FIRST TIME VERSUS REVISION PATIENTS
Patients requesting other opinions fall into two categories: firsttime patients and revision patients. As the name suggests, firsttime patients have not had a procedure before whereas revision patients have received a prior procedure and may require a revision to improve or correct the previous work. “I think revision surgery in general is where you’ll find most patients obtain second opinions,” says Dr. Solomon. The reasons range from a patient being dissatisfied with the results of an initial procedure to the different approaches available to professionals to an increased complexity of a procedure due to the previous work performed. Revision surgery is most common with rhinoplasty and upper facial rejuvenation patients. Both first-time and revision patients will benefit from doing their homework and checking a professional’s credentials, methodologies and results. “Even if a patient has had a procedure before, technologies or treatments may havechanged since then,” says Dr. Conrad.