decided that it is time to be rid of it.
One of the things we pride ourselves on here at the Staiano Clinic, is that all of your consultations will be with the surgeon who will be performing the surgery. 

I am amazed when I hear stories of patients seeing someone in the clinic, only to find on the day of the procedure that a different surgeon is going to operate on them who they have never met before.
This is bad practice and uncomfortable for the surgeon and I am sure that it does nothing to give confidence to you, the patient.

Because all the consultations are with your surgeon, you will find that we will give you an honest opinion about what can reasonably be achieved, because we will be the one who will see you after the surgery and be with you at each of your follow up appointments.
It is all too easy for a sales adviser or clinic nurse to gloss over the potential complications and promise a great result if they do not have to face you afterwards and justify the quality of the result that you have achieved.
This avoids giving patients realistic expectations so they can make an informed decision as to whether surgery is right for them.

Our goal is to see as many patients as possible and we are constantly looking for new avenues to spread the word to reach new audiences (please feel free to share this post).
¦but at the same time, when we see you we want to give you the best advice because the clinic is built on the foundation that we will do everything we can to give you the best result possible, and this might sometimes mean not operating on you.

It is better that you are prepared for the likely result that you will achieve, what the scar will look like, and what effect the surgery can reasonably be expected to have on you. 
However, if you do decide to go ahead with surgery it is far more likely that you are going to be happy with your result.

I think this is one of the reasons why we have so many happy patients.

We are so lucky to have a supportive community at different stages of their surgery who will freely talk and give advice to others.

I guess on the face of it you could say that the Staiano Clinic is a plastic surgery clinic, but that is not what we are really about.

We are about listening to people, understanding their concerns, their hopes and their fears, and talking about what can be done to address them, and going through the options to allow you to come up with a plan for what is right for you.
We are all about the long game and want to make patients for life.

I guess different clinics will have different values and while we do have company goals and commitments, I guess you can sum up our values in two words,
‘we care’.

Plastic surgery is a very personal thing and a personal choice but it has become synonymous with cowboy operators and botched bodies.
I think this is because it is increasingly commercialised and there are a growing number of non-fully trained plastic surgeons providing the surgery who are supported by a corporate backing which is focused on the most efficient and cost-effective way of delivering the service, which often involves the surgeon only performing the surgery and other members of staff dealing with the after care.

I believe the after care is crucial and is something we focus on here.

I guess different models will work for different people.

If you want all of your consultations with the surgeon, come to us.

If you have any questions and want to get in touch, then contact us on the website or on Facebook where JJ does a live Q and A on Facebook every Tuesday at 7 p.m.  Please visit our Facebook page if you would like to put a question directly to Jonathan.
Feel free to leave a comment below, or drop us an e-mail.
If you want to come for a free no obligation consultation with one of our plastic surgeons, please call or email us or fill in the on-line contact form.

#askjj

Read Jonathan's book now!

Jonathan is on a one man crusade to revolutionise the image of cosmetic surgery and is passionate about spreading his message about cosmetic surgery training.
Download our app

Copyright © 2022 Staiano Plastic Surgery
Registered in England & Wales No. 8294829

Privacy Policy| Disclaimer| Terms of Use
design & development by eSterling

Schedule Callback