Liposuction surgery is the most popular cosmetic surgery performed in the United States, with hundreds of thousands of people receiving treatments each year. There are many, many doctors out there who perform liposuction, but how do you make a good decision in picking the best one for you? Marketing tactics can sway you to focus on the wrong factors and not necessarily make the right decision in getting a good, experienced doctor. Remember, this is someone who is being trusted to cut open your body, remove fat, and then put it all back and make things look better. You don’t want someone sub-par, or even just average, performing the procedure, do you?

And with that at the forefront of our mind, let’s take a look at the factors that are important when choosing a doctor.

1. Don’t focus entirely on the price. Yes, we want to surely include it in the overall decision making process, but it should not be the guiding factor. Why not? By going on price alone, you increase the risk of not being happy with the procedure because price is not the most important thing to focus on.

2. You want a doctor who will answer your questions. This sounds obvious, but if you had a meeting with the doctor beforehand and they seemed rushed, dismissive, or distracted, it’s time to move on to a different doctor. Feel free to ask all the questions you have and expect an answer.

3. The doctor should have a solid track record, a good portfolio, and good feedback from previous customers. Ask to see pictures of their work before. A reputable doctor with years of experience should have a large portfolio of before and after work accumulated; specifically, look at the procedure you’ll be doing, and see what kind of results this doctor has achieved on other peoples bodies. If desired, look online for the doctors name and see if people have reviewed or commented on his or her services. The point is that when it’s all said and done, the doctor needs to be good at what he or she does, and you need to feel confident that is the case by seeing a little evidence.

Liposuction will always carry certain risks to it; all surgeries do. However, following the steps above will help you minimize risks that are more under the control of the doctor than risks related to your physical health. Take the time to find a good doctor who will answer your questions and don’t focus too much on saving money, and in the end, you’ll find the doctor for your liposuction treatments.