Frequently asked questions

It depends on your health, your anatomy and what you expect from the result. In general, a good candidate is healthy, doesn't smoke or can stop several weeks beforehand, has a stable weight, and understands what the procedure can and cannot do. That last part matters most, and it's exactly what the consultation is for, before you decide anything.

Your case is reviewed in person: what you'd like to change, your medical history, the medication you take, and a physical examination. From there it's decided whether you're a candidate, which procedure fits, what result is realistic and what it would cost in your case. A diagnosis can't be made over a message or a phone call: you have to be seen.

The Mexican Board of Plastic, Aesthetic and Reconstructive Surgery (CMCPER) publishes its register of certified surgeons online, searchable by name. You can also check the professional and specialty licence numbers in the SEP's national register. It's always worth doing: in Mexico any physician can advertise as an aesthetic doctor without being a board-certified plastic surgeon. Dr. Ríos Lara is certified by the CMCPER and his specialty licence number is 10978487.

In a healthy person and in a fully equipped hospital, general anesthesia is very safe and serious complications are rare. The risk isn't the same for everyone, which is why lab work and an assessment with the anesthesiologist come before any surgery. What moves the needle most on safety is where you have surgery: a certified hospital, with an anesthesiologist present and the means to handle an emergency, is not the same as an office.

It depends on the procedure and on how physical your job is. Non-surgical treatments like botulinum toxin or fillers need no time off. Facial surgery usually takes one to two weeks before you feel presentable, and body surgery such as a tummy tuck, two to four. Returning to exercise takes longer: normally four to six weeks, and your surgeon clears it, not the calendar.

Often yes, and it usually makes sense: one anesthesia, one recovery, one stretch of time off. A mommy makeover is exactly that. The limit is safety, mainly total time in the operating room and your state of health. It's a decision for the consultation, not something that can be promised before seeing you.

Every surgery leaves a scar. What can be controlled is where it sits and how it looks. Incisions are planned to hide in natural creases, at the edge of the areola, along the bikini line or inside the nose. With proper care most of them lighten and flatten over the first year. Some skin types heal differently, and that is reviewed before surgery.

For aesthetic surgery, growth should be complete, normally at 18. There's no number at the other end: what decides is your health, not your age. A healthy 65-year-old can be a better candidate than a 40-year-old with uncontrolled conditions.

We don't quote prices over the phone or by message, and it isn't evasiveness: what one person needs isn't what another needs, even when they ask for the same operation. The cost is set at the consultation, once it's clear exactly what will be done, and it's given to you in writing with everything it includes. Be wary of anyone who quotes a closed price without examining you.

The nose deswells in stages. At two weeks you're back to normal life and most people won't notice you had surgery. The definitive shape takes much longer: between six months and a year, and at the tip sometimes up to eighteen months. It's the surgery that asks for the most patience.

No, and they solve different problems. Botulinum toxin relaxes the muscle that creates expression lines: forehead, frown lines, crow's feet. Filler adds volume where it's been lost or where projection is needed: lips, cheekbones, folds. That's why they're often used together. Botulinum toxin lasts four to six months; hyaluronic acid fillers, nine to eighteen.

Not always, and it's worth knowing beforehand. Blepharoplasty removes excess skin and the eyelid bags, which is what creates the tired look. A dark under-eye circle is often something else: pigment in the skin, or a hollow under the eye, and those are treated differently, with filler or laser. So the first step is seeing what you actually have.

The buccal fat pads that are removed don't grow back, so the change is permanent. But the face keeps changing with age and with your weight. It calls for restraint: taking out too much can leave the face looking gaunt over time, and in already slim faces it's often not indicated.

No. Liposuction removes fat, but it doesn't correct loose skin or separated muscles. A tummy tuck removes the excess skin, repairs the separation of the abdominal muscles (diastasis, very common after pregnancy) and repositions the navel. They're often done together, but they solve different problems: if what you have is excess skin, liposuction alone won't fix it.

It isn't a fixed operation: it's a combination built around your case. The most common is a tummy tuck with liposuction plus breast work, which may be a lift, implants or a reduction. The idea is to address in one surgery and one recovery what pregnancy and breastfeeding changed.