The route from “I’m thinking about surgery” to actually being booked in for an operation at Centre for Surgery has four discrete stages: initial enquiry, telephone screening with a patient coordinator, in-person consultation with the operating surgeon, and the statutory two-week cooling-off period before booking. Each stage exists to filter, inform, and protect — not to push a sale. This guide explains what each involves, what we are assessing at each point, and what you should be assessing of us.
Stage 1: the initial enquiry
You can start an enquiry by phone on 0207 993 4849 during clinic hours (9am to 6pm Monday to Saturday), or by completing the contact form at any time. If you would prefer a scheduled phone conversation outside of normal hours, that can be arranged via the form.
What we ask at this stage is straightforward: which procedure you are interested in, a brief outline of what you would like to achieve, your approximate age and general health, your location, and your timeframe. You do not need to commit to anything. The purpose of this contact is to assess whether the procedure you are considering is broadly appropriate, and to give you accurate preliminary information about price, surgeon availability, and what the next steps look like.
There is no obligation to proceed at any point, and no charge for the initial enquiry.
Stage 2: telephone screening with a patient coordinator
The patient coordinator handles the first detailed conversation. They are not a salesperson — their function is to confirm, before a paid consultation is booked, that you are likely to be a suitable candidate. Booking a consultation that subsequently has to be cancelled wastes your time and money, so this screening is in your interest as much as ours.
The coordinator will ask about:
- Your goals and expectations. What outcome are you hoping for? This is the single most important question. Surgery achieves specific, measurable changes to anatomy. It does not resolve relationship problems, career problems, or mood disorders. If the goal you describe is one surgery cannot deliver, we will tell you that at this stage rather than later.
- Your height, weight, and BMI. Most cosmetic procedures have a BMI ceiling for safety reasons — typically around 30 for body contouring, slightly higher for facial procedures. If your BMI is above the safe threshold, we will discuss what weight needs to come off before surgery becomes appropriate. See BMI and cosmetic surgery eligibility for details by procedure.
- Smoking and vaping status. Nicotine in any form impairs wound healing and substantially increases the risk of skin necrosis, particularly after procedures that lift or tension skin (facelift, abdominoplasty, breast lift). We require complete cessation of smoking, vaping, and nicotine replacement therapy for at least six weeks before surgery and six weeks after. See the impact of smoking on cosmetic surgery.
- Medical history. Diabetes, cardiovascular disease, clotting disorders, autoimmune conditions, current medications (particularly anticoagulants and immunosuppressants), and previous surgery all affect risk. Some are manageable with planning. Some defer surgery. Some preclude it.
- Mental health and emotional readiness. If you are in the immediate aftermath of bereavement, divorce, redundancy, or another major life event, surgery is usually best deferred. We also screen, gently, for signs of body dysmorphic disorder. See our explainer on body dysmorphia and cosmetic surgery.
- Your timeline and any constraints. Time off work, family commitments, fitness for travel, and any upcoming events you are planning the surgery around.
By the end of this conversation we will either have confirmed you should book a consultation, suggested some preparatory work first (weight loss, smoking cessation, optimising a medical condition), or — occasionally — recommended that surgery is not the right answer for what you are trying to achieve. All three are legitimate outcomes.
Stage 3: the consultation
The consultation is conducted by the operating surgeon — not by a patient coordinator, not by a different surgeon, not by a sales agent. This is a regulatory requirement in the UK and also a marker of how a CQC-regulated clinic differs structurally from many overseas operators. The surgeon who assesses you is the surgeon who will operate.
Consultations take place at our Baker Street clinic. The fee is £100 for a primary consultation and £250 for a revision consultation (where you are seeking correction of surgery performed elsewhere — these consultations take significantly longer and involve detailed review of previous operative notes). The consultation fee covers any necessary follow-up consultations for the same procedure, so if you want to come back to discuss further questions, that is included.
A typical consultation runs to 30 to 45 minutes and includes:
- Detailed history taking — medical, surgical, family, social, medications, allergies.
- Physical examination of the area concerned, with measurements and photographs taken for the medical record (handled in line with our data protection policy).
- Discussion of the available surgical options, with the surgeon explaining the technique they would propose and why. For most procedures there are multiple valid approaches; the surgeon’s job is to recommend the one best suited to your anatomy and goals.
