Cosmetic plastic surgeons see many people every day who are interested in looking better…but may know next to nothing about plastic surgery. So every cosmetic plastic surgeon uses what Latin teachers call the “Socratic Method,” a technique we know today as “Q&A.”
But there are questions, and then there are questions surgeons wish people would ask.
Dr. Body, the eminent Beverly Hills board-certified plastic surgeon Stuart Linder, M.D. tells his choice of best questions while the equally imminent Beverly Hills board-certified facial plastic surgeon Robert Kotler, M.D. joins in.
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Dr. Face: (Dr. Kotler) What questions do patients most often ask you, doctor?
Dr. Body: (Dr. Linder) Potential patients want to know — in no particular order — if they are a good candidate for, say, breast augmentation or tummy tuck; what the major risks to each procedure are; how long does recovery from each operation take and what they are going to look like after the procedure.
Dr. Face: O.K., those are all good questions, but is there one question in particular you wish they would ask?
Dr. Body: Yes, I wish more inquiring patients would ask “Do you perform only plastic surgery procedures of the body?” That would tell me they have been doing their homework and know that a specialist concentrates on just a handful of procedures and performs each exceeding well, thanks to constant repetition.
Dr. Face: I like to hear the same question; but I can think of a few more that would be welcome in my ears.
Dr. Body: Such as?
Dr. Face: “How long have you been performing this handful of procedures?” That tells me the patient wants to put his or her procedure in the hands of a cosmetic plastic surgeon who has seen every possible wrinkle, complication and outcome and immediately knows what to do in every instance.
Dr. Body: Now that you mention it, I can think of another question I wish more patients would ask during the initial consultation when we first meet.
Dr. Face: Don’t keep me in suspense!
Dr. Body: I would like to hear: “Where are your ‘hospital privileges?’”
Dr. Face: Good choice. Hospitals are expert in knowing which doctors enhance their reputations and which doctors cause problems. If a particular surgeon falls into the “problem” category, he or she is very likely indeed to have hospital privileges withdrawn.
Dr. Body: We should tell people that “hospital privileges” means that a surgeon can have a patient admitted with just a phone call. It’s just another level of patient safety in the unlikely event that something goes wrong.
Dr. Face: I can think of one more question I wish more patients would ask.
Dr. Body: And that would be?
Dr. Face: ‘May I speak to a patient of yours who has had this same procedure?”
Dr. Body: When I hear that, I know I’m going to have a new patient.
Dr. Face: If the previous patient is in the office, I just introduce the two people, excuse myself and say: “I’ll leave you two to chat over the surgery you’ve had and the surgery you want. Call me when you need me.”
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View some of Dr. Kotler’s revision rhinoplasty before and after pictures.
Look at some of Dr. Linder’s breast augmentation revision before and after pictures.
