Radiesse is available again at Surgical Artistry, Modesto, CA
I took a brief break from Radiesse to become excellent with injecting Juvederm, but I’ve come to realize the unique niches filled by having Radiesse, a demal filler. Radiesse acts as a scaffolding, providing structure for your own natural collagen to grow. Radiesse is comprised of Calcium Hydroxylapatite (CaHA).
I know many of you have requested Radiesse by name and now I have it back in stock and ready to go. I have both the 0.8cc and the 1.5cc syringes available to inject.
Feel free to call us to set up an appointment with me: 209-551-1888, Modesto, CA.
For more information about Radiesse, volumizing dermal filler, please visit www.radiesse.com.
Visit our semi-personalized Radiesse website on www.radiesse.com
Of note, the makers of Radiesse also makes Belotero.
Radiesse Brochure says:
Get better results from your filler.
Clinical studies of Radiesse patients show that they were more staisfied with the results they received from treatment with RADIESSE than with other leading dermal fillers.
33% more Juvederm injectable gel may be needed to achieve full correction compared to RADIESSE volumizing Filler.
RADIESSE Volume Advantage syringe contains 50% more product vs. Juvederm injectable gel syringes.
Some Fun Statistics about my Modesto Botox Practice
by Calvin Lee, MD
I love to share information, and I wanted to be transparent about my Botox experience. I’ve been injecting Botox since around 2006. We started having more detailed tracking available to us starting in 2010 by having patients enroll in Brilliant Distinctions.
How the Botox statistics were obtained
The Botox statistics were obtained from Brilliant Distinctions Analytics. This is a free service included with our participation in Allergan‘s Brilliant Distinctions program which is a “frequent flyer rewards” type program. It is a free program for our patients to enroll. I’ve been keeping simple statistics of my Modesto Botox practice before by looking at total number of patients enrolled and looking at the total amount of coupons redeemed. Most of our Botox patients are enrolled in the Brilliant Distinctions patients. As are our Juvederm and Latisse patients. We do not currently have SkinMedica which is part of the Allergan family. But feel free to call us to see if we have encorporated SkinMedica into our collection of skin care products. (209) 551-1888.
Possible faults of the data collection
Not all of our patients are enrolled in the Brilliant Distinctions program.
More and more existing patients enrolled in Brilliant Distinctions as the program became more familiar to us. This means that any increases in the number of patients “seen” for Botox, may actually be lower than the reported number because the numbers we have reflect Botox patient enrollment into Brilliant Distinctions, not necessarily patients who have received Botox. Thus we are using Brilliant Distinctions registered visits as a surrogate for actual Botox visits. But i think the estimate is pretty close because we try to enroll all Botox patients into Brilliant Distinctions.
Here are the Botox Related Statistics of my Modesto based Practice which I have with my wife Dr. Tammy Wu, Plastic Surgeon
724 separate patient visits over the year for 2013. This represents a 43% increase over 2012 where I had 505 separate patient visits. In 2011 we had 270 patients registered. But I think this number might be “artificially” lower because many of our patients at the time weren’t signed up for Brilliant Distinctions. How is this calculated? I went through the Analytics part of Brilliant Distinctions and had the computer program extract out the patient data one month at a time.
Averaging 60.3 Botox Visits per month. 60.3 Botox visits per month is the average number of visits per month for 2013.
374 unique patients seen for Botox Cosmetic injections who are registered in Brilliant Distinctions in 2013. In 2012 we had 278 unique patients seen for Botox injections. In 2011 we had 180 Botox different patients. Unique, or different, patients means that these patients were counted only once even if they came to the office several times over the year.
I couldn’t seem to find too many monthly trends with our Botox Visits. But from what I can see over three years of data, it seems that there is a consistent increase in patients in March and November. I’m not sure about these seasonal changes, but this may be specific to our town of Modesto, CA.
We grew to have about 245 new Brilliant Distinctions Signups in the last year. This also includes Juvederm-only and Latisse-only-patients. This averages about .67 new Botox/Juvederm/Latisse patients per day (365 days per year).
We reached 702 unique patients on Brilliant distinctions. This growth in the number of unique patients is very steady – it doesn’t seem to be increasing exponentially, just a direct increase which is steady.
Financial analysis and comparison with the other components of my medical and surgical practice.
I have many medical colleagues and students who ask is a profession of doing Botox worth it? They mainly ask from a standpoint of does Botox make money?
