WHY EXPERTISE MATTERS IN AESTHETICS
Have you ever wondered why it takes at least seven years after college for a person to be allowed to practice medicine in this country as a physician? Is it because all of the folks who go into medicine take an especially long time to learn things? No, that’s not the reason. It’s because in medicine it matters if the person trying to figure out your health issue knows enough to make sense of what is causing your particular ailment. If they don’t, then you could very likely suffer longer, become more ill, or worst case, die unnecessarily. The practice of medicine entails knowing a lot of information, and the smartest minds take years to achieve what we all hope is an adequate level of competence to sort out medical issues.
With aesthetic concerns, the consequences of incompetence are usually less dire but certainly still worrisome. If you see an aesthetic practitioner who is ethical, intelligent, well-trained, experienced and cares about YOU, then as a consumer patient you have the best chance of achieving the optimum outcome that will fit your particular needs and expectations.
There are other qualities in your aesthetic provider that will help to ensure the best possible result. You should strive to find a provider who knows how to minimize the possibility of a bad outcome and increase the possibility of the best outcome. The small things are important. Details matter. Sometimes the small things may add to the complexity and/or the cost of the process. They are worth it.
Your provider should be able to recognize an early complication. And this provider should know how to deal with that complication. Of course, avoiding any complication in the first place is the best way to deal with it, but this is not always possible. Even the best minds with the best hands will on occasion have untoward outcomes. For example, everyone who practices long enough with fillers will have a soft tissue vascular occlusion. Eventually, this will happen. It is best practices vs the inevitable. And we all pray it will not involve a patient’s retina. (Happily, I have yet to know any practitioners who have had a patient with this complication!) And if you know any aesthetic practitioners who say they have never flattened or lowered a woman’s eyebrow from using Botox (or any other botulinum toxin-A product), they are either lying or they don’t have enough experience for you to want to be seeing them in the first place!
Finally, you want a provider who is physically accessible, humble, and well-connected enough within the medical community to obtain for you the highest level of care required. You don’t want a provider who is too proud to ask for help. You also don’t want a provider who is not personally readily available when you need them. Nor do you want a provider who does not have access to the highest level of medical expertise within the community. These last points will be the topic of my next blog.
Until then, do your research, beware of the social media “influencers” with little legitimate claim to genuine expertise, and enjoy your well-deserved aesthetic enhancements!
William A. Carter, M.D.
Carter MD Aesthetics