Photo by kevin laminto on Unsplash
Are you thinking about a treatment for aesthetic optimisation? Then this series of articles is certainly interesting for you. In our experience, it is very important that you are informed about all the following points so that your decision for or against a treatment can be made on a solid basis. We will guide you through all important factors in 4 sections.
The diagnosis
Let’s start with the part that starts long before a treatment. Either you already know what is bothering you or you just have an undefined wish that you want to do something for your charisma.
Let us start with the first case. It is not uncommon for a patient to come to the practice because something in particular is bothering them – for example, wrinkles on the forehead. The doctors are then faced with the question: “Just do it or advise the patient first? The former would be very easy, but it is quite possible that the effect might not be as strong as expected. Something other than the wrinkles might dominate and shape the overall appearance, which has not yet been recognised.
Please think back again to the article on ageing that you hopefully read: Let’s assume that the facial proportions have already been changed by gravity etc. Drooping cheeks have formed, the cheeks are no longer as voluminous as they were a few years ago and the chin line has become puffy. The treating doctors are now faced with the dilemma of informing you that perhaps the shift in facial proportions has a much greater effect. The whole thing also has an additional economic component, namely that the treatment of mimic facial wrinkles can be carried out very quickly and easily. So-called neuromodulators such as the well-known Botox® are used and this provides an effective and economically interesting therapy for the practitioner. Should the doctor really stop you from treating the wrinkles? And wouldn’t it perhaps look as if he wants to convince you to carry out a different or even an additional therapy? Even as if he just wants to earn more money with it? As you can see, it is not a very simple question.
The members of the Globalhealth Academy for Aesthetic Medicine have developed a clear answer to this question: “First and foremost comes the need of our patients. This should be satisfied in any case, unless, to stay with our example, wrinkle treatment would be completely superfluous, for example because no wrinkles are visible at all. In this case we reject such treatment. However, if the treatment does bring about an actually visible improvement, there is no reason not to carry it out”.
Nevertheless, doctors experienced in aesthetics want to offer patients more than just being the service provider for the treatment of forehead wrinkles – to stay with our example. That is why they see it as their duty to inform you about all possibilities to improve your current status. In doing so, they want to give you comprehensive and holistic advice without pushing you or even distracting you from your original need for which you came to the practice.
It is easier if you give the doctor more leeway, because you do not know exactly what is bothering you. In this case, an analysis of your current status is useful, so that together you can identify which elements are bothersome. Such an analysis will then inevitably deal with the following questions, which can then be used to determine a comprehensive status:
- Where is there too much, where too little volume?
- What is the wrinkle situation? Which wrinkles disturb the appearance, which, conversely, are suitable to make the appearance even more attractive?
- What is the skin status in terms of wrinkles, elasticity, complexion, irregularities and skin damage?
- Are there other elements that are likely to disturb the harmony, such as a crooked nose?
- What is the hair status? Too much or too little hair?
- What is the dental status? Is there a need for a change?
Such an analysis would then form the basis of a treatment plan, which should consider the following aspects:
The treatment plan should be developed and supported jointly by both the treating doctor and the patient. The doctor contributes his experience, which you as a patient can simply not have.
Apart from the aesthetically significant, the financial possibilities you have always play a role as well. It makes little sense to offer you a comprehensive plan for your improvement if you have a very limited budget. The budget should therefore always be considered when choosing a therapy, following the motto: The most important things first!
In the second part of the article series, we deal with the therapy that is most suitable for the diagnosis made.