Cheap is expensive: the importance of excellence in Aesthetic Medicine

Nowadays we can find in the market a great variety of aesthetic treatments, with very different price ranges. However, being exposed to cheap aesthetic treatments, performed by unqualified personnel, can lead to poor results. Dr. Natalia Ribé, specialist in Aesthetic Medicine, explains the importance of medical excellence in the sector.

Why do the prices of the same aesthetic treatment vary so much?

Nowadays there is a great variability of treatments and prices because the market is opening up, and there are many professionals or not so professional people who are doing these treatments. It is important to take into account which products are applied. For example, if we talk about hyaluronic acid, there are more than 430 different types of hyaluronic acids on the market, and that means that prices can vary, also depending on the characteristics of the product. But, above all, you have to know the laboratory that is behind it, that is offering us quality products, with studies, with efficiency and efficacy clinically demonstrated, and all this will guarantee results for the patient. The better the product, the higher the cost of the treatment.

Can we trust centers that offer aesthetic treatments at very low prices?

We cannot trust a center that offers these prices, it is impossible. The material itself costs much more than that amount. That is why it is important that a patient, when he/she goes to a center, should make sure that it is a center that is complying with all the regulations, that it is duly registered in the Health Registry, that it has a pharmacy as a drug depot, that it is supposed to be using the best and highest quality products to offer patients.

Likewise, it should be assumed that the best technique is being used by the professional who is working, and that he/she is doing so under the best conditions. That is why we should be wary of cheap treatments. Because a doctor, a professional, has to offer excellence, and all this has to be in accordance with knowledge, with products, with a technique and with a center which, obviously, means that it has a different price than the amounts we are talking about.

Does quality have a price? Why is personalized attention essential?

I always say that quality has a price, and this is very important. We must not forget that Aesthetic Medicine is not a type of medicine of first necessity, but it is true that things have to be worked well. In this sense, preventive medicine must be carried out and patients, within the aging process, must be offered specific treatments, either at the level of products or at the level of appliances, derived from the doctor’s knowledge. The specialist is a professional who has been trained and has specific knowledge and studies.

All this will allow him to diagnose correctly and offer the most appropriate treatment for that patient. And it has a cost that has to be paid. Furthermore, if the professional has specific techniques that differentiate him from other colleagues, this must also be recognized. For example, there are many soccer players, but some get paid more than others who do not play as well. The same thing happens in Aesthetic Medicine. I always say that the patient has to go to a center that gives all the guarantees in terms of safety, tranquility, excellence and attention so that the treatment can be performed obtaining the desired results, avoiding any kind of side effect or unnecessary risk.

How to choose a quality and reasonably priced center?

Nowadays it is easy to access platforms such as Top Doctors, where we know that the best specialists are selected for each specialty and can give us a guarantee that we will have good care, they will perform the expected treatment and, at the very least, they will recommend the most appropriate procedure.

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It is true that it is necessary to adapt, and it has to go hand in hand, quality and a reasonable price. But everything that is cheap should make us wary. As mentioned above, good, quality products are expensive. In addition, the injector’s hands also have a cost. Added to all this is experience, which also has to be given added value. Therefore, the patient has to be wary when he goes to a center that is very cheap because it probably does not comply with all the regulations or does not meet all the appropriate and necessary health requirements. Hence we know, and we are aware, that there are hairdressers and esthetic centers, for example, where untrained people perform this type of treatment. This is what should not happen because it is then when side effects and unwanted effects occur, which ruins the work of experts and professionals who try to work with the utmost ethics and professionalism. As a result of malpractice we visit patients who have been treated in centers or by people without the necessary professionalism or knowledge, and come to consultation with real disasters.

Aesthetic treatments abroad, why do many people go abroad?

It is a question I ask myself because in Spain we have very good experts and very well prepared people who do very good treatments. It is due to the offer and, above all, probably because of the price. They must be more interested in finding a cheap plane ticket, a cheaper treatment and, in addition, spending a few days in another country for tourism.

I think it is more important to have any treatment in a center that is close to you, that gives you the guarantee and the security that, if there are any side effects or any discomfort at any given moment, you can call or go to the clinic. Personally, I don’t see the need to go abroad. They are medical tourism treatments that become fashionable but are not very long lasting. It is more the boom effect but the reality is to have a nearby center that gives guarantees in the treatment.

Having the treatment done in a nearby center gives you the security that, in case of any discomfort or doubt, you can go there. And even to follow up. If a specialist performs a treatment and the patient is not going to come back, it is not possible to evaluate the result or what you want to achieve with that patient, whether he/she was satisfied, whether it went as it should have gone, whether there were any details that could have been improved… Hence the importance, as we were saying, of going to a recognized center that covers the minimum health requirements, which is why there are the health controls of records and permits required by the Administration in order to comply with all the regulations and to be able to offer maximum safety to patients. All this is an effort, a value and an added price that we have to pay but which must also be recognized in order to give peace of mind to our patients.

There is controversy because, to this day, there are still centers or unqualified persons performing Aesthetic Medicine treatments in hairdressing salons or esthetic centers, performed by non-medical personnel. Each professional has to know how to do and do what he/she knows, or what he/she has studied for. That is very important.