What to expect: Before you undergo surgery you will have a good idea about what to expect. Dr. Callegari and his staff carefully outline the various procedures and the expected results of these procedures. You have a duty to be clear about what you want to achieve. Our duty is to tell you if it is possible to achieve your goal, how to do it, and what the risks and complications are, and of course, what type of result to expect. Once it is clear what you want to achieve, we can show you pre and post operative photographs of patients who have undergone similar procedures. We can also arrange for you to speak to one of our previous patients who has actually undergone the surgery. Although comparisons of this sort are not very meaningful (since every individual is unique), it does help to hear first hand what the procedure you are considering was like to experience.

Asymmetry: No matter how well your surgery went, there will be some differences between the right and left sides operated on. If you look at two sides of any part of the human body, they're not exactly alike. Before or after surgery, there will almost always be some differences between the right and left sides. Plastic surgery often involves trying to improve these differences. The goal to be expected is improvement, not perfection.

Post-operatively: After surgery, there will also be some differences in how each side is healing. One side may be more or less bruised or swollen than the other. Although the same procedure has been done on both sides by the same surgeon using the same techniques, the reaction of the tissues may quite normally be a little different during the healing phase.

Comparisons: You may know someone who underwent the same procedure as you. When you compare your experiences, you may find that their experience was quite different from yours. Some patients may experience a great deal of pain, some pain, or no pain at all. There are normal differences in tolerance to surgery between individuals, and even in the same individual over time. Women who have had several children know that each delivery was slightly different in how it affected them. Some women are off to work in a couple of days after giving birth and some are off for months. Individual differences exist and are to be expected.