Outdated approaches and loss of clientele
In any business, in any work, it is very important to follow current trends. And this is not following fashion, but a rational step to retain a loyal audience and attract new clients. Let’s look at this using the example of a facelift.
When performing a circular facelift, it is worth using only modern methods. If you perform it in the old, simplified approach, simply excising excess skin in front of the ear and “pulling” its upper layers, then in 2-3 years the patient’s facial contour will “float” again.
After the intervention, there may be unsightly scars, a stretched earlobe (elfin earlobes), a hidden tragus, a wide oral slit and other stigmas of the operated face. All of these are signs of poor quality work, which will leave the patient dissatisfied in the long run. Consequently, he will not recommend you.
Outdated methods are often simplified and therefore have low efficiency in the long term. Repeated interventions can improve the result, but they will be clearly more expensive and will also require longer rehabilitation.
Modern methods include deep two-plane lifting of the lower third of the face, which is almost always supplemented by neck plastic surgery and corset platysmoplasty, sometimes with resection of the submandibular salivary glands.
It is this complex approach that allows us to achieve multi-vector lifting while preserving the natural biomechanics of facial muscles, as well as avoiding distortion of facial expressions and the main stigmata. In addition, it helps to achieve a stable and long-lasting effect from rejuvenating surgery, which is what patients expect.
Important nuances when competing
Any plastic surgeon, like any entrepreneur, competes with colleagues in their niche. A high percentage of satisfied clients always works for a personal brand. And clients become satisfied when they are provided with the highest quality services. And here again, deep knowledge and specific nuances are important. And not only in the field of professional competencies, but also in behavioral and psychological aspects. For example:
Overcorrection in blepharoplasty
When performing blepharoplasty, for example, when removing orbital fat packs (hernias), in pursuit of a beautiful result at the moment, some surgeons tend to hypercorrect. That is, they remove excess amounts of fatty tissue and skin.
After 5-10 years, the result of such an operation will be disastrous: with age, due to the presence of natural atrophy of the patient’s orbital fat tissue – the eyeballs – will begin to “sag”, look deep-set, with the formation of an A-shaped deformation. This, on the contrary, visually adds extra years.
In the modern approach to surgical interventions, the tendency towards periorbitoplasty prevails. This is a complex of beautifying interventions that involve the preservation and redistribution of the patient’s own tissues of the upper and middle zones of the face (often using video-endoscopic equipment).
As a result, this approach allows achieving a more stable result of the operation with the most natural appearance. Optionally, only that part of the orbital fat packets that appears between the edges of the wound after dissection of the overstretched septa is removed.
To determine the intervention measure, the surgeon must conduct a deep anatomical analysis of the facial structures, especially the orbital area, and also be able to subtly predict age-related changes in the volumetric-gravitational paradigm.
I would like to note that patients often judge the presence of a sense of moderation based on personal communication with the future doctor. — pay attention to your behavior, statements, value judgments, the size of the car and other accessories that you demonstrate on social networks. Excessive flashiness and “gigantism” alarm attentive patients.
Choosing only aesthetics in rhinoplasty
The surgeon’s priority should be the patient’s health. Even if the patient wants an unrealistic result and thinks only about how beautiful the new small nose will look on the face on social networks.
Most often, these, very fashionable lately, with thin, pointed tips and a thin back are the result of rhinoplasty, which was performed with obvious disregard for the function of the nose as an organ. And these are only some of the signs indicating that the surgeon sacrifices the patient’s breathing for the sake of aesthetics, which is created by fashion and marketing trends.
Giving in to patients is a very shaky practice. For a professional, such an approach is unacceptable – it is fraught with conflicts and even litigation with patients in the near future.
The owner of a “pin nose” will also experience breathing difficulties. And these, in turn, can lead to sleep problems, snoring, headaches, and a general feeling of weakness and exhaustion. This is an unacceptable outcome of rhinoplasty.
