Joel Schlessinger M.D.

In Dr. Joel Schlessinger’s article, “Ask an Expert: On Touch-Ups and Follow-Ups,” published in the April 2011 issue of Practical Dermatology, he discusses the best way to handle touch-ups after a cosmetic procedure. He also offers expert advice on how to keep patients satisfied when they don’t see amazing results.

Touch-ups depend on personal preference, says Dr. Joel Schlessinger.

Dr. Joel Schlessinger performs small touch-ups when he feels the original treatment was ineffective.

“If I have a person who was administered botulinum toxin and now is still able to frown, I will frequently redo the treatment without any added expense,” he says. “Often, I will use a competing form of neurotoxin to see if the initial one was simply ineffective for that patient.”

In rare cases, Dr. Joel Schlessinger says, it is important to price your services to allow for the occasional touch-up.

“I recently had a patient who had three syringes of filler injected two weeks earlier and wasn’t pleased,” Dr. Joel Schlessinger says. “We added on one syringe for free of a different brand and she left quite happy. This may result in a lifelong patient instead of a very unhappy (and talkative) ex-patient!”

Should practices offer free follow-up visits after a cosmetic procedure? Dr. Joel Schlessinger explains.

After a cosmetic procedure, some patients may have doubts about their results. For this reason, Dr. Joel Schlessinger offers his patients free follow-up visits for two weeks after the initial cosmetic procedure.

“These visits are the best form of public relations that we can offer since they frequently allow us to show the results to a doubting patient on the Canfield computer image analysis,” Dr. Joel Schlessinger says.

Follow-up appointments also give practices the chance to earn the trust of unsatisfied customers.

“Without these visits, our patients would have simply assumed nothing was done and either remained unimpressed or actively negative.”

Does your practice offer free touch-ups and follow-ups? Share with us in the comments.