A consultation with a plastic surgeon is usually the third step in one’s evolution towards having actual surgery. The first is the recognition of the need or desire and the next is the acquisition of basic information with some research. While the most detailed information and a definitive surgical plan can only be assured by an actual in-patient evaluation, there is much for patients to learn from internet searching, whether it is evaluating plastic surgeons to visit to what will be the recovery process of their desired procedure. While the internet provides an extraordinary amount of information on just about every single procedure in plastic surgery, much of it is understandably fairly basic and often highly promotional.
Qualified information on plastic surgery procedures comes from talking to the expert, an actual plastic surgeon. The historic venue for this is the office consultation. But talking to a plastic surgeon today has and should parallel the development of online and electronic technology. Through internet forums like Real Self or plastic surgeons using Skype for a face-to-face discussion, the concept of much better information from the comfort of your own home is becoming a main stream method for talking to expert plastic surgeons all over the world.
While the use of Skype for plastic surgery restricts one to a home-based computer, smartphones and portable tablets have now made it possible to take such consultations anywhere one might be. FaceTime for Mac makes it possible to talk to anyone that has an iPhone 4, iPad 2 or iPod Touch. While cell phones have long made it possible to hear a voice from anywhere, it is even better to see a face with that voice. From the tiny camera on these devices, you can see everything on the other end with unbelieveable clarity. With picture-in-picture view, you can see clearly (frankly better than Skype) the person you are talking to. Using either the front or rear camera, or rotating from portrait to landscape, FaceTime for Mac smoothly adjusts the view. FaceTime calls are also in HD, being able to support video calls up to 720p.
Using FaceTime for plastic surgery consultations is just as easy as that for Skype. You must first get an Apple ID and an e-mail address. Once a consultation time has been arranged, the plastic surgeon finds your name in the contacts list and starts the video call. I can call your iPad, iPod Touch or Mac using your email address. An invitation will appear on your screen. All you have to do is to accept it and the video call begins.
While presently the number of devices that support FaceTime is small in comparison to the total number of computers and cell phones, those numbers will continue to grow. The video technology in iPhone 4s and iMacs is a harbinger that in a few years the majority of people will have access to it. This assures that the capability to have a plastic surgery video consultation from just about anywhere will be commonplace.
Dr. Barry Eppley
Indianapolis, Indiana