Cosmetic surgeons know that managing expectations is key to ensuring a happy patient after surgery.
Patients should be shown a range of before and after photographs to illustrate a variety of outcomes and not just a surgeon's carefully selected best results. Everyone is different and much of the outcome after surgery is determined by patient factors (such as age, weight, smoking and concurrent medical problems) that are beyond the control of the aesthetic surgeon.
The Royal College of Surgeons has provided professional standards guidance that underscores the importance of managing expectations and, in particular, identifying those patients with body dysmorphic disorder for whom surgery is unlikely to be of benefit.