14 Ophthalmology Business • March 2016
In the 60s
The same trends as outlined above
continue for patients in their 60s and
older, but face and neck lifts are more
common as well, Dr. Cockerham said.
Cosmetic surgery tends to drop off for
patients in their 70s unless they've
always been glamorous types or if they
work and feel self-conscious about
competing against younger candidates,
Dr. Liegner said.
Venturing into
new territory
Although a number of ophthalmic
practices offer Botox, there still are
many who are not yet offering cosmet-
ic procedures. One easy way to start is
to incorporate medical- grade skincare
into the practice. "Many skincare lines
are dedicated to educating physicians
about their products and how to avoid
potential pitfalls," Dr. Johnson said.
"The injectables, peels, and surgeries
tend to require more experience."
A comprehensive ophthalmolo-
gist may find it only a small stretch to
incorporate cosmetic procedures, said
Dr. Liegner, who recommends starting
with ectropion and entropion treat-
ment and then functional blepharo-
plasty before moving to the cosmetic
side.
Expect your patients' oculoplastics
and facial care plans to become a big-
ger part of the practice going forward
as the products and treatments con-
tinue to improve. "I think we're going
to continue to see incredible develop-
ments in procedures that give great re-
sults and require little downtime," Dr.
Johnson said. "Today's patients want to
be able to get back to their normal rou-
tines quickly while looking refreshed,
rejuvenated, and natural."
Physician assistants and nurse
practitioners, already mainstays in
dermatology, will also play a larger role
in oculoplastics in the future to meet
patient demand, Dr. Liegner predicted.
OB
Editors' note: The physicians have no
financial interests related to this article.
Contact information
Barazani: mchefec@gmail.com
Cockerham: CockerhamMD@gmail.com
Johnson: Johnson.Paul.B@gmail.com
Liegner: liegner@embarqmail.com
continued from page 13
