As I get ready to start my twentieth year at Yager Esthetics, I think back on all the different patients I have had the pleasure of helping.  Each personality is different, and a good doctor must adjust accordingly.  My interactions with each are professional, but vary in style.

There are the nervous patients who are embarrassed to even mention what they want done.  They are reluctant to be examined, and are more shy about having my female escort see them than myself.  I have to stay calm and soothing, and let them go at their own pace.  I can usually put them at ease enough to give them the information they need.

There are the totally dominated by the husband/boyfriend/family member types.  These patients do not open their mouths, but have others spoken for them while they look down or away.  The key is to make sure that the desire for surgery is their own, not that of the other, and to empower the patient to take control.  Sometimes I have to remove the other person from the room to get this done.

There are the crazy patients who come in two varieties- quirky and dangerous. The quirky ones just have their own view on life, and you need to make sure you are on the same page with the esthetic they are looking for.  They are enjoyable.  The dangerous types have no moral compass, or a skewed idea of what to expect.  I was taught that you can’t argue with crazy, so I try my best to avoid operating on these patients.

The confident patients are the easiest.  They know what they want, take personal responsibility, and are doing the procedure for themselves.  Never an issue.

Lastly, there are the soul vampires- people who feel they own you because they paid for a procedure.  They want 24/7 access to you forever, not just for emergencies.  They take all of life’s problems out on you, and refuse to be happy.

I say, enjoy the process of plastic surgery.  It is happy surgery that you choose to look better.  Let your personality show, be honest and open, and don’t be afraid to laugh at the process.  Remember, we are sticking bags of gel and water in our chests, sucking out fat we refuse to diet away, and trying to fool the world into thinking we are younger by tightening skin or injecting goo and toxins in our faces.  It is ridiculous, but it makes people happy.