Frequently Asked Questions About Plastic Surgery

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This guide the most raise before a consultation. Where a topic more detail than a short answer allows, we have linked to the guide. For procedure-specific questions, the service pages have full breakdowns.

Choosing a surgeon and a clinic

"Plastic surgeon" is a title in UK — it a doctor on the GMC Specialist Register for Plastic Surgery, who has completed the full and aesthetic training pathway and holds FRCS (Plast) or equivalent. "Cosmetic surgeon" is not a protected title — any UK doctor can use it, regardless of their specialist . Full discussion in .

Check three things: GMC Specialist Register for Surgery entry (free search at gmc-uk.org), FRCS (Plast) qualification, and full of BAAPS or BAPRAS. All three are through public registers, free of charge.

The Care inspects UK providers against five — safe, effective, caring, responsive, and well-led — and . "Good" or "Outstanding" ratings the has met in those areas. Full in .

riskier than in a CQC-regulated UK setting, for structural reasons that surgeon verification, inspection, indemnity, fly-home VTE risk, and access to care. UK Office data records 28 British deaths from cosmetic surgery in Turkey alone 2019 and mid-2024. Full discussion in .

Suitability and eligibility

Suitability depends on the procedure, your overall health, your BMI, your smoking status, your history, your mental health, and your and expectations. The enquiry call with our coordinator establishes a preliminary view; the in-person consultation with the makes the final assessment. See .

Under 30 for most body procedures, with some flexibility up to 32 for facial work and post-bariatric body . The reflects evidence elevated BMI to higher rates of infection, venous thromboembolism, wound healing problems, and . Full in .

Most require to be 18 or over. There is no fixed upper age limit — suitability is on health rather than age. Healthy patients in their seventies facial rejuvenation and selected body procedures.

If you are above the BMI threshold for your chosen procedure, yes. If you are within threshold but not at stable target weight, weight loss before better aesthetic and lower rates. Rapid weight loss in the immediate weeks before surgery is not — it depletes protein and stores. See .

Yes. Centre for requires complete of smoking, vaping, and all nicotine products for at least six weeks before surgery and six weeks after. Nicotine constricts blood vessels and substantially wound healing, with in skin necrosis, wound dehiscence, and infection. This is a requirement for to proceed.

The consultation process

Four stages: initial enquiry, with a coordinator, consultation with the operating surgeon, and a two-week cooling-off period before surgery is booked. Full in .

£100 for a consultation, £250 for a consultation (where you are seeking correction of surgery elsewhere). The consultation fee covers any necessary consultations for the same procedure.

Yes, by video. A consultation can assess broad and answer most questions, but does not replace the physical required before any is booked. living outside London often start with a virtual before in.

The most consequential cover GMC Specialist status, volume, who performs the surgery, the anaesthetic plan, the facility’s CQC rating, and the policy. Full list in .

The procedure itself

Most Centre for procedures are under total intravenous anaesthesia (TIVA), a controlled general with rapid recovery profile. A anaesthetist is present throughout, with full including ECG, pulse oximetry, blood pressure, and capnography. Some procedures — labiaplasty, in adults, smaller blepharoplasty cases — can be performed under local anaesthetic. See .

UK consultant-led in is very safe in absolute terms, with mortality from cosmetic in fit patients well under 1 in 100,000 for most . complication rates vary by procedure and are discussed in detail at consultation. The factors that materially affect safety are qualifications, facility standards, anaesthetic provision, and patient selection.

Most at Centre for are day cases — in the morning, discharged the same day. Some larger procedures (abdominoplasty, large mummy makeover, some combined cases) one or two nights of stay. This is confirmed at consultation.

Varies by procedure. Blepharoplasty 1 to 2 hours. Breast augmentation 1.5 to 2 hours. 2 to 3 hours. Liposuction 1 to 4 hours depending on areas. 3 to 4 hours. Facelift 3 to 5 hours. Mummy makeover 4 to 6 hours.

Recovery

Time off work ranges from 5 to 7 days for or liposuction, to 2 to 3 weeks for abdominoplasty or mummy . Full exercise resumption is 6 to 8 weeks. Final aesthetic result takes 6 to 12 months as residual and scars mature. Procedure-by-procedure breakdown in .

Stop smoking and vaping six weeks before. Stop relevant blood-thinning on medical advice. Arrange an adult to you home and stay 24 hours. Book time off work. . Set up your home for low-effort . Full checklist in .

Any surgical incision leaves a scar. The is scars that fade significantly over 12 to 18 months and are positioned where clothing or natural skin folds conceal them. Rhinoplasty and blepharoplasty scars are typically hidden inside the nostril or in the natural eyelid crease. Abdominoplasty leaves a long but low scar below the bikini line. See .

depends on procedure. Propped at 30 for facelift, blepharoplasty, and upper body . On your back with knees elevated for . On your front or sides only for BBL. See .

Light from day 3 to 4 for most procedures. and gentle activity from week 2 to 3. Full gym, sport, and heavy from 6 to 8 weeks for most procedures, longer for abdominoplasty. Always check with your at the 6-week review before intense activity.

Short domestic travel after the for most procedures. flights after two to four weeks on procedure, because of cabin and VTE risk. BBL patients should not fly within at least two weeks because economy seating is with positional .

Cost and finance

Centre for publishes guide prices on each page. ranges: blepharoplasty £2,000 to £5,000; rhinoplasty £6,500 to £9,000; breast £6,000 to £8,500; abdominoplasty £8,000 to £12,000; mummy makeover £12,000 to £18,000; £9,000 to £15,000 on . Full pricing at .

Surgeon’s fee, anaesthetist’s fee, facility fee, implants or specific consumables where applicable, pre-operative assessment, the day of surgery, and all routine follow-up appointments through the 12-month review. Anything additional is in advance — there are no hidden costs.

Yes. , our finance partner, offers 0% APR over up to 12 months on most procedures, to standard credit checks. Longer payment terms with interest are also available. Full in .

Almost all purely cosmetic surgery is . The NHS funds (after trauma, cancer, congenital conditions) and a narrow set of functional (some breast reductions, some rhinoplasty with breathing problems, some blepharoplasty with significant visual field obstruction) where strict criteria are met. Aesthetic motivation does not qualify.

Psychological and motivational

The patients who do best are those for themselves, with specific, anatomy-focused goals, in a stable point in their lives. The patients who do worst are those expecting surgery to resolve a relationship, career problem, mood disorder, or a sense that "something is wrong with me". Honest reflection on motivation matters, and is part of what the .

BDD is a recognised condition in which a patient is preoccupied with a perceived flaw that is mild or invisible to others. Patients with BDD have poor satisfaction rates after cosmetic surgery, may seek repeated procedures, and benefit more from psychological treatment than surgical intervention. UK consultant for this at . Full in .

Acceptable at any point before . The period exists for exactly this reason. may not be fully refundable depending on how far into the booking process you are, and our terms set this out in advance — but the option to defer or cancel is always available.

Booking a consultation

If your question isn’t answered above, the next step is a with one of our consultant plastic surgeons. Call or use the . We are based at , and run six days a week including .

Centre for Surgery · · GMC specialist-registered · · · ·

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Centre for Surgery is a hospital on London’s Baker Street, plastic and cosmetic surgery through . Our expertise spans facial procedures including and , , for men, and body contouring procedures such as and . safety, surgical excellence and natural-looking results sit at the heart of everything we do.

Centre for Surgery is a private on London’s iconic , offering and surgery led by GMC-registered consultant surgeons.

Marylebone

London

W1U 6RN

Mon – Sat, 9am Fire & Ice – Resurfacing 6pm

Saturday available