Without going into gory details. I can say that the other parts of my medical practice was more profitable than the Botox part of the practice.
As with any other medical practice there’s the personal satisfaction aspect. For me is very satisfying to be injecting Botox. I enjoy the process and having wonderful patients who value appearance and beauty. And most of all, I enjoy working with my wife who is a plastic surgeon. I have been working with her since we moved to Modesto in 2003. However, it became an every-day work experience together since 2006 after we founded Surgical Artistry in Modesto, CA.
Another financial rewards related Botox question: How much overhead does one have when injecting? I guess one way to answer this question would be to look at my Botox and Dermal Filler practice in a vacuum. Botox and Fillers (ie. Juvederm Voluma, Juvederm Ultra, Juvederm Ultra Plus XC, Belotero Balance, etc) are expensive for the practice to buy. These are the most expensive products I have ever had for my surgical practice. Expensive in terms of price for size of product. In my estimation, I think a Cosmetic Injectible practice’s overhead with lasers (I have one laser) would be about 75%. Meaning there’s a 25% profit margin. This is without a surgical practice, vein practice or acupuncture practice. I don’t use our laser all that much, and this figure of a 25% profit margin on a Botox/Filler/Laser non-invasive cosmetic practice is for my practice. I’m sure it would vary. I’m factoring in the cost of the products and the overhead costs of the office – staffing, malpractice insurance, rent, utilities, supplies (syringes, etc). And this figure would be before tax – which will of course, take out another chunk! I hope this information helps. I’m thinking that most of the people reading up to this point are Botox injectors of sorts or interested in becoming one.
Graphical Representations of Botox Data
Number of Unique Botox Visits to my Modesto Botox Practice broken down by MonthThe graph shows the Botox Patient Visits for the past consecutive 35 months. It is missing December 2013’s data. But for 35 months before December, it is shown above.
Conclusions and predictions.
Botox is growing at our practice in Modesto. There is definitely room for even more growth for my practice. 724 separate Botox visits is certainly a good “start.” I think my practice could handle twice that. I guess we shall see what 2014 holds – this is hard for me to predict. I think our growth will slow percentage-wise for 2014, I think it will be lower than the 43% growth we achieved this year. I think I would be happy with a 15% growth in the amount of Botox appointments. A 15% growth for next year will reveal 833 patients. So perhaps that’s my prediction for 2014.
We currently have 702 different patients signed up for Brilliant distinctions. If I were to be ambitious, I would hope to break 1000 new patients in our Modesto Practice’s Brilliant Distinctions program. But a conservative estimate based on calculations over the past 3 years would be 947 members signed up.
Juvederm ultra plus xc and Belotero injected via Cannula Technique by Dr. Calvin Lee
This is not done with Juvederm Voluma. As of November 2013, I do not have experience with Juvederm Voluma. Juvederm Voluma, however, is on it’s way to the office in Modesto, CA and I will soon have experience with this new dermal filler. [update: I’ve used my first syringe of Juvederm Voluma on 12/24/13. It was a very satisfying and positive experience. I look forward to having even more experience with Juvederm Voluma. I was able to use my 27g 1.5 inch cannula for Juvederm Voluma injections].
To improve my cosmetic dermal filler craft, I’m analyzing my past week. 95% of this result was performed with CANNULAS as an instrument of liquid implant delivery and a whole bunch of other secrets. There’s more that I would like to do with fillers for her, but my instructions were only to work on under eyes (tear troughs) and cheeks.
Background info:
Patient had lost a good deal of weight and it is showing in her face. Options include face lift. However, she chose to use Juvederm, Belotero, and Botox. In the before picture she had Botox and Juvederm expertly done at another plastic surgery practice in our town of Modesto, CA. I added upon that work to get the 13 day “after” picture using only Belotero and Juvederm.
Picture used with permission. Thank you very much for letting me share this experience. This is an off Label, FDA usage of Juvederm ultra plus XC for cheek fillers.
In case of Dermal Filler Complication of Vascular Occlusion
This “essay” shows depth of knowledge. Proud of Surgical Artistry Team member, Karla, for her answer to this question when a student nurse from San Jose called asking for advice on a school project, “What should one do and have available in the event of a dermal filler emergency where vessels get occluded.” This is her expert response:
I am the Patient Care Coordinator for Surgical Artistry, Dr. Tammy Wu and Dr. Calvin Lee‘s office in Modesto, CA. You contacted our office regarding information for a nursing program project. I wanted to take this opportunity to answer any other questions you may have regarding the “mini-crash cart for injectables” for your project. I am very sorry for the delay in response and I hope this information is still helpful. We would include the following: a butterfly needle, a towel for warm compresses, nitro paste to dilate the vessels, and Hylenex to dissolve the filler. I can provide you with a little bit of background information.
