Skin After Weight Loss
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Choosing treatment

12 questions to ask at a loose skin consultation

· 3 min read · Dan d'Auvergne-Massie

A consultation is a sales conversation as well as a clinical one, and knowing which questions separate the two is most of the skill. These are the ones worth asking in Australia, and what a good answer sounds like.

Before you go: check the register

For a registered health practitioner, check their details on the public Ahpra register. Some cosmetic services can be delivered by people outside the registered health professions, so first establish who would perform the proposed procedure. [2] Search their name and look at two things: whether they are registered, and what their specialty is recorded as.

Since 20 September 2023 the title "surgeon" has been protected in Australia, first in most states and territories and now nationally. Only a doctor with specialist registration in surgery, obstetrics and gynaecology, or ophthalmology can use it, including in the phrase "cosmetic surgeon". [1] That closed the loophole where a doctor with general registration could call themselves a surgeon. It did not make every surgeon a plastic surgeon. A specialist plastic surgeon holds FRACS through the Royal Australasian College of Surgeons and their specialty on the register reads Plastic Surgery. [3] A doctor performing cosmetic procedures without any surgical specialty will appear with general registration and may have a cosmetic surgery endorsement noted on the register. Any of these may be a perfectly good practitioner for the right procedure, and you should know which one you are sitting in front of.

For body contouring surgery, the honest baseline is a specialist plastic surgeon. For energy-based treatments and injectables, the operator is often a nurse or dermal clinician under a doctor's oversight, and the questions below cover how to check that.

Questions about whether you are the right patient

  1. Given my severity, is this treatment likely to get me a result I would notice?
  2. What would you expect the improvement to be, described in plain terms?
  3. Am I a candidate for surgery, and if so, why are we discussing this instead?
  4. Is my weight stable enough to treat now, or should I wait?

A good answer to question three includes a real reason. A practitioner who never mentions surgery to someone with significant skin excess is answering a different question to the one you asked. Can you tighten loose skin without surgery explains why that question matters so much.

Questions about the treatment itself

  1. Which device is it, by name, and is it the branded machine or an equivalent?
  2. How many sessions, over what period, and what does the full course cost?
  3. Who performs it, and what is their training on this device?
  4. What is the downtime, honestly, and what does the first week look like?

Question five matters more than it sounds. Several categories have a branded original and a market of machines sold as equivalent, and the evidence usually attaches to the original. You can look the device up on the Australian Register of Therapeutic Goods yourself. [4] The comparison page lists the branded devices in each category.

Questions about what happens if it does not work

  1. What happens if I see no change at six months?
  2. What are the risks specific to me, including on my skin tone?
  3. How many of these have you done, and can I see your own before and afters?
  4. What is the total out of pocket, including any review appointments?

For surgery, question twelve should produce separate written quotes from the surgeon, the anaesthetist, the assistant and the hospital, because each bills separately. Does Medicare cover skin removal explains how the rebate works and why it rarely closes the gap.

Answers to walk out on

A quote that expires today. A refusal to talk about surgery under any circumstances. Before and after photos that are stock images or belong to the device manufacturer rather than the clinic. A guarantee of a specific result, which no one can honestly give. And a consultation that ends with you being asked to pay a deposit before you have gone home to think.

Take notes, get the quote in writing, and give yourself a week. Nothing in this category is urgent, and any pressure suggesting otherwise is telling you something.

Frequently asked questions

Search their name on the Ahpra public register. It shows whether they are registered, their profession, any specialty, any endorsement and any conditions on their registration. If a name does not appear, do not proceed.

Since September 2023 anyone using the title surgeon must hold specialist surgical registration, so the old distinction has narrowed. A specialist plastic surgeon holds FRACS in plastic and reconstructive surgery and is the baseline for body contouring after weight loss. Check the specialty field on the register rather than the title on the website.

No. It is one of the most useful questions you can ask, and a practitioner who is good at the procedure will answer it easily. Reluctance to answer, or before and after photos that are not their own, are both reasons to keep looking.

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Sources cited

  1. Medical Board of Australia. FAQ: Protection of the title surgeon. The title has been protected since 20 September 2023 in most states and territories, and is now protected nationally; only medical practitioners with specialist registration in surgery, obstetrics and gynaecology or ophthalmology may use it.
  2. Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency (Ahpra). Registers of practitioners: the public register of every registered health practitioner in Australia.
  3. Royal Australasian College of Surgeons. About specialist surgeons and surgical specialties, including Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery and the FRACS qualification.
  4. Therapeutic Goods Administration. Searching the Australian Register of Therapeutic Goods (ARTG): check the specific device a clinic uses.
Dan d'Auvergne-Massie, Editor, Skin After Weight Loss

Written by

Dan d'Auvergne-Massie· Editor, Skin After Weight Loss

Lost 36kg on a GLP-1 protocol and spent the next two years researching what actually tightens skin after rapid weight loss. Works professionally in the peptide industry. Not a doctor: every clinical claim on this site is sourced.

Last updated by the editor:

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