Pearls of Wisdom: Expert Insights for Communicating With Aesthetic Patients

Good communication with patients is essential in aesthetic surgery. In particular, the challenge of expectation management is crucial to optimizing patient satisfaction, which may be irrespective of objective outcomes. Experienced plastic surgeons inevitably refine their consultation process and hone their communication skills throughout years of practice. The invaluable "pearls" that expert surgeons develop would be beneficial to all surgeons, and particularly to those early in their practice. This prompted the authors to explore whether the communication skills acquired by a selected group of highly regarded plastic surgeons could be condensed and categorized in a way from which others could benefit. We seek to demonstrate that there are a select number of core messages that many plastic surgeons desire to communicate, particularly during the preoperative consultation process. Various phrases and aphorisms have been formulated within these subtopics that we hope will be positively incorporated into colleagues' practices to improve the patient experience, and ultimately patients' understanding of and satisfaction with their outcomes.