Who Exactly Will Operate on Me?
Good answer: a name, and a promise that this surgeon is in the room from first cut to last stitch.
Ten Questions Before You Book
A careful surgeon welcomes these questions and answers them plainly. Print the list, bring it to every consultation, including ours, and judge the answers.
Printable · Bring it to any consultation
In short
What Should I Ask a Plastic Surgeon?
Ten things. Who exactly will operate. How many cases are on the schedule that day. Whether you will be awake or asleep, and who gives the anesthesia. Who accredits the facility. How much will be removed in one session. Where the fat goes. Whether anything injected is permanent. What happens if something goes wrong. Who you call at night. What the price includes. The list below gives a good answer and a warning sign for each.
The checklist
The Ten Questions
Under each question: what a good answer sounds like, and the warning sign.
How Many Cases Are on Your Schedule That Day?
Good answer: a small number you could count on one hand.
Will I Be Awake or Asleep, and Who Gives the Anesthesia?
Good answer: a clear plan, a named person, and the maximum dose they follow.¹
Who Accredits This Facility, and When Was It Last Surveyed?
Good answer: an accreditor you can look up, and a recent survey date.
How Much Will You Remove in One Session?
Good answer: a number inside the published advisories, and a plan to stage larger work.²
For a BBL: Where Exactly Does the Fat Go?
Good answer: under the skin only, never into the muscle, and how the surgeon confirms it.³
Is Anything Being Injected Permanent?
Good answer: only your own fat, or a named FDA-cleared filler with a known life span.
What Happens If Something Goes Wrong?
Good answer: who you call, how fast you are seen, and the nearest hospital where the surgeon holds privileges.
Who Do I Call at Night or on a Weekend?
Good answer: a number that reaches a clinician, not a voicemail.
What Exactly Is Included in the Price?
Good answer: surgeon, facility, anesthesia, garment and follow-ups, in writing.
Print it and bring it. Ask us the same ten.
Our answers
How Goals Answers
A Named Surgeon
The surgeon you met, in the room start to finish, and at your follow-up.
Awake, With a Dosing Plan
Tumescent local anesthesia, dosed by weight, with the surgeon in the room.
AAAHC in Every Clinic
Surveyed on site at least every three years. Ask for the date.
Fat Under the Skin Only
Never into the muscle, at a volume one session can carry.
A Route for Concerns
A published route, a named person, and your surgeon at follow-up.
The Price, in Writing
What a quote includes at Goals, and the $500 deposit that holds your date.
FAQ
Questions About Asking Questions
No. A surgeon who is doing things right has answered them a hundred times and is glad you asked.
Then you have learned something important. It is reasonable to thank them and look elsewhere.
Yes. Every operation has risks, and your surgeon should go through yours with you before you decide. In Florida the surgeon must examine you in person before surgery; expect the same anywhere.⁴
Print the page, or screenshot the list. Write the answers next to each question while you are there.
Ask for the final figure in writing, with everything it includes. A price that moves when you ask questions is telling you something.
Related guides
Keep Reading
How to Verify a Plastic Surgeon
Four free checks in ten minutes, with the links.
Recovery, Week by Week
Surgery day to month three, for liposuction, FlexTuck and the BBL.
Our Safety Standards
Accreditation, vetting, training and the limits we keep, in writing.
Get started
Ask Us the Ten
Free consultation, no obligation. Bring the list. We will answer every question, in writing if you like.
Prefer to talk now? (833) 462-5769
References
Sources
The numbered references for the figures and rules cited on this page, checked October 17, 2026.
- Klein JA. The tumescent technique: anesthesia and modified liposuction technique. Dermatol Clin. 1990;8(3):425-437.
- Iverson RE, Lynch DJ; American Society of Plastic Surgeons Committee on Patient Safety. Practice advisory on liposuction. Plast Reconstr Surg. 2004;113(5):1478-1490.
- Multi-Society Task Force for Safety in Gluteal Fat Grafting. Urgent warning to surgeons performing fat grafting to the buttocks (July 2018).
- Florida Statutes §458.328 (2023), Office surgeries, as amended by CS/CS/HB 1471, effective July 1, 2023.
This page is general patient education published by Goals Aesthetics & Plastic Surgery. It is not medical advice and does not replace a consultation with a licensed surgeon. Every operation carries risk, and results vary from person to person. Bring the list to any consultation, including ours.