A consumer test on “Consultation with Cosmetic Surgeons” met once again with a response from the media. Although we were not part of this test, here are a few of my thoughts:
Amongst other things in the test, long waiting times for patients in the waiting rooms of various cosmetic surgeons were criticized. Waiting times are annoying, as everyone knows. They cannot be avoided completely, however, especially if the cosmetic surgeon is in great demand and tries to take a real interest in his patients. How long this takes depends on each individual case and cannot be calculated in advance.
For this reason, in addition to the normal appointments in my Clinic DDr. Heinrich we also offer VIP appointments at a higher price where there is no waiting time, and if wished these can also be outside of normal clinic hours.
In addition to this, the test brings up the old myth again that there is a special section in surgery that trains cosmetic surgeons. This representation is incorrect; numerous doctors who are general practitioners, dermatologists, gynaecologists, ENT specialists, or have other specialised fields prove the opposite and are successful cosmetic surgeons.
There is of course no such thing as a “Board certified Cosmetic Surgeon”. The medical training in all specialist fields has the treatment of disease or physical ailments as its goal. Doctors of all specialist fields gain special knowledge of cosmetic surgery only within the framework of voluntary additional training. Here the original specialist field of the doctor is not the important thing, but the talents and focus on the techniques used.
In addition to this, cosmetic surgery is undergoing a change at the moment. Instead of treatments with scalpel and silicone under general anaesthetic, gentle and careful out-patient treatment is being done, such as liposuction with microcannulas or breast augmentation with stem cell-enriched body fat. The repertoire of the methods of this New Cosmetic Surgery come from various sectors of medical knowledge. Doctors who have undergone an interdisciplinary basic training and in addition to surgery have learnt to think also in terms of internal medicine will feel more at home here.
If you are interested in having cosmetic surgery, I advise you for this reason to check whether the cosmetic surgeon is a general practitioner with additional training in the field of cosmetic surgery and anti-aging medicine – in this case the results of your operation will probably be better without scalpel and silicone!
DDr. Heinrich, MD