We use hyaluronic acid fillers, commonly referred to as HA fillers. The brand names of the fillers we use are Juvederm and Belotero. One of the benefits an HA filler is that they are dissolvable. There are two main products used for this purpose. They are Hylenex (hyaluronidase human injection) and Vitrase (hyaluronidase Ovine). Vitrase has an animal source; Hylenex has a bacterial source and is synthetic. Therefore, Vitrase sometimes requires a skin test/allergy testing. This would not be ideal in an emergency situation.
Emergency Kit: Butterfly needle with tubing, Hylenex 150 units, and Nitropaste
If you had a vascular occlusion complication while injecting filler, you would use a butterfly needle to attempt to get into the occluded vessel by aspirating for a “flash”. If you get the “flash” then you are within the vessel and Dr. Lee would inject Hylenex – perhaps even up to 150 units of Hylenex. Even without a “flash”, Dr. Lee would still consider injecting the Hylenex. Then Dr. Lee might apply 2% nitropaste (for vasodilation) or a warm compress to this area with some massaging of the area to keep the blood flowing through the area. The patient would then apply nitropaste at home 2-3 times per day if patients didn’t get severe headaches or light headedness from the nitropaste.
He would do the same even if a HA filler wasn’t used – such as Radiesse. He thinks that the Hylenex would dissove some of the body’s native HA and thus make more room for the vessel and hopefully un-occlude the obstruction.
Dr. Lee asked me to tell you that this is an excellent project idea, especially if you are an aspiring nurse injector. He says that filler emergencies are rare but it’s good to be prepared. Please do not hesitate to call me at (209) 551-1888. Also feel free to read Dr. Lee’s Botox blog.
The Best of Brilliant Distinctions for the practitioner
I’m the kind of guy that gets frustated easily with computers, but I’ve found some great features from Brilliant Distinctions which is a computer driven program which brings Botox customers back with coupons and rebates.
They will sometimes mail reminders when a patient is about due for their Botox cycle.
They will sometimes mail special rebates. This, I know our Botox / Juvederm / Latisse patients enjoy getting. These rebates are somewhat intelligent and can target a population who hasn’t tried a particular product.
They also sometimes mail reminders if they have coupons or points which are about to expire.
In a way, Brilliant Distinctions, keeps the patients connected with these products which I carry in my office.
I like the discounts Brilliant Distinctions gives patients
I sometimes tell patients that BD stands for “Botox Discounts”. But as we know BD stands for Brilliant Distinctions. As the owner of a medical office, I personally dislike sporadic discounts because I think our prices should be a great value all the time. But BD takes that work out of my hands and gives discounts to the patients for me. The patients love discounts.
I like how it ties one product to another
When someone likes the results of Botox, they would most likely like the results of other aesthetic related products such as Juvederm and Latisse. The coupons from Brilliant Distinctions act as a bridge introducing other products we carry in our office. The coupons are the bridge, the products are the gateway to other excellent products which make our patients happy and confident.
My favorite part: BD Analytics
With analytics, we can easily see which patients might benefit from a nudge from our practice. I personally appreciate nudges from coaches. In many ways, we are the beauty coaches for our patients. Using the analytics section, we can identify patients who have “slacked” off from a routine maintenance program of restoring youthful appearaces at our office. Once identified, we consider giving the patients a phone call to see if we can help. Or perhaps we need to find out about some things we need to improve upon. It’s a diligent disciplined approach to life that yields the best results – the same can be said for achieving and maintaining health and beauty. BD analytics is very customizable, and allows one to find patients who have expiring coupons, or who haven’t been to the office in a certain period of time. Calling these patients will improve our retention rate, and by contacting these patients, we will improve their outcomes from having a disciplined approach to Botox, Juvederm, Latisse, and skin care.
If you have basic spreadsheet (ie. Excel) skills you can manipuate the data to further assist you in your practice. For example, I wanted to show my staff how we grew, we were able to use BD analytics to show how many unique patients we see per year for Botox and for Juvederm:
Growth of my Botox and Juvederm practice over the last three years since we started with Brilliant Distinctions (BD). These graphs were drawn in Excel using data from Brilliant Distinctions Analytics. Click to see a larger version of the graph.
