Download - THE MISTAKES TO AVOID WHEN CONSIDERING BREAST … · THE MISTAKES TO AVOID WHEN CONSIDERING BREAST AUGMENTATION By Breast Excellence Australia & ... low prices simply because they

THE MISTAKES TO AVOID WHEN CONSIDERING BREAST AUGMENTATION

*A ‘MUST READ’ CONSUMER AWARENESS GUIDE*

By Breast Excellence Australia

the mistakes to avoid when considering breast augmentation www.breastexcellence.com.au | 2

THE MISTAKES TO AVOIDWHEN CONSIDERING BREAST

AUGMENTATIONBy

Breast Excellence Australia&

Dr George MaysonMB BS Honours (Sydney University), FACCS, FASCBS, Dip. ABLS

Surgical Fellow, Australasian College of Cosmetic Surgery

Associate Fellow, American Society of Cosmetic Breast Surgery

Diplomate, American Board of Laser Surgery

Principal Cosmetic Surgeon, Breast Excellence Australia

*A ‘MUST READ’ CONSUMER AWARENESS GUIDE*

Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane & Gold Coast | www.breastexcellence.com.au | © Breast Excellence Australia & Dr George Mayson 2014


“I URGE EVERY WOMAN CONSIDERING BREAST IMPLANTS TO FOLLOW THIS GUIDE. BEFORE READING THIS I THOUGHT I KNEW ALL ABOUT BREAST ENLARGEMENT BUT NOW LOOKING BACK I REALISE HOW NAÏVE AND MISINFORMED I WAS!”– LINDA (Patient)


Unfortunately for patients, “cheap overseas cosmetic surgery” has now come to Australia!

We’ve all heard horror stories about

cheap cosmetic surgery gone wrong

and as a clinic specialising in Cosmetic

Breast Surgery we receive on average

2-3 calls per week from patients

who have had cheap surgery by

inexperienced doctors and have ended

up with problems which they either

can’t afford to fix, or even worse, are

unfixable!

Owing to the increasing popularity of

Breast Augmentation, especially among

young women who often have limited

financial resources, cut-price clinics

are sprouting up all over Australia

offering Breast Augmentations by

less experienced doctors for as low

as $4,500 when the total cost among

more skilled surgeons performing the

same surgery is considerably higher.

Cut-price clinics discount heavily in

order to gain a market share through

low prices simply because they cannot

attract patients on experience and reputation. Some of these clinics

are owned by non-medical people

(business entrepreneurs) attracted to

Cosmetic Surgery by the cash flow on

offer from the many patients unable to

afford the more experienced surgeons.

The principal motivation of such clinics

appears to be more one of money

through high volumes of cases but

unfortunately this in turn can adversely

impact standards as well as patient

comfort and safety!

So, yes, you can now find cheap Breast Augmentations right here in Australia. But do you want that? After all, it is life-changing surgery on your body and if it goes wrong it’ll cost many more $$$$ to get it fixed – and that’s providing it’s fixable!

So, if you can’t afford to do it in the

best and safest possible manner, either

borrow or wait and save till you can.

Nothing beats experience, skill, high standards and safety - not even a cheap price!

THE CURRENT STATUS OF COSMETIC BREAST SURGERY IN AUSTRALIA


CHOOSE YOUR BREAST AUGMENTATION

SURGEON ON ALL THE FOLLOWING CRITERIA


There are two separate aspects to this issue that you must always look into:

• Secondly, always remember that FORMAL QUALIFICATIONS ALONE ARE NOT INDICATIVE OF A DOCTOR’S EXPERIENCE IN COSMETIC BREAST SURGERY. For example, a recently graduated

Plastic or Cosmetic Surgeon may

have performed very few or no

Breast Augmentations even though

they have been fully qualified in

Plastic or Cosmetic Surgery. Or

they may have been in practice for

many years but only just started

performing Breast Augmentations.

• Firstly, ENSURE THE DOCTOR YOU ARE SEEING HAS THE REQUIRED SURGICAL TRAINING and is either a:

1. Certified Cosmetic Surgeon,

certified by The Australasian

College of Cosmetic Surgery

WITH Procedural Registration

in Breast Augmentation Surgery.

