Frequently asked questions

Dr. Fátima García, a licensed plastic surgeon with more than ten years in plastic, aesthetic and reconstructive surgery. She is the one who holds the consultation, who operates and who follows you up afterwards. Your consultation is not handed over to sales staff.

You do not know yet, and that is fine: that is what the consultation is for. Most people arrive with a complaint («I do not like my profile», «after my pregnancy my abdomen never went back») rather than with a procedure in mind.

At the assessment we go through your case, your medical history and what you hope to achieve, and from there the real alternatives are explained to you — including the option of not operating at all.

There is no single age. There are conditions, though: being of legal age, being in good general health, and having finished growing where the procedure requires it.

Under-18s are assessed only in specific cases, and always with a parent or guardian present and consenting.

Yes, and it happens. Surgery is advised against when there is an uncontrolled health condition, when the moment in someone's life does not fit, or when what is expected of the procedure is not something surgery can deliver.

Saying so in time is part of the job. A consultation that ends in «not yet» or in «this is not solved by operating» is a useful consultation too.

It depends on the technique indicated, on how long the procedure takes and on the surgical facility where it is carried out, which is why we do not publish a price list: any figure quoted in isolation would end up being wrong for your case.

After the consultation you receive a written quote setting out what is included and what is not, and how long it is valid for.

Yes, when you book it from the free-consultation button on this site. It applies once per person and covers the assessment and guidance on the available alternatives; it does not include tests, procedures or the issuing of medical reports.

The full conditions are in the terms and conditions.

Around forty minutes. We talk about what brings you in, go through your medical history, carry out the relevant physical assessment and explain the options along with their risks and recovery times.

You leave knowing what is possible in your case, what it involves and what it would cost. With no obligation to book anything that same day.

• Your identity document.
• Any recent tests or medical reports you have.
• A list of the medication you take regularly, including supplements and contraceptives.
• Your questions, written down. It is the thing most often forgotten and the thing that helps most.

Of course. Many patients come with their partner, a friend or a relative, and it usually helps: two people remember more than one.

Yes. We see patients from across the country. When travel makes everything harder, the first orientation can be arranged remotely, but an in-person assessment is still essential before any procedure: nobody is operated on without having been examined.

If you are coming from outside Lima, tell us when you book so that the consultation and the follow-ups can be organised into as few trips as possible.

All surgery carries risks. What makes the difference is not denying them but reducing them: a licensed plastic surgeon, a properly equipped surgical facility, complete pre-operative tests, a prior assessment by the anaesthetist and a follow-up protocol afterwards.

At the consultation you are told the specific risks of your procedure, and they appear again in writing in the informed consent you sign before surgery.

It depends on the procedure, your age and your medical history. The usual set includes blood and clotting tests and, depending on the case, an electrocardiogram, a chest X-ray or an assessment by another specialty.

The surgeon reviews the results before confirming a date. If something comes back abnormal, surgery is postponed until it is corrected.

An anaesthetist, who assesses you before surgery and stays with you throughout the procedure and in the immediate recovery. The type of anaesthesia is decided according to what is being done, and it is explained to you beforehand.

In an authorised surgical facility equipped for the type of procedure indicated — never in the consulting room. You are told the exact location when the date is scheduled, along with the admission instructions.

In many cases yes, as long as it is under control and the doctor treating it agrees. Diabetes, hypertension, hypothyroidism or clotting problems do not automatically rule out surgery, but they change the preparation and the risk.

Tell us everything at the consultation, even what seems minor to you. Hiding part of your history is the quickest way to turn a safe operation into one that is not.

It varies a great deal with the procedure. As a rough guide, minimally invasive treatments let you pick your routine back up almost immediately; a blepharoplasty or a rhinoplasty usually needs around a week before going back to office work; an abdominoplasty or an extensive liposculpture asks for more.

At the consultation you are given the estimate for your particular case, and it is worth planning it before booking a date rather than after.

What you feel is discomfort, pressure and swelling more than sharp pain. It is controlled with the medication prescribed, which you are given in writing when you are discharged.

Pain that increases instead of easing is not normal: it is a reason to call us, not to put up with it.

Yes. Every incision leaves a scar, and anyone who says otherwise is not being honest. What can be done is to plan where it falls, orient it so that it is as unobtrusive as possible, and look after how it settles.

How each skin heals is individual and cannot be guaranteed in advance.

As many as your case needs. There is a check-up in the first few days and then a staged follow-up over the following months, because the final result takes time to settle.

Post-operative check-ups are part of the procedure: they are not a separate consultation charged each time.

Never before we tell you to. Going back to physical activity too soon is one of the commonest causes of avoidable complications: bleeding, wound edges separating or fluid collecting.

Getting back to it is gradual, and you are cleared step by step at each check-up.

Before the definitive result there is a swelling phase that confuses everybody. Depending on the procedure, the result becomes clear somewhere between a few weeks and several months afterwards; with a rhinoplasty, the last details can take close to a year to settle.

Judging the result in the first week achieves nothing except worrying you for no reason.

That is the standard the work is held to: a result that goes with your proportions rather than imposing somebody else's on you. A good result is not the one people notice — it is the one that makes you look better without anyone knowing why.

No, and no serious professional will. Plastic surgery is an obligation of means, not of result: the best available technique is applied to your case, but healing, how your body responds and how well the instructions are followed all bear directly on the outcome.

What can be done is to explain precisely what is achievable in your case before you decide.

It depends on the procedure. Surgical results tend to be long-lasting, but the body goes on ageing and there are things that change them: significant weight changes, later pregnancies, smoking and time itself.

Aesthetic medicine treatments, by contrast, are temporary by definition and need maintenance.

At the consultation, and only of patients who gave written authorisation for their images to be used. We do not publish clinical photographs on the site without that specific authorisation, and we do not use other patients' images to suggest the result you would get.