Second opinions before cosmetic surgery
When another registered practitioner is useful, how to request records and use a GP referral, and why a second opinion is not a search for the first person who will say yes.
Clare Whitfield · 20 June 2024
Choosing a surgeon
Guides to checking a practitioner on the Ahpra register, understanding specialist titles, preparing questions for a consultation, and seeking a second opinion. Written for Australian readers and aligned with current advertising rules for regulated health services.
Informed consent for cosmetic procedures in Australia
Consent is a process, not a signature. How material risks, alternatives including no surgery, and the cosmetic-surgery cooling-off rules work — and what a first visit cannot legally rush.
Clare Whitfield · 9 May 2024
Questions to ask at a cosmetic surgery consultation
A working list of consultation questions on facility accreditation, the anaesthetist, revision policy, cooling-off and photographs used for planning rather than advertising — written so you can take it into the rooms.
Clare Whitfield · 18 April 2024
Specialist plastic surgeon or cosmetic doctor — how Australian titles work
FRACS, specialist registration in plastic surgery, the 2023 title reforms, and why “cosmetic surgeon” is not an Ahpra specialist title. A register check still beats a website biography.
James Okonkwo · 4 March 2024
How to check a practitioner on the Ahpra register
A practical guide to searching the Ahpra Register of Practitioners, reading registration types and conditions, and treating a clinic website as advertising rather than proof of specialist status.
James Okonkwo · 12 February 2024