Are you thinking about plastic surgery? Read our tips before you decide on it.

Credentials: Chosen specialists should have a license by the American Board of Plastic Surgery (ABPS). Any doctor (even one from a nonsurgical specialty) can legally perform surgery. On the other hand, a certificate by the ABPS gives you the guarantee of at least five years of surgical training, including 2 years of training specifically in the area of plastic surgery.

Patients undergoing a cosmetic procedure should choose a member of the American Society for Aesthetic Plastic Surgery (ASAPS) in order to be sure that their doctor has extensive plastic surgical experience and has met ASAPS requirements for continuing cosmetic surgery education.

Hospital privileges: Cosmetic plastic surgery is typically performed outside the hospital in an office-based surgical facility. No matter where the surgery is to be performed, chosen surgeons should have hospital privileges to perform the specific type of procedure in an acute care hospital.

Facilities: Scientific data reveal that accredited office-based facilities have a safety record similar to that of hospital ambulatory surgery settings. Ambulatory or office-based facilities should be accredited by a nationally or state-recognized accrediting agency, or be at least state licensed or Medicare certified.

Health: People who want to have a cosmetic surgery procedure should be in generally good physical condition and must be frank with their physician about any kind of drugs they are currently taking.

The medical history should involve hormones (oral contraceptives and estrogen replacement) and even such medications as aspirin, vitamins, and herbal medications because these substances can interfere with blood clotting or interact with medications that are used during surgery and could cause the surgical risk to increase.

Patient education: Before surgery, patients should be properly informed about all elements of the planned surgery, including whether to stop taking certain medications and quit smoking.