If you”re like many people considering plastic surgery in Dallas, you”re not 100% certain it”s right for you. You want to test the waters, learn about your options, and get to know a potential surgeon before you take any decisive steps. While some surgeons do choose to offer complementary consultations, some of us do not. Here”s why.
Face Time
A personal consultation is invaluable one-on-one time with an experienced surgeon, a surgeon who is focused entirely on you. There are several key elements:
- A physical exam
- A thorough discussion of your concerns and goals
- Detailed suggestions for, and explanation of, your procedural options
The consultation is an opportunity for you, the patient, to gain a great deal of knowledge about plastic surgery and your chosen procedure(s). Sure, you can gather a few facts from research online or on television, but these facts are neither dependable nor specific to you. In a consultation, you know you”re getting accurate information and opinions you can trust from a surgeon who is responding with your unique circumstances in mind.
In my experience, the consultation is one of the most important steps in the plastic surgery journey, and I don”t want to rush it. I want to spend as much time as possible with each patient, so that I feel confident that I understand what they want to achieve, and so that they can feel confident that I am the right surgeon for them. This getting-to-know-you time is absolutely essential!
Preventing No-Shows
Charging for a consultation also prevents a few unfortunate realities of any office. Perhaps the most significant of these is that it discourages people from scheduling appointments and then not showing up. A no-show appointment is valuable time that I could instead spend in surgery, in consultation with another patient, continuing my education, or providing support to my existing patients.