01Article · Choosing a doctor
Five things to consider —
before choosing a cosmetic doctor.
There is a great deal of information online about cosmetic procedures, and not all of it is balanced. The five considerations below — credentials, communication, the consultation process, regulatory guidelines, and how to read result imagery — are the ones we ask patients to think through before they commit to anyone.
02In short
Choosing the right cosmetic doctor for you comes down to five practical checks: current registration and training relevant to your procedure, clear communication at consultation, a proper assessment of your circumstances before any procedure is proposed, adherence to Medical Board of Australia guidelines including multiple consultations and a cooling-off period, and plain answers to questions about any result imagery you are shown.
03Why this article exists
Take time —
and ask the questions.
Cosmetic procedures — both non-surgical and surgical — are elective. They are also significant. The Medical Board of Australia encourages patients to take time, to seek a second medical opinion, and to consider their decision over multiple consultations rather than in a single visit. We agree with that completely.
More on the potential risks of cosmetic procedures is available on our risks page.
— Dr Kishen Nara, RevAesthetic Melbourne.
04One — Credentials
Look at training,
not just titles.
The Medical Board of Australia requires every doctor to be open about their training and credentials. That means you can ask, and you should.
Two questions are reasonable to ask at any first consultation. What is your training in the procedure I am considering? And what role do you hold within the clinic — are you the doctor performing the procedure?
Credentials can also be checked before you book, without asking anyone. Every registered practitioner in Australia appears on a free public register showing their registration type, any specialty and any condition on their practice. Our step-by-step guide to checking a cosmetic doctor's AHPRA registration explains how to read an entry, what each registration type means, and what a college fellowship such as FACCSM(Surg) does and does not represent.
05Two — Communication
Rapport —
quietly important.
A doctor can hold every relevant qualification and still not be the right doctor for you. Communication, listening, and the willingness to talk you out of a procedure when it is not in your interests — these are part of clinical care, not optional extras. The Medical Board of Australia encourages a second medical opinion for exactly that reason.
Credentials checklist
- AHPRA registration — every Australian medical practitioner can be looked up on the public register.
- Training relevant to the procedure you are considering, which the doctor can describe when asked.
- A clear answer about who will perform the procedure.
- Transparency — clinicians should be willing to share their training and credentials on request.
Consultation checklist
- At least two consultations before surgery, including one in person with the doctor who will perform it.
- A referral from your general practitioner (GP), and psychological screening using a validated tool.
- A cooling-off period of at least seven days, running after both consultations and signed informed consent, before surgery is booked.
- Open discussion of risks and complications, in line with your individual medical history.
06Three — The specific procedure
A general assessment —
before a specific plan.
Some patients arrive with a specific procedure in mind — for instance, a particular labiaplasty technique. That is a reasonable starting point, but the consultation itself begins more broadly. A general medical and cosmetic assessment, in line with Medical Board of Australia guidelines, helps clarify whether the procedure you have in mind is in fact the right option, whether a different approach would suit your circumstances better, or whether the timing is right at all.
For a worked example, our labiaplasty in Melbourne covers the assessment process and the techniques we discuss with patients in plain language.
07Four — Regulatory guidelines
Code of conduct,
guidelines, protocols.
A doctor and the clinic in which they practise should both be clearly working within the Medical Board of Australia code of conduct. For cosmetic surgical procedures, current guidelines call for a referral from a general practitioner, at least two consultations, and a psychological screening using a validated tool. A cooling-off period of at least seven days then runs after both consultations are complete and informed consent has been signed, before surgery can be booked. If a clinic feels rushed, or if any of these steps is missing, that is a reason to pause.
Each of those requirements, including exactly when the seven days start counting and what a written quote must contain, is set out step by step in our companion article on consultations and the cooling-off period in Australia.
Patients arrive at RevAesthetic from across Victoria — from regional towns, from interstate, and from the Melbourne metropolitan area. The same considered process applies to everyone. Discrimination on any basis is not tolerated.
08Five — Reading result imagery
Five questions —
for every result image.
Result imagery — whether shown in person at a consultation or online — should answer five questions. If any of the answers is unclear, ask. The Medical Board of Australia has explicit guidance on imagery used in cosmetic advertising, and a clinic that follows it should be able to answer all five plainly.
- 01Who actually performed the procedure shown in the image?
- 02What procedure was performed, described in plain language?
- 03When was the image taken, relative to the procedure date?
- 04How were the photographs taken — same lighting, same posture, same distance?
- 05Why did this patient consider the procedure, and what was the consent process?
09About the practitioner
Dr Kishen
Nara.
Dr Kishen Nara is a registered medical practitioner. He sees patients across Melbourne, Tasmania and Adelaide. The team at RevAesthetic includes practice manager Cate, Patient Liaison Jenny, and registered nurses, all involved in supporting your enquiry.
All assessments are conducted in line with Medical Board of Australia guidelines. A second medical opinion is encouraged at any stage.
- MBBSBachelor of Medicine, Bachelor of Surgery — Monash University
- FACCSM(Surg)Surgical Fellow, Australasian College of Cosmetic Surgery and Medicine
- AHPRARegistered medical practitioner — General Registration MED0001201549
- ACCSMCosmetic surgical training delivered through the Australasian College of Cosmetic Surgery and Medicine
10Enquire
Begin a
conversation.
Consultations are conducted personally by Dr Nara across Melbourne, Tasmania and Adelaide. We respond within one business day. There is a written reflection period before any decision, and a second medical opinion is encouraged at any stage.
11Continue reading
More from
the journal.
- 2026 Penile augmentation and lengthening are not the same thing
How penile girth differs from length, the limits of non-surgical augmentation, and questions to discuss at consultation. RevAesthetic offers non-surgical penile augmentation. - 2026 How to Check a Cosmetic Doctor's Registration
How to look up any Australian practitioner on the AHPRA register, what each registration type means, why "surgeon" is a protected title, and what FACCSM(Surg) is. - 2026 Travelling for Cosmetic Surgery
What patients in Tasmania, regional Victoria and South Australia should plan for: the required pathway, how many trips it takes, and what to ask before booking flights.
Disclaimer: All cosmetic procedures have inherent potential risks and complications. We encourage you to seek a second opinion from a qualified medical professional before any procedure. Material on this page is educational in nature and is not generalisable — outcomes vary significantly between patients depending on genetic composition, medical history and individual circumstances.