Professionals avoid performing rhinoplasty techniques that have not been tested over time, “proprietary techniques” (the extreme degree is using one’s own name or surname in the name of the operation), sutureless operations, the use of glue, promises (guarantees) of an operation without bruises and a ten-minute rehabilitation, as well as the use of the word “innovative”.
For future patients, all these signs are a signal of the surgeon’s dishonesty.
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Removing Bish’s lumps is dangerous for some
Bish’s lumps are present in the upper cheek area and can give the face an unaesthetic appearance. Therefore, many patients come with a request to remove them in order to improve their appearance.
Indeed, removing Bish’s lumps can be an effective method for improving the facial contour and rejuvenation effect. However, this operation is contraindicated for people of the asthenic type – with age, the cheeks are likely to become sunken, giving an emaciated appearance.
Fortunately, another turn of events has taken place, and currently rounded facial features with soft smooth lines, the so-called babyface, have returned to fashion. The face is deliberately given an infantile appearance. And this is where the Bishà lumps are needed, since they are most pronounced in infants.
For patients with an asthenic face, to correct lost proportions, I recommend not removing, but rather adding volume to the areas surrounding the cheeks – the cheekbones, corners of the lower jaw and chin.
Such patients should be recommended alternative options for working with the face: for example, contour plastic surgery, implantation of adjacent areas in combination with chin liposuction, lipofilling (a low-traumatic method of plastic surgery that corrects appearance using the patient’s own fat).
Often patients confuse anatomical zones and call the angles of the lower jaw cheekbones, and the jowls – Bish’s lumps. To form a beautiful contour of the lower third, it is sometimes worth resorting to extended interventions. At a younger age, endoscopic lifting methods can be enough, and in the older age group, SMAS+ platysmoplasty is most effective.
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What aspects of self-presentation should surgeons avoid?
In the work of a plastic surgeon, positioning and loyalty to one’s professional convictions are very important. Only a non-professional promises any result according to the client’s requests and hardly touches on the physical condition. It is important to convey to clients that a modern surgeon works not only with aesthetics, but also with function – for example, not only with the shape of the nose, but also with its ability to breathe.
When demonstrating the benefits of your work, pay attention to how you present the results of your operations. The most obvious is the changes in the perspective of several years in video format. Patients are wary of “quick” results, they do not give an idea of the true result.
If you want to be known as an amateur, promote so-called “proprietary methods”. It is known in the community that this is just a marketing gimmick that only attracts inexperienced patients.
Don’t underestimate your online reputation. Monitor comments on your activities. At the moment, there are review platforms with strict moderation. There are also closed groups on social networks, where former and future patients discuss the work and share their results.
Checklist for a professional surgeon
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Remember the main “red flags” for patients and do not resort to such marketing: offering “proprietary methods”, lack of publications on the condition of patients over several years, “guarantees” of a short rehabilitation period and absence of bruises.
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Be careful what you broadcast on your social media profile. An unhealthy lifestyle, excessive pretentiousness, and a lot of harsh value judgments are unacceptable for a surgeon. But it is important to broadcast your interests – this helps future patients emotionally connect with the doctor.
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Don’t sacrifice organ function for the sake of visual impact: a harmonious result can be achieved with skill and experience. Remember that the best way to advance is with satisfied patients whose quality of life has improved, not worsened, after the operation.
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Network, participate in thematic seminars and lectures. Communication with cosmetologists and other surgeons brings its fruits in the form of ready-to-work patients, effective mutual cooperation and increases the weight of the surgeon in the professional community.
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You shouldn’t “put on a crown” and “catch God by the beard” too quickly. Permanent training in new methods even in a narrow profile of operations and admitting your ignorance are good qualities of a surgeon, especially in the field of aesthetic medicine.
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Try to devote as much time as possible to the patient in the postoperative period – either yourself or through your assistants and administrators.
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Develop your psychologist skills. This skill will be very useful at the stage of short consultations, since a large number of patients of aesthetic medicine do not need surgical intervention. And some patients should be refused. There are different ways to do this tactfully.
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Cover photo: Unsplash
Source: rb.ru
