“Behind everything exquisite that existed, there was something tragic,” or so Oscar Wilde wanted us to believe.

Unfortunately, a huge number of clients and patients in aesthetic medicine are unaware of the flip-side of getting these treatments.

The work we do is classified as “medical intervention” and carries a number of risks or side effects. Each time a patient walks in to get a procedure done, they must be made aware of everything that can occur.

Pain

Let’s call it discomfort. Bob Dylan will agree with me here. “Behind every beauty, there is some kind of pain”, he reminded us. While all of us would like to let patients go with zero discomfort, there are situations where this isn’t always the case. Some patients are less sensitive to topical anesthetics while a few are downright allergic. Injectable anesthetics are either not available for some procedures or do not work ‘enough’ at times too.

Bruising

“Bruise them, and you lose them,” or so the experts say. Unfortunately, even in the best of hands, bruising is a physiological possibility. It may even show up a day after injection. As doctors, we must make our patients aware of this possibility beforehand so we avoid a lot of unnecessary drama, and stress.

Swelling

No, those bags aren’t Prada. Swelling after procedures is a natural outcome. It will happen and patients will feel it too. Those lips will look too big and later it may seem all the filler is gone in just 2 weeks. Prior awareness saves the day, boys and girls!

Downtime

“Haste has no blessing,” according to a Swahili proverb. The amount of downtime in getting a full result varies from procedure to procedure, and patients must be made aware of that. An honest discussion about this helps both the patient and the doctor in making an appropriate treatment plan. Thankfully, the days of the mask are helping us currently but this aspect of treatment should not be ignored.

Budget

“The best things in life are free. The second best are very expensive.” True, unfortunately when it comes to aesthetics. Our “raw material” costs a lot. Add in the overheads of running an aesthetic practice, include staff salaries and the overall cost of a procedure definitely goes up. This ends up being a limiting factor in patient outcomes and a realistic counseling must be done before starting.

A good doctor has to be a good communicator. These issues, as minor as they may seem, have a huge influence on patient experience with their procedure. Being good at communication, enabling patients to “walk through” the procedure with ease and making them feel comfortable and aware, are some of the intangible skills that go a long way in running a practice smoothly. These skills help to retain clients and help to evolve a business. Your honesty about outcomes helps in your growth over long run as it builds a solid reputation about your knowledge as well as your skills.