The best candidate for surgery is someone who has realistic expectations

It leads you through the consultation course. It opens your eyes and tunes up your ears. It gives you the vocabulary of the cosmetic surgery world: procedure names in both English and medicalese. So you can speak the same language as the lady or gentleman in the white coat. You're crossing the border into another country, but you will speak the language. This book will serve you best when underlined, highlighted and crammed with margin notes.

Hopefully, it will even be dog-eared because you wisely read and reread it. It is just like school, again. But now, it is not learning for learning's sake or for A's and B's to raise your grade point. You want to learn so your consultation is valuable to you. Think of the consultation as an exam. But an open book exam. You open the book, start asking really sharp questions, and the examination of the doctor has begun.

The best candidate for surgery is someone who has realistic expectations of what can be attained with her own anatomy (and age).

That applies to everything from a face lift to breast augmentation. -Sherrell J. Aston, MD,

First Contact Early Clue About An Office's Quality

One barometer of an office's quality is how your first phone call is handled. Doesn't that make sense? Hasn't your experience given you clues about whether or not you want to do business with certain companies strictly based on how they handled your inquiry? When I call a professional office, within the first twenty seconds, I can sense whether or not I am speaking with a high-quality, serviceoriented, sharp practice. Here are my criteria for excellence:

• The call is answered after no more than four rings.
• You should never get a busy signal.
• You are greeted by a warm, courteous, cheery, glad-to-beof- service staff member. You can almost see the smile through the telephone line.
• The person answering your call is knowledgeable, helpful, and able to answer most or all questions promptly. You sense that she has been well trained to help and educate you. What you don't want to hear is, "Gee, I don't know," with the conversation dropped right there.
• If there is a question she cannot answer, you are promptly transferred to another staff member who is qualified and who can answer it.
• You are offered additional, complementary teaching aids, e.g., brochures, pamphlets, video- or audiotapes, etc. These further explain the services available to you. And, they will be U.S. mailed, emailed, or faxed promptly. Most surgeons provide prospective patients with appropriate brochures and pamphlets prior to the consultation. This allows the patient to review important points about the procedure(s) under consideration. Being prepared in advance guarantees a more productive session with the doctor. Questions raised while reading this material can be specifically answered during the consultation.
• If you decide to schedule a consultation, you are offered several choices for your convenience.
• The day, date and time are confirmed with you prior to the conversation's end. You are also assured that you will receive a written confirmation including directions to the office and parking advice.
• As the conversation ends, you are reminded of the name or names of the staff members with whom you spoke. You are encouraged to call them if you have any further questions. These are your "contact" people.
• If you ask about fees, you receive some meaningful information. While an exact fee quotation requires a consultation and evaluation by the doctor, a superior office will offer a "range of fees" or "most common fee" for the procedure or procedures you are interested in. You have the right to know so you can evaluate whether your budget is "within the ballpark."
• Finally, the office will ask for your daytime and evening phone numbers so you can be contacted several days prior to your consultation. They will want to be certain you received the promised information and also confirm the appointment particulars. Having your phone numbers also allows the office to inform you should any change in the office's schedule affect your appointment time.

Is all this important? I think so. Consider yourself a customer. Want good service? Service begins with that first telephone call. Every practice takes its cues from the top; the doctor sets the standards; it is his practice; he is the boss. The doctor must care about you, the caller, before he ever meets you. If not, if he does not have in place smart, able, and conscientious staff "up front," how particular, how attentive, and how competent might he and his team be in the operating room and during the recovery phase? Think about it. Now you know how to sort cosmetic surgeons within five minutes for just the price of a phone call.