Facial rejuvenation accounts for more than 10 million procedures worldwide with the global aesthetics market projected to reach over $17 billion by 2023; within this, the largest share is facial aesthetics.1,2 It’s therefore no surprise that practitioners want to be part of this developing industry. However, it seems that the aesthetics specialty in particular is subject to patients dictating more than they likely would in any other medical profession. For example, it is not uncommon for a patient to present in clinic asking for a specific amount of lip filler or asking for a particular product. I believe that this is possibly in part due to the fact that our discipline is exclusively elective and our patients are fee-paying.
There is no denying that patients sometimes aren’t suitable for treatments and there are a number of reasons to say no. These include unrealistic expectations, signs of body dysmorphic disorder or an…