The consent process is a vital part of the patient pathway and is far more than just getting the patient to sign on the dotted line. As we may have seen in recent press, the aesthetic practitioner is continually under scrutiny and often we are the subject of much criticism and horror stories following ‘botched’ procedures.1,2 Some of it is deserved, due to the practice of a small proportion of people; however, the vast majority of us give excellent care to our patients.
We have a duty of care to the patient to engage with them and to undertake our work in partnership with them.3 Much of what we do is inherently reversible and reasonably safe. For example, generally speaking, our botulinum toxin injections wear off over time and our fillers can be reversed with hyaluronidase, however it’s incredibly important to stress that nothing is risk free.
Complications can occur, and we must remember that we are dealing with ‘well’ patients. We are not curing them from an illness or disease, hence not performing a treatment is always an option. The…
