Common concerns shared during a consultation

Going to the doctor’s office can be an intimidating experience. Other doctors have written about this on their blogs from their own specialty’s perspective. Dr. Pari Ghodsi wrote a good article about basic etiquette when going to the gynecologist and what they think about when they’re with their patients: “It’s like seeing an elbow.”

While visiting a facial plastic surgeon for the first time is quite different- remember, I operate on public places, not private ones- at times it can be equally uncomfortable. We take pictures that can be unflattering. We’ll talk about things that you are self-conscious about and what I can do about them. I wanted to share common things that people are thinking about when they come to me for the first time.

“I looked in the mirror and I saw my mother’s neck/eyelids/mouth/whatever!”

People come to me for a lot of reasons, but this is a common reason that 40- to 50-something year old women start coming to me. While they may love their mothers, they don’t necessarily want to look like them because they feel a lot younger than that. While we’ll discuss every aspect of your facial aesthetics in the first visit, we’ll of course focus on your main concern.

I don’t want my husband to find out.

No problem! I have several clients who will only come in when their husbands are going to be out of town! I am bound to keep your secrets. I will only use your pictures on this website if you give me permission to do so. If we’re talking about surgical procedures, I’ll encourage you to talk about it with your spouse, but if you really don’t want ANYBODY to know what we’re doing, that’s okay by me.

How much recovery time will I need?

This is probably the most important thing that we’ll talk about because I can recommend different treatments based on how much down time you’ll be able to dedicate to the process. In general, with Botox®, peels, or laser treatments, you’ll have very little down time. For fillers, you can expect some bruising at the injection sites that can be hidden with makeup. For surgical procedures, in general you’ll be able to go back to work in a week, but you’ll need about three weeks before any major event in case you have some residual bruising or swelling that needs time to go away.

I’m not interested in surgery; that seems so extreme.

That’s fine! There are almost always many options for improving your face, and we’ll discuss all of them in your initial consultation. Good skin care, laser treatments, and injectables may be all that you’ll need to achieve your goals. However, there are limits to how effective they can be and we’ll talk about that. Often people have seen facial surgery that looks unnatural and it (understandably!) turns them off. Most of the time people feel better after we go over before and after photos of my other patients!

I love my specialty because it allows me to help people by helping them look as good as they feel. It’s wonderful to see someone take a positive step towards self improvement. While we will talk about things that are necessarily uncomfortable, I’ll never judge you for anything that we talk about. I look forward to talking to you!