According to the American Society of Plastic Surgeons (ASPS) annual report, minimally-invasive procedures make up 14.2 million with an increase of Botox usage of 759% since 2000.  It is estimated that this market is worth over 14.75 Billion annually. Due to the increasing demand for minimally invasive treatments both to correct and prevent aging, medical day spas are springing up like dollar weed.  Many of these providers do not have the expertise or rigorous training of ASPS-member surgeons.

Botox is a service, not like shopping for Bounty paper towels.  It is important that you know the qualifications of your provider and not just shop on price alone. As you search for a doctor to provide the services it is important to ask the following five questions:

1) What are your qualifications?

2) What is the extent of your training with anti-aging minimally invasive procedures?

3) How long have you been doing this?

4) What is the setting?

5) What other services do you provide? 

Let’s look at these questions one by one to better help you determine who is going to be the best provider for your aesthetic services:

1. What are your qualifications? There are many good Dentists, chiropractors and nurses providing the services but their training and expertise is not in facial aesthetics.  For example, if your concern was with wrinkles in your brow, but the root cause of the brow wrinkles was actually your eyelids, would they know to educate you that Botox may impair your vision more? It is essential that the services you were seeking are at the core of your providers skill set and not added.  
2. What is the extent of your training with anti-aging minimally invasive procedures? A board certified plastic surgeon would be the only provider who can offer the entire range of non-surgical and surgical options for your rejuvenation needs. Many other providers take a weekend class supplemented by experience with a few volunteers. Others may have trained under a plastic surgeon but that does not make them one. Do not let your result be limited by their lack of experience or expertise. 
3. How long have you been doing this? We all want our provider to have a lot experience prior to our treatment and we do not want to pay to be a guinea pig.  Their experience also means that they know how to avoid and handle complications when they do occur as well as to optimize a result that did not quite meet expectations.
4. What is the setting? As we discussed, day spas are popping up as the self-improvement market grows wild. Some are required to have a medical director. It would be important to know about the qualifications of that medical director- what is their training, what is their expertise? Refer to question one. Where are they located and are they on site, are they readily available for questions or concerns? Is the spa offering services that are within the confines of the law? What are their policies regarding your privacy? Do they adhere to HIPPA regulations? What are their sanitation standards? 
5. What other services do you provide? In asking what other services are provided, you can determine if what you desire is at the core of that business. While a dental office may be the perfect place to get your teeth cleaned or to have restorative work done, it is not the best location to have a comprehensive facial aesthetic consultation.  There is a saying which says “when all you have is a hammer; the entire world is a nail.” You do not want to be in a setting or working with a provider who can only do filler or only do Botox when what you need is a multi-modality approach to your rejuvenation. 

Make sure that these answers you receive are verifiable via word-of-mouth or verified through Internet, better business bureau, medical and nursing board just to name a few. Doing your due diligence in research beforehand to verify board certification and business verification are all important parts of discerning if the provider and the practice are suitable to providing you the results and experience that matter to you.  In this ever-changing and growing world of facial aesthetics and minimally invasive surgical services please remember that there are so many more important factors than just price. Remember the well tested adage “you get what you pay for.” Your experience matters… so our experience makes THE difference! 

Diane G. Bowen, M.D.

Dr. Diane Bowen received her Bachelor of Arts from Emory University of Atlanta in 1983 and her medical degree from Medical College of Georgia in Augusta in 1987.  Her general surgery training was completed in Savannah at Memorial Medical Center, where she was both Chief Surgical Resident and Chief Resident for the resident staff.  She went on to do her residency in plastic and reconstructive surgery at the University of Tennessee in Memphis. She completed two additional fellowships: one in breast reconstruction and cosmetic surgery at Georgetown University in Washington, DC and the other in pediatric plastic surgery at Akron Children’s Hospital.

Dr. Diane Bowen is board certified by the American Board of Plastic Surgery.  She came to the Golden Isles area in . She opened Golden Isles Center for Plastic Surgery in        and is able to address all of your surgical and non-surgical needs with an on-site state accredited surgery center.  Her team of highly trained and certified experts is ready and willing to help you. Please feel free to visit drdianebowen.com for additional information about her practice.