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I have noticed over the years an occasional relationship between the economics of a patient, affordability if you will, and the potential satisfaction from a procedure.The less likely a patient can really afford the procedure, the less likely they may be completely satisfied with it.

To give a good example, I had a lady last week that wanted injectable filler placed into her nasolabial folds but all she had to spend was $425. At the current time, I usually placed Radiesse, a particulated filler which lasts longer than many other fillers. In my experience, it usually takes a full syringe at the price of $850 to really do a good job of filling it out. Since she could only afford half a syringe, that is what I placed and I indicated to her that that amount would help but it would not be an ideal amount to do the job well. I did the procedure and sure enough……one month later she came back and felt that it didn’t work well and wanted it fixed. What I had said at her initial consult had long been forgotten.

Morale of this story….sometimes it is just better to tell patients that the amount of plastic surgery they can afford will not produce enough of a result to make it a worthwhile investment. Saying no to patients is always tough, but you can’t make a small investment turn into a big result.

‘A Little Plastic Surgery Usually Produces A Little Result…Which Is Fine If You Were Not Expecting A Big One’

Dr. Barry Eppley

Indianapolis, Indiana

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