Overall, Brilliant Distinctions can grow our practices.
There’s automatic growth by using Brilliant distinction, and there’s purposeful growth by putting energy into the program and using BD analytics. Once you start building up patients in the program, BD analytics eventually becomes one of the most valuable parts. The more you put into Brilliant Distinctions, the more you’ll get out. You need staff training, time, and the opportunity to sharpen your spreadsheet skills. All is worthwhile.
My patients love the coupons, they love crossing over into other products in the Allergan family, and we have become better practitioners for allowing them to get a lower cost, giving them chances to try other excellent products, and with this tool, we can also monitor patients who might become “lost to follow up.”
Calvin Lee, MD
Modesto, California.
Calvin Lee, MD is a graduate of Brown University Medical School. He is a General Surgeon who works with his Plastic Surgeon wife, Dr. Tammy Wu in a practice called Surgical Artistry in Modesto, CA.
Links related to Brilliant Distinctions by Calvin Lee, MD
I created Surgical Artistry with my wife, Dr. Tzuying Tammy Wu, Modesto Plastic Surgeon. I am a surgeon & violinist. I have enjoyed playing my violin at Carnegie Hall in New York twice thus far. Originally from New York City, I moved to Modesto, CA in the year 2003. Highlights of my educational life are getting accepted to all the universities which I applied: Harvard, Stanford, MIT, Yale, and much more. After careful decision, I felt Brown University was best for me and that was where I met my wife, Dr. Tammy Wu. She eventually graduated with a #1 designation from our class at Brown . Surgical Artistry is proud to be founders of the Surgical Artistry Modesto Marathon, Modesto Symphony Pops Series, and the Gallo Center for the Arts.
I LIKE HONESTY:
I would like to think of all my patients as my friends. Friends should be honest to each other.
I LIKE NEEDLES:
My staff counted once, and I use up about 500 needles per day. I use needles for acupuncture, vein injections, Botox, Juvederm, Belotero, and DermaPen. Doing surgery with needles is what I do at Surgical Artistry. So if you need medical procedures which involves needles, please consider me.
I LIKE ART:
For my music with the violin, I understand the creation of art which appeals to one’s positive emotions. This artistry is the same for the subtle changes that I need to make when injecting Botox and dermal fillers (Restylane, Radiesse, Perlane, Juvederm, Belotero, etc).
I LIKE COMMUNICATION:
I think at least 50% of creating a great result is based on understanding the patient’s goals and vision, and then also communicating expectations and trade-offs. The final result is the result of teamwork with me, my office and my patient. This type of communicative teamwork requires time and patience to achieve the desired result.
I’M PRECISE WITH MY HANDS:
I am a surgeon and an instrumental musician – these are two things which improve my dexterity every day. Having precision is a high priority in my life.
I WANT GREAT RESULTS:
Why? Because my plastic surgeon wife will kill me otherwise. Well, kidding aside, I am dedicated to great results for all the modalities I offer at Surgical Artistry: Acupuncture, Botox, Dermal Fillers, and Veins. Great results and happy patients are what fuels my enthusiasm and purpose on this planet.
Calvin Lee, MD
(209) 551-1888 (office in Modesto, CA)
Growth of my Botox and Juvederm practice over the last three years since we started with Brilliant Distinctions, a program for coupons developed by the Botox company – Allergan.
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Here are some reviews found on my Yelp page:
These are the filtered out reviews which I think are very valid and thank you to those who took the time to write and I’m sorry they got filtered out on Yelp. I have no control over that
This kind review is about my acupuncture practice
“Dr. Lee is great! I’ve been going to him for years for various health issues, especially stress. It leaves me so relaxed with a lasting effect and is very healing. I am unable to go longer than a month without seeing Dr. Lee because it keeps me healthy like nothing else does.
Dr. Lee has even given me acupuncture for wounds and the flu that have healed much faster than usual. He’s easygoing and really good at what he does. It’s very important to be calm, so the energy blockages can be released and your chi can flow again and bring healing. Before acupuncture, I could not feel the energy at all because I was so blocked. Now I can feel it as soon as the first needle goes in and my feet vibrate with all the energy that flows. I highly recommend Dr. Lee.”
