What to expect during your consultation

Here’s a blog post that is perhaps applicable to everybody. Most blog topics are particular to a specific procedure or treatment and, therefore, only relevant to a small subset of patients. As an alternative, I will lay out a framework for the consultation process and a scaffold for the information that needs to be delivered during any consultation. My hope is that this will reduce the number of unknowns, improve the quality of the discussion and promote better, more informative consultations.
Almost all consultations follow a set structure that is designed to meet the needs of our patients. To begin with, we will ask you for some basic information so that a chart can be developed within our electronic medical record. Following that, you will be provided with some written material that is specific to your area of interest (e.g. breast augmentation). In a private consult room, our patient coordinator will review your treatment goals and provide you with some preliminary information.
The substance of the consultation really begins at this point. Dr. Reid will record the relevant aspects of your medical history. He will also provide some background information on the topic and his approach to treatment (e.g. how to select implant type, size, etc.). The discussion that follows, with Dr. Reid, helps to ensure a mutual understanding of your goals, expectations and concerns. A directed physical examination provides the remaining information required for Dr. Reid to prepare a personalized treatment recommendation.
There is a lot of information during this last phase of the consultation and it’s most easily remembered if you break it down into the following categories.
  1. Your diagnosis and recommended treatment plan
  2. Alternatives to the recommended treatment
  3. Technical details about the procedure itself
  4. The expected outcome
  5. The recovery process
  6. The potential risks
  7. The fees and the booking process
For most cosmetic procedures, we prefer to arrange a second office visit approximately 4 weeks prior to the scheduled procedure. This ‘pre-operative’ visit provides another opportunity to clarify your goals, the treatment plan and your plan for recovery.  If there are questions that need answering prior to the pre-operative visit, we can always be reached by telephone or email.
We aim to create a consultation experience that is comfortable, thorough and informative. If you have any questions or comments about our consultations, or if you would like to arrange a consultation with Dr. Reid please contact our patient coordinator at jean@drreidplasticsurgery.ca