Procedural Registration with

ACCS means the doctor has

performed a minimum of 100

cases; OR

2. Plastic Surgeon - but most

importantly, always ask how

many breasts he/she has done.

A degree in Plastic Surgery

does not automatically confer

extensive experience in Breast

Augmentation!

1. FORMAL QUALIFICATIONS AND TRAINING

MISTAKE TO AVOID NO. 1


THEREFORE, YOU NEED TO ASK THE DOCTOR YOU ARE SEEING THE FOLLOWING SPECIFIC QUESTIONS:

• Are you a Certified Cosmetic

Surgeon (FACCS) WITH

Procedural Registration in Breast

Augmentation that confirms you

have performed a MINIMUM of

100 cases, or a qualified Plastic

Surgeon with a minimum of 100

cases of Breast Augmentation?

• How many years have you been

performing Breast Augmentation?

• Have you had any litigation in

Breast Augmentations? If so, how

many times?

At Breast Excellence Australia, we only employ doctors that have been carefully vetted in terms of qualifications, surgical training and experience to ensure our patients receive the highest standard of surgical care. For example, our Principal Cosmetic Surgeon, Dr George Mayson:

• Holds a FACCS qualification

from The Australasian College

of Cosmetic Surgery with

Procedural Registration in

Breast Augmentation Surgery.

He is also an Associate

Fellow of the American

Society of Cosmetic Breast

Surgery at whose meetings

he has presented his special

techniques.

• Dr Mayson has been performing

Breast Augmentations for 20

years and Cosmetic Breast

Surgery currently comprises

almost 100% of his total surgical

workload.

• Dr Mayson has the distinction

of NEVER having had a single

instance of litigation in any

procedure, including Breast

Augmentation, over his entire

professional career.



2. EXPERIENCE & REPUTATION FOR CONSISTENTLY GOOD RESULTS ARE PARAMOUNT

It’s not simply a matter of just anybody

inserting implants and you instantly

have beautiful breasts! They may

be bigger, but they may not look that

good or could even look terrible! To

consistently create breasts that are not

just bigger but beautiful as well, takes

years of experience. And to achieve

this, a surgeon must not only have the

required formal qualifications and

lots of experience in Cosmetic Breast

Surgery, he/she must also possess a

sense of artistry to consistently create

beautiful breasts and earn a reputation

for such.

In contrast, some heavily discounting

clinics recruit junior and less skilled doctors with only limited training in

the very surgery they are being hired

to perform. Such doctors may well

lack the experience or knowledge to

handle a complication during or after

your surgery and you could then find

yourself being referred elsewhere at

considerable additional cost!!

As an example, our Principal Cosmetic Surgeon, Dr George Mayson, has been performing Breast Augmentation surgery for 20 years and Cosmetic Breast Surgery comprises almost 100% of his total workload. His passion for, and dedication to Cosmetic Breast Surgery, is reflected in his impressive Before/After Photo Gallery which you can view on our website www.breastexcellence.com.au



3. FULLY INFORMATIVE CONSULTATIONS ARE ESSENTIAL

Stop and consider for just a moment

that for a doctor to:

• take a detailed medical history &

then a breast history; AND

• conduct a breast examination

including detailed measurements;

AND

• fully explain and discuss ALL aspects

of Breast Augmentation; AND

• give you suitable implants to view

and compare in a crop top; AND

• allow you enough time to select

your preferred implants in an

unhurried fashion

would be impossible to do thoroughly

in less than 2 hours. So, if you’re being

offered a consultation any shorter it

can only mean you’re NOT getting

ALL the information you need to make

informed decisions, or are not being

given enough time to view all your

implant options before choosing.

We believe patients should know EVERYTHING about Breast Augmentation before they decide to proceed. And because it takes 2 hours to cover everything listed above, we always allocate 2 or more hours for every new Breast Augmentation appointment. We know of no other clinic in Australia currently offering 2-hour consultations for Breast Augmentation!



“IT’S NOT SIMPLY A MATTER OF JUST ANYBODY INSERTING IMPLANTS AND YOU INSTANTLY HAVE BEAUTIFUL BREASTS! THEY MAY BE BIGGER, BUT THEY MAY NOT LOOK THAT GOOD OR COULD EVEN LOOK TERRIBLE!”