- An honest discussion of what the surgery can and cannot achieve, including features that will not change and limits imposed by your starting anatomy.
- The specific risks of the technique discussed — bleeding, infection, scarring, asymmetry, sensory changes, revision rates, and any procedure-specific risks. These are not glossed over.
- The recovery timeline, with realistic expectations for time off work, restrictions on exercise, and how long it will take for the final result to settle.
- A written quotation covering surgeon, anaesthetist, facility, implants where relevant, and all follow-up.
- The consent material to take home.
Bring a list of questions. The consultation works best when you arrive with specific things you want answered rather than trying to remember everything in the moment. You are also welcome to bring a trusted friend or family member. If English is not your first language, please tell the coordinator in advance so we can make appropriate arrangements.
For a structured set of questions to consider asking, see 10 questions to ask your surgeon.
Virtual consultations: what they can and cannot do
We offer virtual consultations by video, primarily for patients who live outside London or who want a preliminary discussion before travelling in. A virtual consultation can assess broad suitability, discuss technique options, and answer most questions. It cannot replace an in-person physical examination, and the regulatory framework requires an in-person assessment before any surgery is booked. In practice this means a virtual consultation is a useful first step, but you will still need to attend Baker Street at least once before your operation date.
Stage 4: the cooling-off period
A statutory 14-day cooling-off period applies between the in-person consultation and the booking of surgery. This is not optional and is not something we waive on request, however certain you feel. The cooling-off period exists because cosmetic surgery is irreversible, and the decision benefits materially from being made twice — once in the consulting room, and once at home, with time and without sales pressure.
During this period you can:
- Re-read the consent material at your own pace.
- Discuss the proposal with your GP, your partner, or a friend.
- Book a second consultation (included in the original fee) if you have follow-up questions.
- Decide not to proceed. Walking away after a consultation is entirely acceptable and does not require justification.
After 14 days, if you wish to proceed, we will arrange a surgery date, a pre-operative assessment with our anaesthetic team, and any preparatory work required. For most procedures the date will be three to eight weeks from the point of booking, depending on surgeon availability and any preparatory steps (weight optimisation, smoking cessation, blood tests).
How long the whole process typically takes
From first enquiry to surgery date is typically four to eight weeks. The breakdown is usually:
- Days 0–3: initial enquiry and telephone screening.
- Weeks 1–3: in-person consultation at Baker Street (subject to surgeon availability).
- Weeks 3–5: the 14-day cooling-off period.
- Weeks 5–8: pre-operative assessment, any preparatory work, and the surgery itself.
For revision surgery, complex procedures requiring imaging, or patients who need significant preparatory work (weight loss, smoking cessation, optimising a medical condition), the overall timeline can extend to 12 weeks or more. We will be honest about this from the first conversation.
Funding the procedure
Surgery fees are usually paid in two parts: a deposit at the point of booking, and the balance approximately two weeks before the operation date. If you would prefer to spread the cost, our finance options include 0% APR over up to 12 months through Chrysalis Finance, our FCA-regulated finance partner, subject to standard credit checks. The full breakdown of how this works is in our guide to cosmetic surgery payment plans.
What we will not do
It is worth being explicit about what is not part of how Centre for Surgery operates, because some of these practices remain common elsewhere in the cosmetic sector:
- We do not run “consultation events” where a sales agent rather than a surgeon does the initial assessment.
- We do not offer same-day surgery bookings or pressure-discount schemes that compress the cooling-off period.
- We do not stack discounts for booking multiple procedures together. Combination procedures are assessed on cumulative anaesthetic and surgical risk, not bundled for marketing.
- We do not provide free consultations conditional on booking surgery on the day.
- We do not operate on patients showing signs of body dysmorphia without appropriate prior psychological assessment.
If you encounter any of these practices at another provider, treat them as a structural warning sign rather than as an incidental marketing decision. The framework that produces reliable cosmetic surgery results includes the parts that slow the process down.
Booking a consultation
To start an enquiry, call 0207 993 4849 or use the contact form. We are based at 95–97 Baker Street, Marylebone and consultations run six days a week, including Saturdays.
Related reading
Centre for Surgery · CQC-regulated · GMC specialist-registered surgeons · 95–97 Baker Street, Marylebone, London W1U 6RN · 0207 993 4849 · Book a consultation · Finance from 0% APR
