--- title: "Preparing for Your Breast Augmentation Consultation" url: https://drturner.com.au/blogs/preparing-for-breast-augmentation-consultation-sydney/ date: 2026-05-18 modified: 2026-07-30 author: "Dr Scott J Turner" description: "Dr Scott J Turner | Specialist Plastic Surgeon (FRACS) Key Takeaways This is a practical checklist for getting ready for your own appointment, not an explanation of the surgery. It..." categories: - "Breast Augmentation" image: https://drturner.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/blogplaceholder-img.svg word_count: 2154 --- # Preparing for Your Breast Augmentation Consultation *[Dr Scott J Turner](https://drturner.com.au/dr-scott-turner-sydney-plastic-surgeon/) | Specialist Plastic Surgeon (FRACS)* > **Key Takeaways** > > > > > - This is a practical checklist for getting ready for your own appointment, not an explanation of the surgery. It covers what to organise beforehand, what to bring, what to wear, who to bring, and what actually happens in the room. > - Organise your GP referral one to two weeks ahead. It is required before a first cosmetic surgery consultation can proceed, so without it the appointment cannot go ahead as planned. > - Come with a clear sense of what bothers you and what you want to change, described in plain terms rather than a cup size. That is more useful to the assessment than a target number. > - Bring a written list of questions. It is easy to forget them once the conversation starts, and a good consultation works through decisions with you rather than handing you a plan. > - You do not need to arrive with decisions made. The point of the appointment is to reach them together, and you will have a second consultation and a reflection period before anything is booked. > - Expect a physical examination with measurements, so wear clothing that is easy to change out of, and bring someone if a second set of ears would help. A breast augmentation consultation moves faster and produces better decisions when you have prepared for it. Most of the appointment is spent working through choices that depend on your anatomy, so the more organised you are about what you want to ask and what you want to achieve, the more you get from the time. This guide is the practical preparation sheet: what to do before you come, what to bring, and what to expect once you are in the room. It is deliberately not an explanation of the operation or the implant options. Those are covered on the [breast augmentation surgery](https://drturner.com.au/procedures/breast-body/breast-augmentation/) page, which sets out the technique, the pathway and the implant choices in full, and patients in Queensland can find the same for [breast augmentation in Brisbane](https://drturner.com.au/locations/brisbane/breast-augmentation/). This article assumes you have done, or are about to do, that background reading, and focuses on getting you ready for the appointment itself. ## Organise your GP referral first Before anything else, arrange a GP referral, and do it one to two weeks ahead of your appointment rather than the day before. A referral is required before a first cosmetic surgery consultation can go ahead, so it is the one item without which the appointment cannot proceed as planned. The referral does not need to be elaborate. Your GP confirms that you have discussed your reasons for considering surgery, that your expectations are reasonable, and that there is nothing in your medical history that would make surgery unsuitable. Most GPs are familiar with the process. Book a standard appointment, explain that you are seeking a referral for a breast augmentation consultation, and ask them to address those points. If your GP has not written one before, the practice can guide them on what to include. The GP visit is also a good moment to raise anything in your own health that might bear on surgery, since your regular doctor knows your history in a way a first consultation cannot. Current medications and supplements, smoking, past surgery and any family history of breast disease are all worth mentioning while you are there, both because your GP can advise you and because it saves time later. Ask them for the referral in a form you can bring or have sent ahead, and confirm how their billing works for the appointment, as referral consultations are charged as a standard visit rather than covered as a cosmetic cost. ## Get clear on what you actually want The single most useful thing you can bring is a clear, plain description of what bothers you and what you want to change. "I've lost fullness at the top of the breast," or "one side is noticeably smaller than the other," or "less deflated after breastfeeding" tells the assessment far more than a cup size does. Cup size is the instinctive way to think about it and the least useful at consultation, because bra cups vary between brands and styles and do not correspond to any specific implant volume. The sizing conversation works from measurements instead, so arriving with a described goal rather than a number gives that conversation the right starting point. If you want to understand how size, shape and profile decisions actually get made before you come, the [implant size, shape and profile guide](https://drturner.com.au/blogs/breast-implant-size-shape-profile-guide/) covers it, and it is worth reading beforehand so the appointment can go deeper than the basics. A short piece of homework helps here. In front of a mirror, note what specifically you would change and what you would keep. Is it fullness at the top of the breast, overall size, balance between the two sides, or the way things have changed after pregnancy or weight loss? Being able to point to it makes the examination more precise, and it also surfaces the difference between what you can articulate and what you have only felt vaguely, which is often where the useful part of the conversation begins. Bring that, in whatever form suits you, a few sentences written down or simply a clear idea in your head. ## Write your questions down It is genuinely easy to forget what you meant to ask once you are in the room and the conversation is moving. A written list solves that, and a practice that answers each question clearly and without hesitation is showing you that its planning and aftercare are in order. A useful starting list: - What base width does my anatomy support, and what volume range fits it? - Which implant shape and profile suit the result I have described? - What placement do you recommend for my tissue, and why that one? - Which incision suits my plan, and where will the scar sit? - Do I need a lift or fat grafting as well, or will implants alone achieve what I want? - What are the main risks in my specific case? - How many follow up appointments are included, and who do I contact after hours? - What is included in the quote, and what might be additional? You do not need to arrive with any of these answered in your own mind. The point of the appointment is to work through them together. For how to weigh a surgeon's answers more broadly, the guide on [choosing a breast augmentation surgeon](https://drturner.com.au/blogs/best-breast-augmentation-surgeon-sydney/) covers what to look for and the warning signs worth noticing. ## What to bring A short list covers most of what makes a first consultation productive: - **Your GP referral.