Health and Energy Inside and Out: Five Keys To Finding the Right Doctor

By Hema Sundaram, MA, MD, FAAD

Sundaram Dermatology, Cosmetic & Laser Surgery Center

. http://doctorhema.com

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Health and Energy Inside and Out: Five Keys To Finding the Right Doctor

This year, as we look forward to summer activities, looking energetic and youthful can be a priority,  Many men and women are choosing scar-free, non-surgical methods to keep their personal and professional edge.

Today’s non-invasive technology can rejuvenate you dramatically, yet subtly. You can look completely natural, without scarring and be able to return to normal activities, while others will be unaware that you’ve had anything done unless you choose to tell them.

Here are five keys to help you choose the right doctor for your summer events and beyond:

Credentials 

The American Board of Medical Specialties certifies doctors in specialties based on their training, and recognizes only Dermatologists, Plastic Surgeons, Facial Plastic Surgeons, and Oculoplastic Surgeons as the Core Four aesthetic specialists with appropriate qualifications and expertise to be performing cosmetic procedures. 

Always ask your doctor if they are Board Certified – and, if so, in what specialty, so that you can be sure of who you are trusting your face or body to.

Select an Expert

When practically everyone who performs cosmetic procedures states that they’re an expert, how can we find out who really is? Expert dermatologists and plastic surgeons have extensive experience and qualifications. Ask if your doctor is invited to teach as a Professor by universities, and at dermatology and plastic surgery academy conferences. You can also ask whether they serve as a Principal Investigator for FDA clinical trials and other research that brings the newest cosmetic surgery technologies to our country. You can put their name and PUBMED into a Google Search to find out whether they are publishing scientific papers in high-level dermatology and plastic surgery journals. Expert clinics are typically well-equipped with the latest equipment and offer many advanced techniques, not just one or two options.

Look For Choices

True cosmetic surgery specialists offer many different treatment options, so that your action plan can be customized to address your own unique skin type, facial structure, and pattern of aging. Depending on your needs, your cosmetic surgeon should be able to offer you a wide range of possible plans and solutions, and give you clear reasons for your recommended action plan.

Look For the Latest Technology and Techniques

New technologies should be used by a cosmetic surgeon who understands skin of all types, ages, different genders, ethnicities and cultures. This is the key to safely and effectively helping women and men at any age and from all backgrounds.

What About Social Media?

Social media can be useful to find a dermatologist or plastic surgeon whose work you like. However, it’s not a substitute for proper qualifications and training. Look carefully at what content is being posted – is it just before and after results, or is there also good educational information and indications that your doctor is a scientist, teacher and leader in the field? Are the results standardized, or does the “after” photo have make-up, hair styling or filters that the “before” photo doesn’t have? If the photos are cropped too much, you cannot see the facial expressions to tell if the results are real. For instance, if someone smiles in the “after” photo but not in the “before”, the crow’s feet around their eyes can seem to magically disappear!

If you follow these five key steps, you can select the right doctor to balance how you look with how you feel and project youth, energy, and vitality at any age – not only for the summer, but for a whole lifetime.