How to choose the right plastic surgeon

The mistakes I made when choosing my lipedema surgeon; the questions I should’ve asked and what I’d have done differently

Other articles in this series
Should I have liposuction for lipedema?
How to get lipedema surgery covered by health insurance
How to prepare for liposuction?

It goes without saying that when considering any type of surgery, one should make sure to choose a good surgeon. For plastic surgery, you need to be extra careful. In the United States, the laws around plastic surgery are very loose–the doctors are free to do advertising and to showcase before and after pictures, for example, something that is actually forbidden in some countries. I say this because I had to learn the hard way that some doctors are unethical, and will say or do anything to get more patients.

At the time I was looking for surgeons to have liposuction for lipedema, I thought I was going to have to pay for my surgeries completely out of pocket. That’s because most insurance companies still don’t pay for lipedema surgery–they claim it’s cosmetic. This can lead to hefty costs since in the U.S. one surgery alone can cost anywhere from $10k-$20k, and lipedema patients often need at…