Selection of Patients

Abstract

Patients’ perception of their needs and medical diagnosis differs much more than we imagine. One important reason is that patients usually look at themselves at the mirror in frontal view while the observers (including the doctor) look at them mainly in the oblique view. Differences in position and angles result in differences in prioritization of aesthetic needs for both patients and doctors. We also find differences in treatment planning among doctors which may lead to confusion to patients if they happen to consult more than one injector for the same indication. Differences in experience, problems in communication, and to a large extent limitation in injector’s technical skills represent the main reasons for discrepancy in treatment planning among different doctors. For example, the reasons that some injectors will not suggest volume replacement in a patient with severe sunken temples include (a) the unawareness of the patient of this indication which therefore remains unrequested and/or (b) the doctor’s inability to give a proper diagnosis, technical deficiency, and lack of experience to predict whether the diagnosis, technique, and product will lead to a result that will finally make the patient happy! Cultural aspects, poor training in medical/patient communication, and lack of time or patience to educate patients are further barriers to obtain more efficient results (see also Chap. 4).