Beware of the plastic surgeon who’s always selling you some new technique or device
Q. I recently saw a plastic surgeon. It seems that every time I go there he has a new device ready to use on me. What are your thoughts about this?
A. Aesthetic surgery is about consistency, technique and technical skills — and ethics.
With the advent of non-surgical, minimally invasive procedures, there has been an explosion of different products and machines to fill in that gap. Medical-device companies and injectable companies often promote their products through sales people who don’t have significant knowledge of the results.
Alternatively, surgical procedures may produce better results and yield significantly shorter recovery times.
The salesperson’s sole purpose is to sell a product, often telling the doctor how many procedures he or she has to perform to make money on the device.
This purchase sets up the physician for an ethical dilemma: What if there are not enough procedures to pay for the machine? Do patients get procedures they don’t need so there is no loss of money?
In my over 30 years’ experience in aesthetic facial plastic surgery, I have seen many products come and go. Some work, many others do not.
There is a physician type who always tries new procedures and new devices. They may not have consistently good surgical results, or they used their other devices for the wrong reason.
Many of the new devices on the market promote safety with minimal training. Unfortunately, I have seen many of these devices with powerful energy sources such as heat, cold and lasers create scarring with poor results.
When you pick a facial plastic surgeon and plastic surgeon, dermatologist or physician assistant (well supervised), beware if there are too many devices on their menu. Even if they are super busy, it is unlikely they will become experts and do the right thing by the patient.
It’s better to look at before and after pictures. Read patient testimonials, although these may be fudged so look through all reviews and always ask if something makes you feel uneasy.
As I’ve said in the past, “Buyer beware.”
