Guide To Plastic Surgery Procedures

A beautifully successful plastic surgery experience is, at its core, a team effort. As a patient, it’s essential for you to be educated, informed and prepared for the before, during and after process to get the results you desire.

It’s also critical to do your homework and select a board certified plastic surgeons in NYC who has the skills, expertise and experience to help you make your dreams come true. So before you do anything else, look through our comprehensive Guide to Plastic Surgery Procedures:

Research Your Plastic Surgery

First things first: do your homework on cosmetic procedures! Dr. Schulman, board certified plastic surgeons makes it incredibly easy for people considering a plastic surgery procedure to learn about each and every possible cosmetic procedures operation, in-depth, in a number of ways.

In fact, this is one of the reasons why 40 percent of his patients travel long distances from outside of New York to have a cosmetic procedures with Dr. Schulman.

• Spend some time Googling before and after photos of the procedure you are interested in, whether it’s a breast augmentation or reduction, a tummy tuck, a Brazilian butt lift, a Mommy Makeover, or any other cosmetic procedures.
• Download Snapchat and subscribe to Dr. Schulman’s daily video series at @nycplasticsurg. His Snapchat Plastic Surgery video stories have helped thousands of patients get informed by viewing plastic surgery close up, in the office. It’s an active, informative way to learn about the before, during and after process, as well as getting to know everyone you’ll work with in our office. Naturally, you can also follow him on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
• Be sure to talk with friends and family members and pay attention to those all-important word-of-mouth referrals from other happy patients.
• Also visit review sites like realself.com, healthgrades.com and Yelp! to learn more and make sure that your doctor is a board-certified plastic surgeon who abides by the highest standards and safest cosmetic procedures.

Call Dr. Schulman to Schedule a Consultation

After you’ve researched your desired plastic surgery procedure and watched Dr. Schulman’s @nycplasticsurg Snapchat videos, call our office at 212-289-1851 to talk with one of our friendly receptionists, or, if you prefer, you can fill out the form on our contact us page.

When you call, feel free to ask any questions about the cosmetic procedure you’re interested in. Our office staff are very knowledgeable about all of our procedures and their estimated pricing and can answer many of your questions over the phone.

When you schedule your first consultation, we’ll get the following information from you:

• Name and contact information
• Because demand is high, we’ll also need your credit card information (to hold your appointment). We’ll tell you about our 48-hour cancelation policy on the phone as well.
• We’ll send you an email, text and phone reminder three days ahead of your appointment, just to touch base with you.

How to Prepare for Your Plastic Surgery Consultation Appointment

We recommend that you come 15 to 20 minutes early to your cosmetic procedures appointment so that you have ample time to fill out the necessary paperwork.

After you complete all the necessary forms, our Physician Assistant will call you in to begin the appointment. We’ll record your height, weight and go over your medical history during this phase. We’ll also discuss the procedure you’re interested in and take notes for Dr. Schulman to go over with you when he talks with you.

Then you’ll get to meet with Dr. Schulman personally to consult with him about the plastic surgery procedure you want. During your appointment, he will evaluate your medical history and examine you to determine whether or not you are a good candidate for your desired procedure.

Dr. Schulman will discuss with you, in detail, how the cosmetic procedures works, if there are alternative procedures that would be more suitable, what the normal recovery time is and what realistic outcomes you can expect. He will also be happy to answer any questions you have after his evaluation and consultation.

He will also discuss your medical clearance with you—this is essential for your health and safety during the procedure, and it is our top priority.

After meeting with Dr. Schulman, you will spend some time with our patient coordinator to discuss pricing and financing options. We’ll also look at the calendar to discuss scheduling your operation.

Booking Your Plastic Surgery

You have a couple of options for scheduling your cosmetic procedures:

• If you feel confident about everything you discussed at your consultation, you can book your pre-operative appointment and surgery day in the office before you leave.
• If you need some extra time to check your schedule (and that of your post-operative chaperone), just call us back at 212-289-1851 and talk with our surgical scheduler over the phone to set a date.

Note: Keep in mind that plastic surgeons like Dr. Schulman are usually booking about 2 to 4 months in advance right now, due to high demand.

After setting a date, you will sign the booking paperwork, which includes a financial agreement and a medical clearance consent form (so we can check with your physician that surgery will be safe for you).

You will also need to pay the 10 percent deposit to hold your surgery date in place.

After you’ve set a date, you’ll need to follow any recommendations Dr. Schulman provides in order to properly prepare yourself for surgery. We will help you all along the way, and you’ll have another pre-operative appointment to make sure you’re on track for a successful plastic surgery.

Attend Your Pre-Operative Appointment

This appointment is extremely important as it will cover all of the things you need to be ready for on surgery day. This cosmetic procedures appointment includes:

• Signing your plastic surgery consent form packet. These forms will authorize us to go ahead with sculpting your new, improved self.
• You’ll meet again with our Physician Assistant who will describe the process of preparing for your surgery, what to expect on the day of surgery and how important following the recovery guidelines is to the final outcome of your procedure.
• After talking with our Physician Assistant, you will talk with Dr. Schulman again to discuss operation specifics. He will answer last minute questions and make sure that you feel confident and fully informed about what to do and how to prepare for surgery day.
• You’ll also get your “before” photos taken during this appointment so that you can compare them to the “after” photos once you’ve recovered from surgery several weeks later!
• During this appointment, you should also purchase any post-operative recovery items that you will need, such as a BBL Recovery Kit, Scar Gel, etc. Our staff is very knowledgeable and will help you to know what you will need.
• You will also fill prescriptions for post-operative medications at this time so you have them and they are ready to go the day of your surgery.
• At the end of the appointment, once you have signed everything and gotten your post-operative medicines and supplies, you’ll make your final payment for the operation.

