Transcript

People often ask me: how do you find a good plastic surgeon? What makes a good plastic surgeon? Actually, there are three components that are very important. It’s almost like an artist painting a picture. He has to decide, well, what do I want the picture to look like? What feelings and emotions do I want it to have when I’m finished? And secondly, you have to decide what kind of paint; what kind of canvas; what technique are you going to be using to get that concept? And the third, and also very important part, is you have to be able to paint. So, in plastic surgery it’s very important that the patient talk to the doctor, and that the doctor really listen, to find what they want. It’s not what the doctor wants. It’s what the patient wants. The second thing is to explain to the patient: well, how are we going to get there? There are a hundred different ways to do something, and my job is to try to find the simplest safest, best way to make that picture. And the final thing is, you have to be able to paint. Surgeons have to be technically competent and have significant surgical experience to create that final look. If you don’t have all three, it’s really not going to work. I’m Dr. Lawrence Koplin, and thank you for listening.