I frequently get asked by many patients during an initial plastic surgery consultation….What do you think I should do?…or what they mean is…What do you see as the problem? And I always answer the same way….It is not what I see, but what you see and concerns you is the problem. I long ago learned that correcting something that the patient sees as not that important (on their concern list) is a sure way to get an unhappy result. Just because some physical issue bothers me…has nothing to do with whether it is important to the patient.
Asking my opinion if there is anything else I see that would help or complement their main concern with additional corrections is one thing…..but asking what I would do with the problem that I see is quite another matter. What matters is what the patient sees as their problem. My job as a plastic surgeon is to determine if a procedure can be done that addresses their concern, make sure it is reasonably safe and has a good chance of providing the improvement that they seek.
Dr Barry Eppley
Indianapolis, Indiana