Before you have liposuction, there are a number of important steps to take to ensure both your safety and satisfaction with the procedure. The decision to have cosmetic surgery is not one to be taken lightly. Because of this, there are some tough questions you should always ask your liposuction surgeon. Some of these questions related directly to the skills, experience and qualifications of your doctor. Other questions relate to the procedure itself. By understanding these important factors and asking the following questions of your doctor, you can help ensure that your liposuction experience is a good one.

1. Are you certified by the American Board of Plastic Surgery?

Perhaps the most important question you can ask relates directly to your doctor's qualifications. In some cases, doctors perform procedures that are outside of their specialty area. In order to be certified by the American Board of Plastic Surgery, a doctor must complete an additional residency that typically lasts between six to eight years. This rigorous training helps ensure that your doctor has the skills, qualifications and experience to provide the best possible results.

2. What are your safety and success rates?

Once you are sure your doctor has the knowledge, credentials and experience to perform your liposuction surgery, you should inquire about his or her safety record and success rates. While your doctor may not be able to provide exact number, you should be given a fairly accurate estimate of your doctor's safety record. Additionally, your doctor should be able to give details on past patient successes, as well as difficulties or complications that have affected previous patients.

3. How much experience do you have performing this procedure?

Another important question to ask relates directly to the number of times your doctor has performed liposuction in the past. All doctors perform a variety of procedures, which means that your doctor may have more experience with certain types of surgeries. You want to be certain that your doctor performs liposuction procedures regularly. If a potential surgeon only performs liposuction occasionally, you may want to look for a doctor that specializes in this type of surgery.

4. How long will the recovery process take?

In addition to knowing how qualified your doctor is, you also need to have a solid understanding of the liposuction procedure itself. You will need to plan for the days and weeks following your surgery, which is why it is so important to talk to your doctor about the recover process. Your doctor should provide clear guidelines about how long it will be before you can return to normal activities, how much post-operative pain you will experience and how much care you will need after the procedure.

5. What results can I expect?

While there are never any exact guarantees with cosmetic procedures, your liposuction surgeon should be able to give you an indication of the type of results you can expect. Discuss this carefully with your doctor prior to the surgery. If your doctor promises results that seem unrealistic, then they probably are. Skilled and experienced doctors will be more conservative in their estimates.