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Let’s face it—performing a sales pitch while mapping out a serious medical procedure is a delicate balancing act for a cosmetic surgeon. But that’s just what happens when you visit the office for a consultation.
On one hand, the doctor and staff will be addressing your dreams—showing you how well they can deliver the look you’re seeking and help improve the quality of your life. That’s heady stuff. But the flip side of the coin is even more important: explaining an operation to you in detail, along with the not-so-sexy preparation, recovery, risks and complications inherent in cosmetic surgery.
Making a wish come true and practicing good medicine may not be an easy blend of concepts, but it’s essential for surgeons to achieve the right mix. When they don’t, that’s when you leave the office murmuring things like, “I just didn’t feel comfortable,” or “I can’t put my finger on it, but I don’t think the place is right for me.”
Here are some ways to tell a doctor may be going overboard with the sales pitch.
Advertising: How Much is too Much?
Since cosmetic surgery is elective surgery, it makes sense that a doctor needs to get his or her name out there. What doesn’t feel so comfortable is when you start seeing a doctor’s name everywhere. Google some common keywords like “plastic surgery,” “cosmetic surgery” and “breast implants.” Do you see certain surgeons on the right hand side of the results page, in fact the same ones over and over?
These are sponsored links, meaning the doctors are paying for clicks on their name, even from a searcher who lives across the country. That’s aggressive and expensive marketing!
You might also be concerned if a cosmetic surgeon uses words that seem over the top to describe his or her talents or results, like “outstanding.” For one thing, outcomes are so subjective it’s inappropriate to apply adjectives like this; cosmetic surgery results are unique to each patient. Doctors should never act in a way that could set unrealistic expectations.
What’s the Office Like?
You can expect a certain amount of subtle sales material in any elective surgeon’s office, Flyers, posters, perhaps a book of success stories, but consider how aggressive the tactics are. Is there a big screen TV running an endless loop of beautiful people? Are financing brochures on every tabletop?
Another quality to evaluate is whether you feel like you’re waiting for a medical appointment or a Hollywood audition. What is the staff wearing? Is your privacy respected as it must be by law, or are the employees very casual in the way they talk with you about yourself and the procedure you’re considering?
A simple baseline level of professionalism should not be too much to expect. It's legitimate to expect office staff and medical assistants who don’t sit around discussing their boyfriends with wait times that aren’t excessive.
How Do You Feel in the Consultation?
The largest part in your decision-making is whether you feel you experienced an expert consultation with an understanding surgeon, or a sales call. If you can’t answer all the following with a resounding “yes,” you may want to turn elsewhere:
- Did the doctor spend enough time with you personally?
- Did he ask if you wanted to discuss other treatments before proposing?
- Did she address concerns objectively, instead of dismissing them?
- Did you get an individualized consultation versus a cookie cutter session?
It’s certainly possible to find a cosmetic surgeon who favors an aggressive sales pitch and still delivers good results but, there are definitely reasons to wonder. If the doctor’s attention is on the sales pitch and the bottom line first, will they pay enough attention to you and your procedure? If you have any doubts, move on.
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