** Required for the consultation to proceed. - **A written description of your goals** in plain terms, and your list of questions. - **Reference photos, if you have them.** Useful as a starting point for discussion, with the understanding that your anatomy means the result will look different on you than on anyone else. How to read galleries without over reading them is covered in the [surgeon selection guide](https://drturner.com.au/blogs/best-breast-augmentation-surgeon-sydney/). - **Your relevant medical history.** Previous breast surgery, current medications and supplements, family history of breast cancer, and any plans for future pregnancy or breastfeeding, since these can influence timing, incision and implant choice. ## What to wear and what to expect in the room The consultation includes a physical examination of the breast and chest wall with specific measurements, so wear clothing that is straightforward to change out of. A two piece outfit is easier than a dress. The examination is how the plan gets made rather than an afterthought. Measurements of chest width, breast base width, nipple to fold distance, skin quality and existing asymmetry are what determine the implant range that will suit you, which is why a photo of another patient can only ever be a starting point. Expect the surgeon to examine, measure, and then talk through what those measurements mean for your options. Sizing tools may be used to help you visualise different volumes in clothing. You should leave with a clearer sense of what is realistic for your anatomy and written information to take home. It helps to know the rough shape of the appointment so none of it catches you off guard. It usually opens with a conversation about what has brought you in and what you want to change, moves to the examination and measurements, and then becomes a discussion of what those findings mean for implant size, placement and whether a lift or fat grafting is part of the picture. Risks specific to your case are covered, and there is time for your questions. What it is not is a sales appointment with a decision at the end. You are expected to leave, think, and come back, and a consultation that pressures you toward booking on the day is not following the process the appointment is meant to sit within. ## Bring someone if it helps You are welcome to bring a partner, family member or friend, and many patients do. A second set of ears is genuinely useful when the conversation moves through implant options, placement and surgical detail, and having someone to talk it over with afterward often helps the decision settle. Support people are welcome at both consultations. ## Use your two consultations You will have at least two consultations before anything is booked, with a reflection period between the second one and any surgical date. This is not a single sitting, and it is designed so decisions are not made under the momentum of one appointment. The practical implication for you is that the first consultation is for assessment, options and questions, and the gap before the second is for exactly the things that are hard to do in the room: rereading the written information, thinking of the questions that only occur to you later, and talking it over with the people whose view you value. Come to the second consultation with that second list. The pathway itself, the referral, the two consultations, the reflection period and how a date is set, is set out in full on the [procedure page](https://drturner.com.au/procedures/breast-body/breast-augmentation/); what matters for your preparation is simply that you have time built in, and using it well produces a better decision. ## A note on timing and recovery It is worth walking in with a rough sense of the recovery so you can ask about it against your own commitments. Most patients take around two weeks away from desk based work and return to full strenuous exercise between six and eight weeks, with implants continuing to settle over the following months. If you are planning around a specific date, or you have young children or a physically demanding job, raise it at the first consultation so the timing can be planned realistically. The [recovery guide](https://drturner.com.au/blogs/recovery-after-breast-augmentation-surgery/) covers the week by week timeline if you want the detail beforehand. ## Frequently asked questions **Do I need a GP referral before my first consultation?** Yes. A GP referral is required before a first cosmetic surgery consultation in Australia, so organise it one to two weeks ahead. Your GP can provide one after a short discussion about your reasons for considering surgery and a check that nothing in your history makes it unsuitable. **What should I bring to the appointment?** Your GP referral, a plain description of what you want to change, a written list of questions, any reference photos, and your relevant medical history including previous surgery, current medications, family history of breast cancer and any future pregnancy plans. Wear clothing that is easy to change out of, since there is a physical examination. **Do I need to have decided on a size or implant before I come?** No. Arriving with a described goal, such as more upper pole fullness or better balance between sides, is more useful than a fixed size or cup target. The size and implant that suit you are worked out at consultation from measurements, and sizing tools help you picture the options. **Can I bring someone with me?** Yes, and it often helps. A partner, family member or friend gives you a second set of ears for the detail and someone to talk the decision over with afterward. They are welcome at both consultations. **What actually happens at the first consultation?** A discussion of what you want to change, a physical examination of the breast and chest wall with measurements, a walk through of the options those measurements support, an account of the risks in your case, and written information to take home. It is an assessment and a conversation rather than a sales appointment, and no decision has to be made on the day. Dr Scott J Turner is a Specialist Plastic Surgeon (FRACS). A GP referral is required before an initial surgical consultation under the current Medical Board of Australia framework. When you are ready to book, [contact the practice](https://drturner.com.au/contact-us/) to arrange your first consultation.