5 myths about plastic surgery

I hear a lot of things in consultation that patients picked up from social media, from friends, or from a quick Google search. Some of it is accurate. A lot of it is not. These are the five I correct most often.

Myth 1: You have to wait until you are done breastfeeding to think about surgery

Planning ahead is smart. Booking surgery while still breastfeeding is not. The body needs time to stabilize after nursing ends before undergoing elective surgery. But there is no reason to wait to start the conversation. Many of my patients begin their consultation early, asking questions and building a plan, long before they are ready to schedule. That is an ideal way to approach it.

Myth 2: A tummy tuck is a weight loss procedure

A drainless tummy tuck removes excess skin, repairs separated abdominal muscles, and addresses the mons pubis area. It is a body contouring procedure, not a substitute for weight loss. The best candidates are at or near their goal weight before surgery. Patients who are significantly above their goal weight will see better and longer-lasting results if they reach a stable weight first.

Myth 3: Recovery takes months before you can function

This is one of the most common misconceptions I encounter, and it is one of the reasons I chose the drainless technique. Most of my patients are walking upright the day after surgery. By the end of week 2, many are back to non-physical work. At 6 weeks, most are cleared for exercise including core workouts. The recovery is smoother and it requires rest, but it is not months of being unable to function.

Myth 4: Combining procedures is riskier than doing them separately

Combining procedures is not inherently riskier when it is planned correctly. A Mommy Makeover, for example, addresses the abdomen, breasts, and overall silhouette in a single surgery, which means one anesthesia, one recovery, and one set of facility fees. The limit I set is around 6-7 hours of total surgery time per session. Beyond that, staging procedures across separate dates is the right call for safety. The decision is always made based on each patient's health and anatomy, not convenience.

Myth 5: Plastic surgery results look fake

Results look fake when they are not proportional to the patient's body or when the goal was an extreme transformation rather than a refined one. When I plan a procedure, I am designing a result that looks natural on that specific person. The goal is never the most dramatic outcome. The goal is a result the patient loves and that no one can obviously point to as surgical.

The myths patients carry into consultation often come from content that was never designed to educate. That is why the majority of my content on social media is for educational purposes.