Preparing for Your Visit. A conversation, not a sales pitch.
Your first appointment at an affiliated surgeon's office or with Dr. Scott for a Rest-Assure evaluation — what to bring, what to expect, and what questions are worth asking.
The consultation is the first medical decision.
Choosing a surgeon is one of the more consequential medical decisions most people will make in their lifetime. Choosing a surgical facility is the second. The consultation is where both decisions get made — and the quality of the consultation is often what tells you whether the choice is right for you.
At NCSS, consultations happen in two contexts. Your surgical consultation is with the affiliated surgeon you're considering — at their office, on their schedule, in the format their practice uses. Your Rest-Assure pre-operative evaluation is with Dr. Rand Scott personally — at NCSS, once your surgery is scheduled, focused on anesthesia planning and discharge coordination.
Both are conversations, not sales pitches. Come with questions. Come with concerns. Come ready to leave without a scheduling commitment if the fit isn't right. The good surgeons on our roster will not push you toward a decision on the day of consultation — and neither will Dr. Scott.
Two different consultation contexts.
Depending on where you are in the process, you may be preparing for one of two visit types:
Surgical consultation with your affiliated surgeon.
Your first appointment with the surgeon you're considering. Held at the surgeon's own office (some in our building, some elsewhere in Newport Beach). Focused on evaluating your candidacy, reviewing procedure options, discussing technique, and answering your questions. Typically 45–60 minutes.
Rest-Assure pre-operative evaluation with Dr. Scott.
Once your surgery is scheduled with an affiliated surgeon, you're offered a free personal consultation with our medical director at NCSS. Focused on anesthesia planning, medication review, and discharge coordination. Typically 30–45 minutes. This visit happens 1–2 weeks before surgery, not at the front of the process.
Follow-up consultations.
Post-consultation reviews, second-opinion visits, or discussions about combining procedures. Length varies by context.
Doing the homework.
The most useful thing you can do before a consultation is arrive prepared. A few practical steps:
Review the surgeon's background.
Every affiliated surgeon has their own page on this site with training, board certification, practice focus, and areas of specialty. Reading it before you meet them makes the conversation immediately more substantive.
Read the relevant procedure page.
Our procedure detail pages cover technique, candidacy considerations, recovery timeline, and the tradeoffs specific to each procedure. Understanding the basics before your consultation means you can spend the appointment discussing what applies specifically to you.
Write down your questions.
Consultations often go by faster than you expect. A short written list ensures the questions that matter to you actually get asked. There are no wrong questions.
Note your relevant medical history.
Prior surgeries (especially cosmetic), current medications and supplements, allergies, significant medical conditions. Some of this will be captured on forms — but knowing it going in makes the discussion sharper.
Bring any prior imaging or records that could help.
If your consultation involves prior surgery or a specific anatomic concern, relevant records from other providers can accelerate the evaluation.
Consider bringing a support person.
Many patients benefit from having a spouse, family member, or trusted friend present — a second set of ears often catches details you miss. Support persons are welcome at every consultation.
The morning-of checklist.
For your consultation, bring:
Photo ID
Driver's license or other government-issued ID.
Insurance card
Even if the consultation is self-pay (some surgeons file to insurance for reconstructive components).
List of current medications
Prescription and over-the-counter, plus any supplements or herbal products, with dosages.
List of allergies
Drug allergies and any significant environmental or food allergies.
Prior surgical history
Dates and providers of any prior cosmetic or reconstructive procedures.
Your written list of questions
The list you prepared in advance — the one that ensures your most important questions actually get asked.
Payment method for consultation fee
Most affiliated surgeons charge a consultation fee that is often applied toward the procedure cost if you proceed. Confirm the specific policy with the surgeon's office when scheduling.
Leave at home: expectations of being sold to, pressure to decide the same day, and the assumption that you must proceed after the consultation. None of those are how good consultations work.
What actually happens.
Every surgeon runs their consultation slightly differently, but the general shape is consistent:
Brief medical history intake.
Reviewing your relevant history, prior surgeries, current medications, and general health status. Some of this may be handled through forms completed in advance.
Discussion of your goals and concerns.
What brought you in, what you're hoping to accomplish, and what specifically motivates the interest in surgery now. This is not a sales moment — it's how the surgeon determines whether the procedure you're considering actually addresses what you want.
Focused physical examination.
Evaluation of the anatomic area relevant to your consultation. Handled with appropriate privacy and a chaperone present when the exam is in a private area. You may request a chaperone regardless.
Discussion of options.
The surgeon walks through the procedure options that fit your presentation, including technique variations, alternatives, tradeoffs, and cases where a different procedure or no procedure at all might be the honest recommendation.
Discussion of risks and expectations.
Realistic outcomes, recovery timeline, complication rates, and the specific tradeoffs of the recommended approach. No competent consultation ends without this discussion.
Time for your questions.
Reserve the last 10–15 minutes for the questions on your list, plus anything else that came up during the visit.
Next-step discussion (if there is one).
If you decide to proceed, the surgeon's office will walk through scheduling, costs, and the pre-operative pathway. If you want to think about it, that's expected — and any surgeon on our roster will respect that.
Deciding without pressure.
The period after a consultation is often when the actual decision gets made. A few things to consider:
Give yourself real time.
For most elective procedures, there is no clinical urgency. Taking 1–2 weeks (or longer) to think through the consultation, discuss with people whose opinions you value, and consider whether the fit is right is entirely appropriate.
Consider a second consultation.
Many patients benefit from consulting with more than one surgeon before committing. Our surgeons expect this and will not be offended. If your second consultation is with another NCSS-affiliated surgeon, that's fine — no exclusivity is expected.
Ask questions that came up after the visit.
Consultations rarely surface every question the first time. Following up by phone with the surgeon's office to clarify a detail is normal and welcome.
Check your gut about the surgeon.
Technical qualifications matter, but so does the sense of whether you trust this specific person to operate on you. There is no wrong answer to that question, and no obligation to explain why.
Decline without hesitation if it isn't right.
No consultation, at NCSS or anywhere, obligates you to proceed. Deciding to stop the process at this point is a legitimate outcome, and no surgeon on our roster will pressure you otherwise.
Book the first conversation.
Consultations are booked by calling our office. We can help you understand which surgeon may be the best fit for your specific goals, or connect you directly with a surgeon you've already researched. Free personal Rest-Assure pre-operative evaluation with Dr. Scott is offered separately once surgery is scheduled — no need to book it now.
(949) 644-8182Monday–Thursday, 8am–3pm · Friday by appointment only.
Continue your journey.
Preparing for Surgery
Once surgery is scheduled — the preparation timeline, medication planning, home setup, and what to bring on the day.
Continue →Our Surgeons
The nine affiliated surgeons of NCSS — training, practice focus, and how to schedule with each.
Continue →The Rest-Assure Program
The perioperative care standard at NCSS — the reason surgeons choose to bring their patients here.
Continue →