At Charlotte Plastic Surgery, we’ve always taken pride in putting patient safety first. Needless to say, this has taken on some new dimensions in light of COVID-19. Both to comply with our government and also to ensure the physical wellbeing of our patients, Charlotte Plastic Surgery has suspended normal operations, and it remains unclear when we will once again be “open” and fully operational. What we can say for certain is that we will not resume normal activity until we are confident that we can do so without putting patients at risk.
Over the last several weeks, we have provided many patients with complimentary virtual consultations, speaking with them via video conference or over the phone about their cosmetic surgery needs. In this way, we’ve been able to safely address needs, answer questions, and help patients plan for procedures once our world resumes some semblance of normalcy.
If you’re interested in a plastic surgery virtual consultation, we’d love to hear from you. In the meantime, we’d like to provide a few tips on what you can expect from a plastic surgery virtual consultation… and, how you can make the most of this extraordinary circumstance.
What to Expect from Your Plastic Surgery Virtual Consultation
1) Visit our patient portal, fill out your medical history, and submit any pertinent forms.
The truth is consultations have always been about putting patient safety first. Before we perform any kind of cosmetic procedure, we want to make sure you don’t have any underlying health conditions that the surgery could exacerbate. And we want to be careful to select the procedures that are the best fit for your cosmetic goals as well as your general health and well-being.
To that end, we ask that you visit the patient portal, fill us in on your medical history, and submit any other forms we ask you for; this will help us to maximize your time during the consultation.
2) Submit photographs.
During an in-person consultation, our providers can take images and help map out some possibilities for your plastic surgery. This is obviously a bit more challenging in the age of social distancing, but you can help your provider enormously by submitting some photos in advance.
At the very least, send us a good, clear, frontal image of your face, as well as at least one image showing you from each side.
You can check out our Before and After galleries for examples of the kinds of images, we’re looking for.
3) Make sure you have the right software.
Once you make an appointment for a plastic surgery virtual consultation, our office will provide you with information about the kind of software you’ll need.
Depending on the doctor you see, this may be Skype, Zoom, or something else.
Just in the interests of a smooth and efficient consultation, we’d encourage you to download any necessary programs in advance and be sure they’re working properly. Feel free to reach out to our office with any questions.
4) Have good lighting.
It’s important that you do anything you can to help your surgeon get a good, clear look at you.
When you’re here in our office, we can control the lighting and the angles; during a virtual consultation, we’re a bit more limited! However, one thing you can do is make sure you have the right lighting. Specifically, make sure you have good, bright lighting behind the computer camera facing you.
This allows us to really see you and offer you our best recommendations.
5) Come prepared with questions.
The thought of plastic surgery can be exciting, but it can also be really daunting… especially if you’re a first-timer. It’s only natural for you to have some questions. We’d welcome you to write them down in advance, ensuring you don’t forget them. During the consultation, your plastic surgeon will be more than happy to address any questions or concerns that come to mind.
Your questions might entail the procedure itself, risks or side effects, recovery time, aftercare, and beyond. Also, feel free to ask us about any other procedures that you might wish to have done at the same time.
6) Enjoy one-on-one time with your surgeon.
For a lot of our patients, consultation is one of the highlights of the plastic surgery process. That’s because it gives them a chance to enjoy one-on-one time with their surgeon. And there’s no reason why a virtual consultation would be any different.
Yes, it’s a serious part of the process, but it should also be fun! Show up to your plastic surgery virtual consultation excited to learn more about the possibilities that await you, and just to get to know your plastic surgeon a bit better.
Plastic Surgery Consultations: As Important As Ever
The reality is that pandemic or no pandemic, consultations are an essential part of our process. We’ve had to adapt to the virtual method, but we still believe consultations are crucial for these reasons:
- They allow us to qualify patients, ensuring they are eligible for a safe and healthy procedure.
- They help us educate our patients about aftercare and recovery.
- They guide us to set the right expectations, ensuring our patients understand what to expect from their procedure
- They provide patients with the opportunity to answer questions and have any of their concerns addressed.
For these reasons and many others, we’d invite you to reach out to us about scheduling a virtual consultation at your next convenience.
Contact Charlotte Plastic Surgery Today
Charlotte Plastic Surgery is one of the area’s leading providers of cosmetic surgery and results. Our providers are ready to help you achieve natural-looking results, as safely as possible. Even in this pandemic, we’re here to serve you however we can.
Are you ready to learn more about cosmetic surgery? Reach out to our office to schedule a plastic surgery virtual consultation at your next opportunity.
