Most of us over a certain age have unwanted signs of ageing, but many remain nervous about doing anything it. Recently the Sale & Altrincham Messenger asked me to reveal patients’ most common anxieties, and what I say to reassure them.
“The biggest anxiety patients have is that they might end up looking “˜false’ or drastically different from their normal selves. I can certainly understand this – we’ve all seen pictures of people who have had poor treatment, and they do look almost unnatural. Such results are the polar opposite of what I strive for with my patients – I take a very conservative approach, erring on the side of caution, even if it means I have to repeat a treatment to build up its effect. A lot of patients end up telling me “˜My friends say I’m looking great, but they don’t know why!’, and that’s just the result we’re both looking for. Most of us don’t really want to look twenty years younger, we just want to look great for our age.”
“Some patients also worry about the injections being painful, which again is perfectly understandable. To prevent this, I use the finest needles available, which feel no worse than a slight scratch. But even that can be still be off-putting for some, so I can also use an ice-cold numbing device, or a local anaesthetic cream. As a result, I’m yet to have a patient who found treatment unduly uncomfortable.”
“Finally, patients are anxious to make sure they’ve chosen the right practitioner, who can offer them continuity of care, in a proper clinical setting. Due to lack of real regulation, some practitioners “˜do the rounds’, offering treatments in beauty salons and hairdressers, where they attend once a month or so. I reassure my patients that appointments with me are available throughout the week at my Altrincham clinic, and weekly at my clinic at the BMI Alexandra Hospital. As a doctor of 25 years standing, the care of my patients will always be my overriding priority.”