This other very nice review is regarding my Botox practice
“Dr Lee is amazing with botox/juviderm injections. He is extremely people oriented and has a fantasic bedside manner. His results for getting rid of unwanted wrinkles are fantastic and almost painless I will continue to go to him in the future and hightly reccomend his services if you are looking for injections !!”
I would love to get more Yelp Reviews:
I would love to hear more review (hopefully positive feedback? – if you feel I deserve it).
Some initial thoughts of mine on Belotero. These will change from time to time. Much of this is consider off-label-FDA usage.
Belotero Balance and Botox for CROWS FEET
Off label FDA usage of Botox around the eyes has been the mainstay of treatment. In my Modesto, CA practice, I’ve recently tried Belotero Balance – a dermal filler, to fill in the medium-fine lines that make up some of the crows feet. Belotero seems to integrate nicely into the skin. In conclusion, I think Belotero is a nice add-on in addition to Botox treatments around the eyes. Belotero is most outstanding in those static line crows feet.
Belotero Balance for TEAR TROUGHS UNDER THE EYES
Under the eye area – I’ve been super pleased with Belotero Balance, as have our Modesto patients. I have in the past used Restylane and Juvederm ultra in these areas under the eye. But I feel I get even smoother appearances under the eye with Belotero.
Belotero Balance for SCARS
This is where Belotero doesn’t seem to do as well. Scars around the eyes and other areas on the face – I feel that even with freeing up some of the tissue under the scar, the Belotero isn’t able to lift the scars up as much as I’d like it to. I think in these areas I may prefer a thicker dermal filler product.
www.SurgeryToday.com (209) 551-1888. Calvin Lee, MD. Surgical Artistry. Modesto, CA.
The 60% growth of Botox and Juvederm (and Latisse too) mentioned in the title refers to the growth of new patients. This does not reflect the growth in sales or profits, just purely the number of people our Modesto, CA practice has shared the usage of Botox, Juvederm and Latisse.
Unique Patients Seen Per Year on Brilliant Distinctions
Thank you for trusting me as your injector. This shows a nice increase of about 60% new patients per year. Data from our 635 patients enrolled in Botox/Juvederm’s Frequent Flyer Program called Brilliant Distinctions and our statistics since we started participating in the program in 2011. Unique patients means that if a patient came four times a year, that patient is only counted as one Botox visit or one Juvederm visit (not 4).
The growth rate here of 68% for a year in 2012 and 53% for a year in 2013 for our Modesto Botox injection is just a growth rate of new patients coming to our practice. It doesn’t reflect the growth rate of the amount of Botox used. That would be another study. Juvederm on the other had had a 62% growth rate for Juvederm in 2012 and 71% growth rate in 2013.
The full “year” was counted from August 15-August 14 of the following year.
We’ll see what 2014 brings.
Comparison to Latisse growth rate in terms of number of unique patients per year.
In 2012 and 2013, the total number of unique patients using Latisse is almost exactly the same as our number of Juvederm Patients.
Brilliant Distinctions is a way for patients to get discounts on Allegan Products. The program is run by Allergan, not by our office. But we accept Brilliant Distinctions coupons – even if you are new to Modesto, and have received Brilliant Distinctions coupons and points from other Botox/Juvederm practices in a different state. BD = “Brilliant Distinctions”, but also means “Botox Discounts!”
I’m normally not fond of discounts, but Brilliant Distinctions fills in this gap for me and offers discounts to patients who usually like discounts. I’m fond of consistency – which is what I want in my results – excellent consistent results, and thus I like the rest of my practice, which includes pricing, to remain consistent.
$51,000 paid to Surgical Artistry patients who are members
As of 8/13/13 we have 633 BD members. This represents a special occasion because it is the doubling of the original number when I first started paying attention to our BD statistics on 5/20/12.
I wrote this email to our staff congratulating them for sharing the Botox/Juvederm/Latisse coupons
We have been growing at a wonderful rate. I need to also thank our wonderful patients for supporting us – thank you!!
Office (cc: Alyssa / Chris),
I’m cc’ing Alyssa and Chris from Allergan because they are part of our team.
Congratulations! We grew the our Surgical Artistry / Brilliant Distinctions membership by one of the highest rates in our history. Although it isn’t that much higher than our average growth, it is still one of the highest rates we’ve ever had.
This month we grew our patient base at a rate of 1.1 patients per day (based on ~30 days per month).
Last month we grew our patient base at a rate of 1.4 patients per day.
