Kate Moreland discusses the importance of cosmetic surgery advice for your client.
You’re working in the beauty industry and a client comes up to you and asks about cosmetic surgery. They’re thinking of having the latest procedure, and they ask your advice. What will you advise? Here are 10 important ways to protect your beauty client from becoming a statistic by ensuring they steer clear of these common mistakes and misconceptions:
MISTAKE 1: Not knowing where to start looking.
Just because someone has slick marketing and advertising doesn’t mean they have the knowledge, skills and similarly-talented hands in surgery. And, surprise-surprise, not everything you read on the internet is accurate. Marketing should be a means of introduction to a possible physician, not a determining factor in selecting a surgeon. There is no substitute for research.
MISTAKE 2: Choosing a surgeon without evaluating their training and credentials.
Plastic surgery in Australia is unregulated. Regular doctors can perform the same plastic surgery as certified plastic surgeons and it’s legal for any doctor with a basic medical degree to perform surgery. Plastic surgeons, though, have further specialised extensive surgical education and training including a minimum of 12 years medical and surgical education with at least five years of specialist postgraduate training. All surgical procedures carry risk, but the chance of risk and complication can be reduced by consulting a specialist plastic surgeon who is trained, qualified and accredited to perform cosmetic and reconstructive surgery.
MISTAKE 3: Not realising the risks of fixing a bad plastic surgery job.
Your client’s highest chance of getting the best result is with the first procedure, not a secondary revision and the risks involved in revision surgery increase vastly over virgin plastic surgery. That’s something you want your client to avoid at all costs.
MISTAKE 4: Believing they won’t be scarred.
Many believe it’s a surgeon’s skill that determines how badly you’ll scar post-surgery. However, it really comes down to a patient’s genetic factors. A skilled plastic surgeon can do the same exact closure on two different people: one heals with imperceptible scars and the other doesn’t. It’s something important for your client to keep in mind before going under the knife.
MISTAKE 5: Forgetting to ask about possible complications.
Yes, things can go wrong. There are risks associated with all procedures. Knowledge is king, as they say, and it’s important for you to have a thorough understanding of the risks involved in order to make an informed decision.
MISTAKE 6: Getting surgery for the wrong reasons.
The best patients are the ones with realistic goals who are essentially happy with themselves, but have a physical feature they’d like to improve. It’s important your client is motivated for the right reasons and is emotionally ready before considering undergoing any procedure.
MISTAKE 7: Forgetting to ask if they’re a good candidate for the procedure.
It’s so easy to get carried away, for your client to get so focused on their dreams and desires that all logic gets thrown out the window. What I often have to do is bring people back to the hard facts of what is, and what simply isn’t, realistic for their body type. Perhaps they’re just not a good candidate, from a medical point of view, for certain surgery.
MISTAKE 8: Choosing a surgeon based on price.
Not all plastic surgeons are the same. And they are not products. They are selling a service based upon their skills, knowledge, experience and talent. There is no bigger investment your client will make in their life than choosing the right, talented plastic surgeon to work with. You get what you pay for but although cost is a definitely a factor don’t let it be a determining factor.
MISTAKE 9: Failure to disclose everything to the surgeon.
Without all the facts, how can you make an informed and proper decision about surgery? The same applies to your surgeon; if you don’t give them all the facts they could make the wrong decision for your client. Diet pills, metabolic enhancers, fat enhancers, whatever the latest fad is, can affect the heart and lead to cardiac arrest. Doctors need to know everything your client is taking.
MISTAKE 10: Choosing a surgeon with whom they don’t feel comfortable.
Surgery is not a one-time event – there will be follow-up visits. In essence your client is entering into a type of relationship with a surgeon, one where it’s important to develop solid trust and rapport.
For more information contact Clarify Clinic on (02) 9387 4448, email enquire@clarifyclinic.com.au or visit www.clarifyclinic.com.au.