Dr. Shah Top Doc

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Knowing if and when you’re ready for plastic surgery can turn into a daunting headache.

Most patients, it turns out, don’t really know when they’re ready.

With nearly 20 years of experience, Dr. Darshan Shah, plastic surgeon at Beautologie, has created the ultimate step-by-step guide in the book “Making the Cut: 10 Things You Should Consider Before Getting Plastic Surgery.”

“I think a lot of people think they are ready when they come to see us but they really have a couple more steps they have to take,” Shah said.

The first 10 chapters focus on the psychological and physical considerations for surgery, followed by 10 chapters dedicated to specifics of individual procedures.

Before considering plastic surgery, the No. 1 question to ask yourself, according to Shah, is the timing.

Scheduling surgery in between a hectic schedule is not recommended. A weekend to recover is not realistic.

“Every single time I see someone that fudges their recovery time, they always end up extending it,” Shah said. “You have to remember it’s elective surgery and you need to make sure you’re doing it at the right time in your life.”

Another common step people tend to overlook is their personal health.

Many times, people are not in the right physical health to have a procedure done.

Plastic surgery isn’t just about going under anesthesia and waking up magically healthy.

Sometimes it’s best to push off surgery in order to avoid any complications during the surgery.

In correlation with feeling and being healthy, is the no smoking rule.

“Everything about cigarettes is bad,” Shah said. “But that is multiplied by a thousand times when it comes to having any surgical procedure, especially plastic surgery.”

Besides the physical considerations for surgery, the psychological reasons are as important.

Knowing why you really want plastic surgery is key.

There are conversations that need to happen between patient and physician to find the right reasons.

“The goal is for you to look in the mirror and feel confident,” Shah said. “That’s what I love about plastic surgery because I experience that with my patients all the time.”

Shah’s book will be available in the spring.

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