A “Bargain” may not be a “Bargain” when it comes to YOUR face!

Making decisions for medical and surgical cosmetic procedures have gotten more difficult for the patient/consumer. With the decrease in medical reimbursements to doctors and the increase popularity in aesthetics, many physicians and even non-physicians are entering the cosmetic surgery market. This is also promoted by the onslaught of advertising and media hype that surrounds it. The consumer reads about the “newest” product in a magazine, sees “cheap” prices that are too good to believe, and hears about exaggerated or misleading claims. What is a patient to do? How can the patient make a good educated choice?

James R. Shire, MD of Shire Facial Plastic Surgery in Chattanooga, TN explains “As an example, if you are given a paintbrush and paint and asked to create a self portrait, and the same paintbrush and paint were given to Rembrandt to paint a self-portrait, which painting will be better? It is not the tool (or product) but who is using it that really makes the difference in the final outcome”.

In these difficult economic times everyone is cost conscience. But the last thing you want is cheap surgery. It is reasonable to try to get the best deal you can. This works well with TV’s and refrigerators, but you never want to get the cheapest parachute, fire extinguisher, or surgeon. Especially if it is your face! Always remember, your face goes before the world.

Whether it is cheap Botox, a great deal on fillers or deciding which filler to get, the patient must be an educated consumer. The first step is to find a qualified and well-trained DOCTOR who specializes in the area you are interested. Beware of spas with nurses, aestheticians, techs performing medical procedures, or out of field doctors (such as family doctors, ER doctors, OB-GYN doctors, dentists, etc.) trying to cash in on the aesthetic wave. One does not see these doctors trying to be pediatricians or cardiologists. A clearer example would be that you would probably not want to take your new Mercedes to the corner gas station for its repairs, you would want a specialist for that type of car. If the person is not able to handle the complications of a procedure, they are not qualified to do the procedure in the first place. These non-invasive procedures may be marketed as simple and easy, but in reality they are real surgical procedures with real complications that can and do occur all to often. We see in our office more and more people with unsatisfactory results coming in for us to correct and repair their bad surgery, filler injections, and/or Botox. Some of these situations can be corrected, but many times they can not be corrected or that the result of fixing the problem may leave the patient worse than before.

In addition, with all the emphasis on rapid or instant recovery time and non-invasive surgical alternatives, there is one thing that should be kept in mind. If there is no recovery required, then there will be no lasting result!