Why choose an independent plastic surgeon?

In the UK there are two approaches to plastic surgery. One option is to go with the big cosmetic surgery clinic chains. You know the type: they’ll have an office in all the major cities in the UK, they bombard potential clients through social media and online advertising, and they’ll have ads in all the newspapers and magazines. The other option is to go with an independent, UK-trained cosmetic surgeon.

The former is a very popular option, and for good reason: they can be very appealing to people looking to take the cosmetic procedure route – and to young women in particular – as they are often praised highly by their favourite ‘celebrities’ from TOWIE, Geordie Shore, etc.

As this news report bears out, though, the big chains are starting to experience a slowdown in trade, which had led some experts to believe the boom is over. However, we see it as an indication that clients are becoming savvier and turning towards the independent clinics for the bespoke service they deserve.

The advantages of choosing an independent surgeon

When we say ‘independent’, we don’t mean ‘unaccredited’, because independent surgeons are typically members of the leading plastic surgery associations in the UK. More often than not, they are either still working in the NHS as a consultant plastic surgeon or have previously held that position. They also tend to work with some of the leading private hospitals in the UK, such as Nuffield and BMI.

In other words, the typical independent plastic surgeon has racked up years and even decades of experience in their chosen field, and has chosen to deploy their skills at their own clinics on a full-time basis, or run one as a side project. While the business is smaller, so is the client base – meaning that the risk of being subjected to a one-size-fits-all procedure in order to get through the client backlog doesn’t exist.

The drawbacks of choosing a chain surgery

You may find this hard to believe, but at the time of writing the cosmetic surgery industry is largely unregulated – as a matter of fact, there are more regulations in the UK for sunbeds and tattooists than there are for treatments such as lip and skin filler procedures, which can be offered by practitioners who have had no formal training at all.

While no-one is suggesting that the chain clinics are operating in an underhand manner, the very nature of them means that you won’t get the one-to-one relationship that is crucial for both the surgeon and the client. It’s also worth pointing out that cosmetic surgery chains will employ surgeons from other countries – a major factor in the chains being able to offer cut-price surgery, but it’s an unknown quantity that you can do without.

Bottom line: when you come to an independent surgery such as ours, you’ll be putting your trust in people who not only have the right credentials and the experience to prove it, but you’ll also be given the time to spell out what you want and understand what can be done for you to achieve the look you desire.