Patient guides
Writing from the practice
Answers to the questions patients ask before and after an operation — what a procedure involves, how recovery actually goes, and how to judge whether something is right for you. Each piece is written by one of the surgeons and reviewed before it is published.
Articles
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Nasolabial Filler — What the Appointment Involves
What happens before, during and after a nasolabial filler appointment — the consultation, the injection itself, and the aftercare that affects the result. -
Choosing a Filler for Nasolabial Folds
Hyaluronic acid, calcium hydroxylapatite and poly-L-lactic acid fillers behave differently in the nasolabial fold. What each one does, how long it lasts and which suits which finding. -
What Pregnancy Changes, and What Surgery Can Address
Pregnancy changes the abdominal wall, breasts and skin in ways that diet and exercise cannot always reverse. What changes, why, and which of them surgery can address. -
How Long Do Mommy Makeover Results Last?
Abdominoplasty results are largely durable; breast results change with time and gravity. What determines longevity, and what maintains it. -
Mommy Makeover Recovery and Aftercare
What recovery involves after combined post-pregnancy surgery — the first 24 hours, the first week, and the months over which the result settles. -
The Types of Liposuction Explained
Tumescent, ultrasound-assisted, laser-assisted, power-assisted and water-jet liposuction each suit different tissue and different areas. What separates them. -
Liposuction Recovery, Stage by Stage
What happens in the first 24 hours, the first week, weeks two to six and beyond after liposuction — and why the final contour takes months to appear. -
Tummy Tuck or Liposuction — Which One
Liposuction removes fat. A tummy tuck removes skin and repairs muscle. Which procedure you need depends on which of those three things is your actual problem. -
Mesotherapy for Facial Pigmentation
Mesotherapy delivers vitamins, minerals and amino acids into the dermis to address pigmentation. What it treats, what it involves and how to care for the skin afterwards. -
Mesotherapy for Acne Scarring
Mesotherapy delivers a tailored blend of vitamins, amino acids, hyaluronic acid and other actives into the middle layer of the skin to stimulate collagen and improve the texture of acne scarring. This page explains the technique, the aftercare it depends on, and who it is not suitable for. -
Cosmetic Surgery and Plastic Surgery
The two terms are used interchangeably and they are not the same thing. Plastic surgery is the specialty; cosmetic surgery is a subspecialty within it. The distinction matters mainly because of what it tells you about the training of the person operating on you. -
Liposuction Scars and How They Heal
Liposuction is performed through small incisions, but every incision leaves a mark. This page sets out where those incisions are placed, which techniques produce which kind of scar, and the aftercare that determines how visible the result is a year later. -
Tummy Tuck and Stretch Marks
An abdominoplasty removes the skin below the navel, and any stretch marks on it go with that skin. Marks above the navel remain. This page explains what the operation can and cannot do about striae, and what else exists. -
Facelift Recovery, Week by Week
A facelift recovery runs to two to four weeks before most patients return to ordinary life, with swelling continuing to settle beyond that. This page sets out what happens on the day, in the first week, the second week and at one month. -
Facelift or Botulinum Toxin?
A facelift and botulinum toxin treat different problems. One repositions descended tissue surgically; the other relaxes the muscles that create dynamic lines. This page explains which addresses what, and how the two are combined. -
How to Become a Plastic Surgeon
Plastic surgery is one of the longest training routes in medicine — roughly two decades from the start of medical school to independent practice. This page sets out the stages, the European certification that ends them, and what the working week actually looks like. -
Checking a Surgeon's Board Certification
Board certification is the shortest available answer to the question of whether a surgeon has actually been trained to do the operation you are considering. This page explains what the European certification involves and how to verify it independently. -
The Risks of Liposuction
Liposuction is an operation, and it carries surgical, anaesthetic and aesthetic risks. This page sets out what those risks are, which patients should not have the procedure, and the safety principles that reduce the complication rate. -
How Much Does Plastic Surgery Hurt?
Fear of pain stops many people from asking about a procedure they would otherwise consider. This page explains how anaesthesia is chosen, what makes one patient feel more than another, and what discomfort patients typically report after the commonest operations. -
Which Type of Tummy Tuck Do I Need?
Abdominoplasty is not one operation. The mini, full and extended versions differ in incision length, in whether the abdominal muscles are repaired, and in recovery time. This page explains which anatomy each is designed for.