So, you have decided to look into cosmetic surgery to improve some aspect of your body. Maybe you think that your breasts are too small...maybe they are too big or just too droopy. Perhaps you don't like the shape of your nose or perhaps your ears stick out too much. Maybe you don't like the effect that the ageing process has had on your face and you think that you could do with a bit of a lift or have those eye bags looked at. It might even be that you cant shift that last bit of fat around the stomach or love handles, despite sweating your guts out at the gym 3 times a week and following a healthy eating plan to the letter and you fancy having a bit of liposuction. It could be that you have an excess of skin around the tummy following childbirth or weight loss and would like a nice flat tummy again so that you feel more confident about yourself. Maybe you are very overweight and have tried every diet under the sun and are so despondent that you are considering the possibility of weight loss surgery. OK, so now what do you do? After all, there are all those horror stories that you read in magazines and see on television about surgery that has gone wrong. Who do you trust with your body...? It might not be the body of a catwalk model but it's the only one you've got and you don't want to end up worse than when you started, right?

Well, there are many sources of information that can provide you with details about cosmetic surgery. The obvious one is the medium that you are using now to read this. There are hundreds, if not thousands of pages about plastic and cosmetic surgery as well as weight loss surgery on the Internet. Lots of different companies, all offering their services with flashy websites and tempting testimonials from their many past "delighted" patients. Some based in the UK and some that are trying to tempt you to go abroad with massive savings. Perhaps one of your friends or co-workers may also have shared their cosmetic surgery experiences with you. Television and magazines offer story upon story, some good, some bad about new techniques and advances in cosmetic surgery. But the most valuable time you will spend is during the consultation with your surgeon. During this consultation, you will gain specific information about the surgery, the surgeon, the recovery and the results. Equally importantly, you will get a sense of your comfort level with the surgeon, his or her skills, and bedside manner. This is one of the many reasons why it is important to meet the actual surgeon straight away and not just a "patient advisor" or "nurse councillor", who are often simply glorified sales people. You can normally expect to pay for the time of a good consultant plastic surgeon, which is usually between