SHOULD THERE BE A CONSULTATION FEE FOR COSMETIC SURGERY?

This is a well-known thing that when it comes to correcting or modifying certain parts of your body, cosmetic surgery is itself the key. You must have noticed that when you are looking for your surgical or any other medical procedure, you will eventually get an option of the consultation fee from your surgeon/doctor. On the other hand, there are also some medical professionals who do not charge their patients any consultation fee.

But the question that the individuals, considering their cosmetic surgery, deal with is whether paying for the consultation will be beneficial for them or not? You will get the answer to this question in this article. So be with us till the end to know more about it.

WHAT ARE THE REASONS FOR SOME SURGEONS TO CHARGE CONSULTATION FEES FROM THEIR PATIENTS?

There are various important reasons why most medical centres and cosmetic surgeons charge consultation fees from their patients and such reasons are:

Cosmetic surgery leads to sales pressure, and in order to avoid that, many surgeons decide to charge consultation fees as the surgeon’s time for the patient is already covered here.

This is a fact that all of the other organizations' professionals such as lawyers, engineers, property advisors, etc. charge their clients for their precious time and advice. Therefore, the surgeons also believe that it is their right to charge an appropriate consultation fee for their valuable time and skills.

When undergoing cosmetic surgery, the patient must have the proper knowledge of his/her procedure. So, a good and paid consultation session makes this quite easy for the patients as they can have one on one interaction with the surgeon and they can also ask as many queries as they want during the consultation to know about every detail of the procedure.

There are times when the patients are not serious when it comes to their surgical treatment, so charging a consultation fee can prove the seriousness of the patient for his surgery. The patient generally takes more interest in the consultation session when he pays for it.

The consultation fee also makes the consultation session of the patient much more meaningful for the surgeon. The doctors with consultation fees attend and guide the patient in a good manner rather than those who don’t charge, as it also contributes a little to their total income.

WHAT ARE THE REASONS FOR SOME SURGEONS TO NOT CHARGE ANY CONSULTATION FEE?

Although due to the reasons listed above, many cosmetic surgeons charge their consultation fee, there are also some surgeons who do not go for the consultation fee. The reasons for this can be many but some main reasons which you should be aware of, are mentioned as follows:

When going ahead with the surgery, this is an obvious fact that the patients will explore various feasible options in front of them; and due to this, some surgeons believe that the consultation fee can act as a barrier for such patients, making it hard for them to explore their options. Thus, they believe that not charging any consultation fee can be helpful for their patients.

The confidence some surgeons hold in their staff, medical facilities, and the overall services offered to their patients makes them not charge any consultation fee as they are aware and confident enough that due to their top-class skills and services, the patient will never resist opting for them.

The consultation fee adds pressure to the patients who are already tight on budget while thinking of going for their cosmetic surgery. Due to this reason, they have to drop their idea of going ahead with their surgery for the time being. So, some surgeons do not charge the consultation fee to not let the patients undergo any type of additional pressure when they are thinking of getting their surgery done for them.

While going for consultations, if a patient does not get satisfied with one, then he will go for a second or even third consultation; which will only add up the consultation cost again and again. So, some surgeons charge no consultation fee, making them quite open and approachable to such types of patients.

WHAT SHOULD BE CONSIDERED WHEN GOING TO THE COSMETIC SURGEON?

The choice of opting for the surgeon who charges the consultation fee or not is yours to make as the decision lies entirely up to you. But we would suggest that the consultation fee should not be the factor to consider on priority. Other than that, you must consider important factors like the overall services, skills as well as professionalism, and knowledge that the cosmetic surgeon holds. As these are the factors that will play a more vital role in your surgical results than the consultation fee factor.

Some of the most important factors which should be considered by an individual when going for cosmetic surgery are listed below:

• OVERALL TRAINING AS WELL AS THE COMPLETE CREDENTIALS OF THE SURGEON

Never forget that the qualification, certification, as well as training period, play a vital role when choosing your cosmetic surgeon. So, you should look for your surgeon's board certification as well as residency and fellowship surgery training of the surgeon you wish to choose for your cosmetic surgery.

• EXPERIENCE AND EXPERTISE OF THE SURGEON IN THE SURGICAL PROCEDURE YOU ARE OPTING FOR

Along with the surgeon’s qualification and training, his experience in cosmetic surgeries also matters a lot. You can ask the surgeon himself or even search about him for how many years of experience he holds, the number of surgeries performed by him, and the success rate of those surgeries.

• CHECKING THE PREVIOUS PATIENTS’ RESULTS

Never forget to check the before surgery and after surgery pictures of the previous patients of the surgeons. Also, go through the overall reviews and ratings given by the patients, as it will give you a detailed idea about the skills and expertise of the cosmetic surgeon you are going ahead with.

Therefore, charging a fee for the consultation session depends on the surgeon’s decision and there is nothing right or wrong with that. But if you follow all of these above-mentioned steps while making your decision, then without any doubt, you will be able to find the best cosmetic surgeon for your surgical procedure.