A recent interview with Sherrell J. Aston, MD, FACS caught my eye. Aston is the Surgeon Director and Chairman of the Department of Plastic Surgery at Manhattan Eye, Ear and Throat Hospital (MEETH), where more cosmetic surgery procedures are performed each year than any other institution in the World, according to an online article at Medscape Today. He was asked about trends in aesthetic medicine and, given his credenetials, I doubt that you could get a more insightful commentator on issues of general trends.
For example, he notes new patient volume at MEETH up. The data he references in the article is from the ASPS.
The Price of Looking Good in the Credit Crunch: Here's Aston on how to ride out the recession…
Most business comes from word of mouth. The quality of the care, how patients are treated in the office, and your results affect business and what patients say about you. During all their visits, patients need to feel they are treated with respect, and that they are getting high quality service and great results.
I would suggest expanding your business. It seems to me many plastic surgeons are riding out the storm by doing more reconstructive surgical procedures. Some New York surgeons tell me they had forgotten that they felt good doing reconstructive procedures — but they had let them go for financial reasons. It'll be interesting to see if, when the economy improves, the surgeons cease performing reconstructive procedures. I suspect many will continue doing reconstructive procedures along with their elective cosmetic surgery. In addition, you can do more fillers and injectables.
Read it all.