One Week before Plastic Surgery: How to Prepare

Although the pre-operative appointment a few weeks prior is extremely comprehensive, we also give you a call one week before hand to make sure you’re fully prepared for surgery day. We’ll confirm with you the following details:

• Where and at what time you need to arrive for the surgery.
• Last minute instructions about how to prepare in the days leading up to your operation.
• That you have a chaperone scheduled to take you home after surgery.

Make sure to follow all of your preparatory instructions carefully so that everything will go smoothly that day.

Plastic Surgery Day!

Bring all of the things with you that you were instructed to bring and arrive at the surgical facility an hour before the surgery is scheduled to begin. Here’s what to expect that day:

• You’ll complete any final surgical forms, then meet with Dr. Schulman’s nurse to begin prepping you for the operation.
• You’ll be given an intravenous antibiotic and other medications at this time.
• The anesthesiologist will meet with you and discuss everything and answer your questions about the anesthesia process.
• Then Dr. Schulman will come in and mark your body for the surgery.
• After you’ve been prepped, you will be given relaxation medications and then the anesthesiologist will administer the anesthesia and you will go to sleep for the surgery.

Recovery Time

After you come out of surgery, you will spend 1 to 2 hours in our recovery room. During that time, we’ll check all of your vital signs and ensure that you are in stable condition for going home.

We will also talk with your chaperone and release you to him or her when you are ready. Your chaperone will be given discharge instructions for your immediate post-operative care at home.

Make sure to take good care of yourself and follow all the instructions we give you!

Your First Post-Operative Appointment

About a week to 10 days after your surgery, you’ll have a follow-up appointment with our Physician Assistant to evaluate how well you are healing and answer any of your questions. If you need to purchase any additional recovery items, this is a good time to do it. Frequently, we have patients who need to purchase extra scar gel, surgical compression garments or recovery kits.

At this appointment, you’ll also make another follow-up appointment with Dr. Schulman about 2 to 3 weeks later so that he can evaluate your progress and answer any further questions you may have.

Don’t Miss Any Follow-Up Appointments!

Follow-up appointments are very important for your full recovery and to make sure that you get the results you were dreaming about when you first started Googling plastic surgery and watching Dr. Schulman’s Snapchat videos on @nycplasticsurg. It may seem like a long process, and it is—re-sculpting and re-shaping your body and, therefore, your life, is a process that requires time and commitment from the patient and a high level of skill and commitment from your board-certified plastic surgeon. Like we said, it’s a team effort through and through. So make sure to attend the following appointments:

• First post-operative appointment (listed above), a week to 10 days after your surgery to make sure everything is healing nicely.
• The second post-surgery appointment with Dr. Schulman, between 6 and 8 weeks after the operation. At that time, he will personally evaluate how well you are healing and discuss the results with you. You’ll also get your “after” photos taken at this time so you can compare them to your “before” photos! This is one of our patients’ favorite moments!

Take a look at our before and after gallery to get an idea of what kind of results you can expect. (Simply click on the links along the left side to choose before and after pictures of the procedures you’re interested in.) You can also visit our latest blog posts, such as this one on Brazilian butt lift surgery, to learn more about various procedures.

Dr. Schulman likes his patients to have as much information about cosmetic plastic surgery procedures and potential outcomes as possible so they are well informed and successful in helping us make their plastic surgery dreams come true!

Questions and Answers About Plastic Surgery

What is the most common plastic surgery procedures?

Most common cosmetic procedures include breast augmentation, liposuction, rhinoplasty, eyelid surgery, abdominoplasty, and facelift.

What is the most difficult cosmetic surgery procedures?

Rhinoplasty is exceptionally intricate and among the most challenging cosmetic surgeries. Surgeons must skillfully blend art, science, and precision to prevent complications, ensuring patient satisfaction with their results.

What are the most painful cosmetic surgery procedures?

Abdominal surgeries, whether elective or cosmetic, are often regarded as some of the most painful and high-risk procedures. A tummy tuck is no different. When compared to surgeries like breast augmentation or rhinoplasty, the recovery period is lengthier and more discomforting.

What are the easiest cosmetic surgery procedures to recover from?

Breast Augmentation, Breast Lift, or Breast Reduction

Though conducted in an operating room, this procedure boasts a remarkably brief recovery time and is renowned for its swiftness.

What are the procedures for reconstructive plastic surgery?

Reconstructive plastic surgery corrects congenital, disease-related, and injury-induced defects. Examples include post-mastectomy breast reconstruction and hand surgery for congenital webbed fingers.

Book Your Plastic Surgery Procedures

Dr. Schulman and our whole team are committed to making sure you have the most amazing plastic surgery experience!

To ask questions or schedule your consultation appointment, contact us at 212-289-1851. We look forward to working with you!

Follow us on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and Snapchat @nycplasticsurg