4. WHO’LL BE DOING YOUR CONSULTATION?

Some surgeons and clinics are keen

to book you for surgery yet they

employ nurses or non-medical

‘Cosmetic Consultants’ to give you

the consultation. Although they may

give you some information regarding

Breast Augmentation, their role is to

‘sell’ you the procedure, so all you’re

going to hear is how great their clinic

and doctor(s) are whereas in reality

the exact opposite could be the case.

Moreover, it is illegal for any employee

not medically-qualified to assess your

suitability for surgery, dispense medical

information or recommend implants.

Those should only be carried out by the

surgeon who’ll be doing your surgery,

not by a salesperson or even a nurse of

the practice.

In contrast, at Breast Excellence Australia, your consultation will only be with one of our surgeons. With your input and involvement, he/she will customise and design your surgery to best achieve the ‘look’ you’re after. You will be given various implant sizes and styles to insert into a crop-top so you can actually see the result each can give you. Once you have chosen your implants, you will receive a written, itemised quotation as to costs plus a detailed Information Brochure on Breast Augmentation for you to take home. This brochure serves to re-cap everything covered at your appointment, so you needn’t worry about forgetting something mentioned at your consultation.



At Breast Excellence Australia, we are not brand-loyal and will recommend whichever implant brand and style that can best achieve the ‘look’ you’re after.

5. SOME CLINICS RECOMMEND ONLY ONE BRAND OF IMPLANT

Some clinics buy one heavily

discounted and less popular brand of

implant and this means you don’t get

a choice! Unfortunately, this could

prevent you getting the best possible

result from your surgery. Avoid any

doctor or clinic that shows you only one

brand of implant. The best implant for

YOU needs to be chosen from a range of the best brands available!“Avoid any doctor or

clinic that shows you only one brand of implant.”



6. DOES YOUR SURGEON OFFER THE SAFER POLYURETHANE FOAM-COVERED SILICONE IMPLANTS (“FURRY BRAZILIANS”)?

These implants, made in Brazil for

over 25 years and used in over 30

countries worldwide, were only

approved in Australia in 2008. They

are SAFER because they’ve been

proven to significantly lower the

risks of the commonest reasons for

repeat surgery: Capsular Contracture

and Implant Displacement (implant

moving away from its original position).

Unfortunately for patients, not all

surgeons offer these safer implants

because:

• They do require a different

technique and presumably some

surgeons are not inspired to learn

the subtle differences in technique

that these implants require.

• Getting the best possible results

from them only comes with lots of experience in using them. So if a

surgeon has never used them, or

uses them only infrequently, their

limited experience with them is less

likely to deliver the best possible

result. In turn, this may demotivate

the surgeon from continuing to use

them.

• Some surgeons try to talk patients

out of considering these SAFER

implants on the unsubstantiated

reports that these implants have a

higher risk of getting infected or are

impossible to remove if they need to

be. THESE CLAIMS ARE UNTRUE AND ILL-INFORMED AND ONLY SERVE TO DISADVANTAGE PATIENTS BY CONVINCING THEM TO NOT REQUEST THESE SAFER IMPLANTS – THE END-RESULT BEING THE PATIENT IS PREVENTED FROM REDUCING THEIR RISKS OF REPEAT SURGERY FOR CAPSULAR CONTRACTURE AND IMPLANT DISPLACEMENT!



At Breast Excellence Australia, Dr George Mayson is one of Australia’s largest users of these PROVEN SAFER Polyurethane Foam-Covered Silicone Implants (“Furry Brazilians”) and to date has not seen a single instance of Capsular Contracture or Implant Displacement with these implants!

Admittedly, “Furry Brazilian” implants

may not suit everyone, but at least you

should be given the opportunity to

consider them and not allow yourself

to be talked out of them with incorrect

advice and unsupported claims.

Therefore, if you’re not at least being

offered the choice of these PROVEN SAFER implants, you’re simply not

being given the opportunity to reduce

your risks of complications and repeat

surgery! So, if the surgeon you are

seeing does not use them, or uses them

only infrequently, you owe it to yourself

to at least get a second opinion from

one who does have a lot of experience

with them!

