Questions to Ask for Breast Augmentation
Twenty questions to take into a breast augmentation consultation. They cover the surgeon's own record, implant type and placement, sizing, complications, anesthesia, recovery, revision costs, and what changes over the following decades.
The questions
Open any question for the note
Are you board certified in plastic surgery, and how many breast augmentations did you do last year?
Why ask it
Certification and volume are separate facts, and only one of them is usually volunteered. Several boards have names close enough to plastic surgery to be mistaken for it, so ask which board, and ask for a number rather than a phrase like 'hundreds over my career'.
Can I see before and after photos of patients whose starting shape was close to mine?
Why ask it
Gallery photos are selected to flatter. Asking for cases that match your starting volume, skin quality, and any asymmetry is the only way to see work that predicts your result. If no such case exists in their files, that is worth knowing.
Which implant type would you use in my case, and what makes you lean that way?
Why ask it
A surgeon who recommends the same implant to everyone is applying a default. A considered answer refers to your tissue thickness, how much rippling you would notice, and what happens if the implant ever needs replacing.
Would you place the implant over or under the muscle, and what does that change for me?
Why ask it
Placement affects how the breast moves, how much the first week hurts, and how it looks when you use your chest muscles. Ask what the tradeoff is for you specifically, because there is one either way.
Where will the incision go, and what will the scar look like after a year?
Why ask it
Incision site changes both scar visibility and the rate of certain problems. A surgeon who promises an invisible scar is overselling; a useful answer describes where it sits, how it matures, and what makes healing worse.
How do you arrive at a size, and can I try sizers before I commit?
Why ask it
Cup size is not a measurement surgeons can work from, since it varies by bra maker. Expect talk of volume in cubic centimetres and the width of your chest. Being handed a size chart to pick from is a bad sign.
Am I a candidate for a lift or a fat transfer instead, and how would those results differ?
Why ask it
People who ask for implants sometimes want shape rather than volume, and the wrong operation cannot be fixed by a bigger one. A surgeon willing to describe a case where they would decline to place implants is showing you their judgment.
Which complications have you seen in your own patients, and how often?
Why ask it
Textbook risk lists are easy to recite. Their own numbers, including infections and implants they had to remove, are harder, and a surgeon who says they have never had a complication is either new or not counting.
If I develop capsular contracture, what would treatment involve and who pays for it?
Why ask it
This is one of the most common reasons for a second operation, so it deserves a specific answer rather than reassurance that it is rare. Find out now whether the surgeon's fee and the facility fee would fall to you.
Who gives the anesthesia, and is the facility accredited for this kind of surgery?
Why ask it
Anesthesia carries its own risks, separate from the surgery. You want to know who is monitoring you, their credentials, and whether the operating room is an accredited surgical facility or a room in an office suite.
What will the first two weeks be like, day to day?
Why ask it
Written recovery timelines skip the parts people find hardest: sleeping upright, drains, needing help to wash, and how long the pain medication lasts. A vague answer here usually means you will be surprised in week one.
When can I drive, lift my arms overhead, and go back to work?
Why ask it
These three come back at different times, and the answer depends on placement and on what your job involves. Pin down dates so you can arrange leave and childcare instead of guessing.
When can I run or lift weights again, and will the result change if I train hard?
Why ask it
Athletes and regular lifters get different advice, particularly with implants under the muscle. If exercise matters to you, this answer may change which placement you choose.
How will implants affect mammograms and future breast screening?
Why ask it
Implants change how imaging is done and who should read it, and the answer matters more if you have a family history. A surgeon who waves this off is not thinking past the operating room.
Could this affect breastfeeding, and what happens to the result if I get pregnant?
Why ask it
Incision choice bears on breastfeeding, and pregnancy can change the shape you paid for. If children are a possibility, the honest answer may be a reason to wait.
How will this look in fifteen years, and when do implants usually need replacing?
Why ask it
Implants are not permanent, and the tissue around them keeps ageing. You are buying a maintenance commitment as well as a result, so ask what future surgery is likely and what it tends to cost.
What is your revision rate, and what are the most common reasons you go back in?
Why ask it
Every surgeon revises some cases; the useful information is the pattern. Size regret, malposition, and contracture point to different weaknesses in assessment, technique, or consultation.
If I need a revision, which costs fall to me and which are covered by you or the implant warranty?
Why ask it
Implant warranties usually cover the device and little else, leaving the surgeon's fee, anesthesia, and facility to you. Get this in writing before the deposit, not after a complication.
What is the full cost, and what is not in that figure?
Why ask it
Quotes often exclude anesthesia, facility fees, garments, medication, and follow-up imaging. Ask for the total you will actually pay and what a complication would add.
Is there anything I have said I want that surgery will not deliver?
Why ask it
This is the question that separates a consultation from a sales appointment. A surgeon who cannot name a single limit on the result has not been listening, or does not intend to.
Preparing for a breast augmentation consultation
Practical guidance for the conversation itself
Before the appointment
Book more than one consultation
Two or three opinions will differ on implant type, placement, and size, and the differences are the most informative thing you will hear. Book them close together so the conversations are still fresh when you compare them.
Bring photographs, not a cup size
Images of results you like communicate more than a letter and number, and they give the surgeon something concrete to agree or disagree with. Bring a photo of a result you dislike as well.
Write your medical history down
Smoking, weight changes, autoimmune conditions, family history of breast cancer, and prior biopsies all bear on the plan. Have dates and names rather than trying to recall them in the room.
Take someone with you
You will not remember most of a long consultation. A second person can take notes while you concentrate on the conversation, and they will catch answers you accepted too quickly.
Reading the answers
- Numbers beat adjectives. 'Very experienced' and 'four a week' are not the same claim.
- A surgeon who names a downside of their own recommendation is easier to trust than one who names none.
- Watch for answers that shift to price when you asked about risk.
- If you are asked to sign or pay on the day, that is a sales structure, not a medical one.
- Ask who takes your call at 9pm on a Saturday in the first week after surgery, and note whether the answer is a person or a service.
Paperwork worth reading before you commit
The quote
Check whether anesthesia, facility fee, garments, medication, and follow-up visits are inside the figure. Ask what a return to theatre would cost if it happened in the first month.
The implant record
You are entitled to know the manufacturer, model, size, and lot number of what is placed in you, and to be given that record afterwards. Keep it; a future surgeon will need it.
The revision policy
Ask specifically what the practice covers, for how long, and under what conditions. Warranty language from the implant maker rarely covers the surgeon's fee.
Common pitfalls
Deciding on price
The cheapest quote often excludes the items that make up the difference, and revision surgery costs more than the gap you saved. Compare totals for the same operation, not headline figures.
Booking around a date
Fixing surgery to a wedding or a holiday removes your ability to postpone if you are unwell or unsure. Leave months of slack after the planned date.
Skipping the second opinion because the first surgeon was reassuring
Reassurance is easy to produce and tells you nothing about technique. The surgeon who raised a concern may be the more careful one.