Patient Info | A Visit to Our Office

We find that many patients give consideration to cosmetic surgery of a specific area for many years before making an inquiry. It is as simple as calling us at (301) 620-4200 and speaking with our staff about scheduling an appointment and obtaining information about specific procedures. We value getting to know you on your first visit and can spend up to one hour reviewing more extensive procedures. During this initial visit, you will get to know Dr. Andochick and his staff, learn about the procedures of interest to you including recovery time, scheduling options, and procedure costs. We do participate with several financing plans which we can forward to you prior to your appointment.

If you are an appropriate candidate for surgery and want to proceed, Dr. Andochick almost always meets with you for a second appointment to review questions and finalize plans.

The most important things to consider prior to any surgical procedure:

  • If you are overweight and in the process of losing weight, we would strongly recommend that you do so prior to any cosmetic surgical procedure. This will allow your results to be longer lasting and you will be a better candidate for surgery.
  • If you use a CPAP machine for sleep apnea, we need to know this early in your evalutation. At the most, you may have to lose weight prior to surgery. At the least, you will need evaluation by your pulmonologist and bring your CPAP machine to your surgery.
  • If you have any medical issues (especially if you see a cardiologist), it will be essential that you schedule for a medical clearance appointment as well as a cardiac clearance appointment prior to any surgical procedure being performed.
  • If you are over the age of 50, it is mandatory to have medical clearance prior to undergoing a surgical procedure with anesthesia.
  • For patients contemplating eyelid surgery and have not seen an optometrist or ophthalmologist in the last year, it will be helpful to go ahead and schedule that appointment in advance as well.

In general, surgical procedures require at least 8 weeks for a full recovery. This does not mean that you cannot get back to a normal work activity in 2 weeks, but you will need to stay away from exertional activities in most cases. Obviously, the magnitude of your procedure will determine cost and recovery time.

We look forward to meeting you and hope that we can help lead you in the right direction.