“The ‘Furry Brazillians’ are SAFER because they’ve been proven to significantly lower the risks of the commonest reasons for repeat surgery: Capsular Contracture and Implant Displacement”



“SOME CLINICS BUY ONE HEAVILY DISCOUNTED AND LESS POPULAR BRAND OF IMPLANT AND THIS MEANS YOU DON’T GET A CHOICE! UNFORTUNATELY, THIS COULD PREVENT YOU GETTING THE BEST POSSIBLE RESULT FROM YOUR SURGERY.”


In contrast, Dr George Mayson does not restrict his patients to only one technique. Instead he’ll recommend whichever techniques he sees as worthwhile choices for YOU and explain the pros and cons of each.

7. SURGICAL TECHNIQUE

Some surgeons are familiar with

only ONE approach – for example,

an incision under the breast or in

the armpit - in which case everyone

receives that same approach

irrespective of whether it’s the best

one for them or not! Avoid any surgeon

or clinic that only offers one type of

incision location as this may be the only

technique they know and it may not be

the best one for YOU!

“Avoid any surgeon or clinic that only offers one type of incision location as this may be the only technique they know”



At Breast Excellence Australia, we have every size and shape of implant in the top brands for you to insert into a crop-top and actually see in a mirror the ‘look’ each can deliver. Moreover, in the unlikely event that your measurements suggest a totally different shape of implant we don’t have at the time to show you, we’ll get it in for you to look at BEFORE you make your final decision. We NEVER just offer you the next best one!

8. WHO CHOOSES IMPLANT SIZE & SHAPE?

Some surgeons choose the size and

shape of implant for the patient in the

belief that THEY better know what will

look best for the patient, while others

ask the patient to select their implants

from a selection on a desk!

“At Breast Excellence Australia, we have every size and shape of implant in the top brands”



At Breast Excellence Australia, with your safety and comfort foremost in mind, we ALWAYS perform Breast Augmentations with a Specialist Anaesthetist in constant attendance.

9. WILL YOUR SURGERY BE DONE WITH A SPECIALIST ANAESTHETIST IN ATTENDANCE?

Some doctors perform Breast

Augmentations in their offices

without an Anaesthetist. This is a

very dangerous situation and one you

should not even consider no matter

what you are told because a doctor

can’t be surgeon and anaesthetist at

the same time! If you were to suffer an

overdose of the injected drugs through

inexperience, or a reaction to one of

those drugs, or for that matter any

unexpected medical emergency, there

is NOBODY in that room as qualified

as a Specialist Anaesthetist to manage

your emergency. Even if you’re told

that you’ll be fine with their Nurse

giving you the drugs because “they’ve

never had a problem” don’t be tempted

– you could be the first!

Doctors who perform Breast

Augmentations in their offices without

an Anaesthetist do so in order to

reduce the total cost and thus attract

more patients on price – but this

is always at the expense of patient

comfort and safety!



We always leave this choice up to the patient and the Anaesthetist. As Anaesthetists charge on a time basis, whether you choose Twilight Sedation or General Anaesthesia, your Anaesthetic fees will be the same. It is the DURATION of your surgery that will determine the Anaesthetist’s fee.

10. TYPE OF ANAESTHESIABreast Augmentation can be

performed either under Intravenous

‘Twilight Sedation’ or General

Anaesthesia.

MISTAKE TO AVOID NO. 1O


Whatever the reasons some clinics operate this way, we at Breast Excellence believe this can never be in the best interests of patients because it does not allow them enough time to give everything due consideration. Moreover, an inadequate pre-operative preparation can only increase the risk of something going wrong either during or after your surgery!

Also, what if they don’t have in stock, or can’t have delivered in time, the implants that will give you the best possible result? Will they insert the next closest from what they have? We call this the ‘near enough is good enough’ approach and it’s something we NEVER do!


