Who is an expert in Plastic Surgery? How to choose a Cosmetic Plastic Surgeon
With the public’s burgeoning desire for aesthetic and anti-aging treatments, comes an equal number of providers wanting to fill those needs. In days gone by, patients choose their cosmetic doctors primarily by word-of-mouth. Doctor reputations were earned by results and longevity in practice. While this still has significant importance today, the use of paper and visual media and in particular the internet, has enabled a doctor to shape his credibility and reputation way ahead of what years of experience could do. Such digital and electronic exposure can be extremely helpful as well as potentially deceiving to prospective patients.
Beyond the glitzy advertisements, well-crafted websites, and free seminars with wine and food, what are some helpful criteria that can guide patients on whom to trust to undergo the cosmetic knife, needle, or laser? Many of the most basic criteria are well known and have been published many times elsewhere. Evaluating training, education, and board-certification are absolute basics and are relatively easy to determine. Once past these basics, however, the next confidence level can only be gained in an actual consultation. I would look for these things:
– Did the consultation feel like an educational experience or a sales presentation?
– Where treatment options presented and reviewed…or was only one treatment approach
offered?
– Was time given to answer all your questions….and a way to answer questions that may
arise after?
– Were actual before and after procedure photos done by the doctor you are seeing shown?
– Was talking to actual patients whom have had the procedures offered as an option? Were
these patients whom have had surgery in the past three months?
– Finally, once home, did the doctor and his office feel right? Did the consultation make you
feel more comfortable and secure in your decision?
In the end, an emotional connection and a sense of security is the final layer in the selection process that is built on a foundation of the doctor’s education and training.
Dr Barry Eppley
Indianapolis, Indiana