Dissatisfied Plastic Surgery Recipients Underscore Need for Patient Education

According to a Journal of Service Research study published in December, 2021, which examined the performance of aesthetic services, an increasing number of women seeking breast augmentation are reporting unfavorable outcomes.

Due to the majority of today’s cosmetic surgery consumers doing their own research: online – it’s expected that unrealistic expectations are often the cause of such negative perceptions. Here is an example. A woman walks into a plastic surgeon’s office with an image she has found online. She wants her body to look like the same, and thinks she knows how to get it. The woman tells the consulting surgeon exactly what she wants: round, 350cc implants, with full projection. She believes this will get her to a full D-cup shape.

However, after her surgical procedure, once the physical pain subsides and healing begins, this woman becomes dissatisfied with the unnatural-looking result. It’s nothing like the image she hoped to emulate – because the body she sought to attain was not hers.

Of course, patients sign releases and most plastic surgeons relate they will “do their best” to achieve a woman’s objectives. Having said this, I believe it is time for plastic surgeons to shoulder the responsibility of more in-depth patient education. Surgeons must face facts that women, (and men, as well), are swayed by online images and what the Internet society believes
we should look like.

TIME IS MONEY IS A FALSE TRAP

If a plastic surgeon is concerned about the additional time more education would impose upon their busy schedule – then he, or she, should expense out that extra 15 minutes to marketing. Since today’s aesthetic consumers tend more to shop around for Dr. Right, women in particular will appreciate the extra time and care a surgeon devotes to their consultation.

If not, then savvy women should and will eventually discover that a surgeon who thoroughly educates will likely perform a better procedure which meets their realistic expectations.