11. PRE-OPERATIVEPREPARATIONSAvoid any clinic that is happy to see you one day and operate on you the next! Rushing you into surgery this way

leaves no time for you to:

• Properly digest and consider all

the medical information before

proceeding; AND

• Decide whether you in fact wish to

go ahead; AND

• Have blood tests to check you’re

healthy enough for surgery; AND

• Have any other tests that the

doctor may deem necessary after

he/she has seen you; AND

• In the event the doctor finds a

breast lump at your pre-operative

check, what do they do? Still operate

on you instead of first checking the

lump is not cancerous?

Is this rush to get patients into surgery

because they may change their mind?

Whatever the reasons, it certainly

does not allow the patient time to

give everything due consideration.

Moreover, an inadequate pre-operative

preparation can only increase the risk

of something going wrong at or after

your surgery!

Also, what if they don’t have in stock

the implants that will give you the best

possible result? Will they insert the

closest one to it from what’s on their

shelf? We call this the ‘near enough

is good enough’ approach and it’s

something we NEVER do!


12. BEFORE/AFTER PHOTOS

13. TESTIMONIALS 14. PRE-PAYMENTS

Avoid doctors with either very few or no Before/After photos. This may

mean the doctor hasn’t done many

Breast Augmentations, or his results

are not impressive, or BOTH! Insist on

seeing photos of the doctor’s results,

and hopefully he/she should have lots!

If they don’t have an extensive array

of before/after photos to show you, or

they are not what you would consider

‘beautiful’ results, ask yourself why!

Be very wary of Cosmetic Surgery Forums and other Social Media outlets which have only glowing testimonials about a Clinic or Surgeon without a single negative comment to be found. This may mean that they

are not genuine or that all negative

ones are being edited out.

Avoid any clinic requiring you to pre-pay your surgery BEFORE they’ve even seen you! Unbelievably, such

clinics do exist!

MISTAKE TO AVOID NO. 12, NO. 13 & NO. 14


“BE VERY WARY OF COSMETIC SURGERY FORUMS AND OTHER SOCIAL MEDIA OUTLETS WHICH HAVE ONLY GLOWING TESTIMONIALS ABOUT A CLINIC OR SURGEON WITHOUT A SINGLE NEGATIVE COMMENT TO BE FOUND.”


If you need to finance all or only part of your surgery, we at Breast Excellence Australia recommend you contact our preferred financier or your own Bank. With only your best interests in mind, we strongly urge you to not even consider offers of finance with 6 months zero interest for all the above reasons.

Avoid clinics which offer interest-free financing for 6 months because these

could end up financially crippling for

you. They lock patients into tempting

loans which have zero interest for the

first 6 months BUT THEN “ratchet”

up to a rate of 20% after 6 months! In

addition, they usually charge a hefty

Application Fee PLUS a monthly

Administration Fee and usually include

the option to increase your interest

rate after the 6 months as well.

15. FINANCING TRAPS

“With only your best interests in mind, we strongly urge you to not even consider offers of finance with 6 months zero interest”



“Our advice to patients is to always choose on quality (and this doesn’t mean paying high prices)”

IN CONCLUSION Currently there is a wave of ‘cheap’ surgery being marketed and performed in Australia causing us to receive 2-3 calls per week from desperate patients unhappy with their results. Unfortunately for these

patients, they chose a clinic purely

on low price and not on standards or

surgeon-reputation. To make matters

worse, most such patients now don’t

have the money to fix the problems.

Our regular advice to patients is to

always choose on quality (and this

doesn’t mean paying high prices) and if

you can’t afford it now, or can’t afford

to borrow for it, don’t do it until you

can!

Never choose on price alone. Cheap surgery can end up very expensive surgery if something goes wrong or the result is not as you had hoped!

© Breast Excellence Australia & Dr George Mayson 2014


1800 BREASTS

1800 273 2787

www.breastexcellence.com.au

BRISBANE

Level 1, Suite 9, 245 Albert Street

MELBOURNE

17 Erin Street, Richmond

SYDNEY

Level 8, 60 Park Street

Download - THE MISTAKES TO AVOID WHEN CONSIDERING BREAST … · THE MISTAKES TO AVOID WHEN CONSIDERING BREAST AUGMENTATION By Breast Excellence Australia & ... low prices simply because they

Top Related