Be informed before you choose cosmetic surgery
Understand the risks, choose a qualified practitioner and a licensed facility.
Social media can flaunt and normalise the results of cosmetic surgery in a way that suggests it is a straightforward procedure. But cosmetic surgery is still surgery, and like any serious medical procedure, it does have risks.
To make an informed decision about cosmetic surgery, you need to rely on credible sources of information and ask the right questions.
Credible sources of information include:
- your healthcare professional
- government health websites, including the Australian Government Department of Health and Aged Care or your state or territory health service
- the Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency (Ahpra).
Before you decide on cosmetic surgery:
- Choose a qualified medical practitioner who is skilled and experienced in performing your cosmetic procedure.
- Check that your procedure will be done in a licensed facility.
- Understand the risks and possible complications from your procedure.
- Ask the medical practitioner to provide you with the plan for your recovery and aftercare.
- Know what to do if something goes wrong.
The Department of Health and Aged Care has a patient safety checklist and question guide that can help make sure you are asking the right questions and getting the right information about your surgery and care.
If you have concerns about the outcome of your surgery or quality of care, you can contact the Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency (Ahpra) on 1300 361 041.
