The Spreadsheet She Made to Choose a Surgeon

Naomi is a project manager, and it shows in everything she does, including - apparently - deciding who was allowed to operate on her body. When she told me she'd built a spreadsheet before her first consultation, I assumed she was joking. She wasn't. Columns for KMPDC registration status, hospital affiliation, years in practice, procedure specialty, and a column she'd simply labeled "gut feeling," reserved for after the actual consultation, because a spreadsheet can't sit in a room with someone and tell you if they're actually listening to you.

She'd started, like most people do now, on Instagram. Six clinics, six beautifully lit before-and-after grids, six captions promising "natural results" in nearly identical language. That was the first thing that told her the photos alone weren't going to be enough to choose from - anyone can post a flattering angle under good lighting. What she couldn't verify from a grid post was whether the person behind it was actually a specialist, or a general practitioner who'd added cosmetic procedures to a broader practice.

So she started checking registration instead of scrolling. The Kenya Medical Practitioners and Dentists Council keeps a public register - she looked up every name on her list against it, and two didn't come back as registered specialists in plastic, reconstructive and aesthetic surgery at all. That cut her list to four before she'd even booked a single consultation.

The next filter was harder to Google: hospital privileges. A surgeon with admitting rights at a recognized hospital - meaning that hospital's own credentialing committee has independently vetted them, on top of the KMPDC registration - carries a second layer of accountability that a standalone cosmetic studio doesn't automatically have. She specifically wanted someone doing complex reconstructive work too, not exclusively cosmetic cases, on the theory that a surgeon who regularly handles complications and difficult anatomy brings that same level of care to a straightforward case. That's how Dr. JP ended up on her spreadsheet - a Consultant Plastic Surgeon at Nairobi Hospital alongside his own practice at Nairobi Sculpt Aesthetic Centre.

The consultation itself is where the spreadsheet finally became useless, in the best way. It wasn't a menu of packages. It was an actual physical assessment, a conversation about what she wanted and why, and - because the practice uses a simulation tool called Lindapp - a realistic visual projection of what a result could actually look like on her specific body, not a stock photo of someone else's. She said that was the moment "gut feeling" got its first real data point.

She booked her procedure two weeks later. The spreadsheet, last I heard, is still open on her laptop - she's started recommending it to friends, minus her name in the "gut feeling" column.

The particulars - what to check before you book anyone:

• Registration: confirm KMPDC registration as a specialist in plastic, reconstructive and aesthetic surgery - not general practice with cosmetic add-ons

• Hospital privileges: admitting rights at a recognized hospital add independent vetting beyond registration alone

• Case mix: a surgeon who handles reconstructive and complex cases, not only elective cosmetic work, has been tested on complications a purely cosmetic practice may not see

• The consultation itself: should involve a real physical exam and a plan built around your anatomy - not a fixed package pitched at everyone

• Where to start: Dr. John Paul Ogalo, Consultant Plastic Surgeon at Nairobi Hospital, Nairobi Sculpt Aesthetic Centre, Upperhill - Book a consultation link · +254 720 879 793 · [WhatsApp]