The months before that ranged from 0.53 to 1.28 patients per day.
1.1 patients per day is wonderful. If I look back in time, we have been steadily averaging 0.6-0.7 patients per day and the last two months, we beat our own averages. I think this is great. Attached is an Excel spreadsheet graph (you know how I like these), which shows that today, we doubled our membership from May 22, 2012 – the day I tracking our usage of Brilliant Distinctions. Thank you all for a record 2 months. I’m looking forward to continued excellence for our Botox & Juvederm patients.
Celebration with Botox, Juvederm, Latisse, and Obagi at Surgical Artistry, Modesto, CA
Purpose of this page: To share information with other plastic surgery or cosmetic minded practices regarding open houses. Our first open house had 235 people come through. I’ve decided that was too many people, and have since come up with strategies to focus the open house to have fewer people. We are 2 doctor, husband-wife, plastic surgery practice located in Modesto, CA specializing in Plastic Surgery, Cosmetic Injections, Veins, and Acupuncture.
My wife and I became a team when we met as part of the Program in Liberal Medical Education (PLME) at Brown University. My wife, Dr. Tammy Wu, eventually graduated top of her class with the award for highest grades among the women doctor graduates of that Brown University program. I on the other hand, as a violinist, had the fortunate experience of being the concert master of the Orchestra and a two time winner of the concerto competition at Brown University (had to add something in there so I didn’t sound too shabby in comparison). We also helped to start a marthon in Modesto, California called the Surgical Artistry Modesto Marathon – how exciting. We are now getting ready for the 5th annual edition of this marathon.
Today (Saturday, August 3, 2013) we celebrated the start of our 11th year in Modesto, California. To kick off the celebration we were supported by Allergan (the makers of Botox and Juvederm) to do an educational event regarding Botox and Juvederm. I had two models and we injected Botox into different areas of the face, and then the most dramatic changes were using Juvederm. In many ways, I guess you could consider this an open house.
11 balloons to celebrate the start of our 11th year in Modesto, CA.
Genesis of this event
I had originally talked with Allegan – the makers of Juvederm, Botox, and Latisse about having a 10 year celebration. So in essence this was the 10 year celebration of Dr. Tammy Wu and myself (Dr. Calvin Lee) being in Modesto. The first 3 years of this decade were spent at Sutter Gould and McHenry Medical Group (now known as GMMSA – Greater Modesto Medical Surgical Associates) respectively, for the two of us. Allergan’s Northern California Regional Manager presented to me the idea of having a nice lunch and then focusing the event on live demonstrations of Botox and Juvederm. I’ve never done a live demo before of Botox and Juvederm and I was excited by the idea. I’ve heard of other cosmetic practices having done this, but this would be a first for me. I didn’t follow his plan exactly. He had a small admission fee in mind and it was to be set on a work day (Monday-Friday) from 10am-2pm. The admission fee could potentially be applied to a Botox or Juvederm procedure. My reason for that was that Dr. Tammy Wu had already been planning an Obagi event from 9am to 11am – a Saturday breakfast kind of event. And she thought we could Piggy Back onto that event and attract even more people – people who were interested in Obagi and perhaps a separate group of people interested in Cosmetic injections. We thought the two groups of people would be interested in both events. So we combined them and didn’t charge an admission fee and had it on the weekend and extended the hours of the event.
Similarly, two months ago we did a Breast Augmentation Open House event sponsored by Mentor with mini lectures by Dr. Tammy Wu, Modesto Plastic Surgeon. We had a turn out of about 30 people, and the advertising method was similar – all via FaceBook.
How did I advertise our Botox / Juvederm / Obagi Modesto event?
I had advertised this cosmetic event on FaceBook . I advertised to the Modesto area, and spent about $1000 on advertising. I created an Botox Juvederm event page (which was free on FaceBook). But paid for those advertising on the sides and in boosted posts. I had trouble with boosted posts for some reason and never really figured out the reason. I’ll have to put in a query to the facebook posts. But I’ve had trouble in the past with plastic surgery type advertisements in FaceBook. The free event page received 124 “going” guests – I think that’s a great way to spread the word.
We got about 60 guests as estimated by our Surgical Artistry staff. I was pretty impressed. I think about 90% of the patients were new to the office. We offered specials on Obagi as well, and I’m sure this was partly a draw – so not everyone was here for the Botox and Juvederm demonstration.
DEWZ Restaurant was one of the main attractions
We had great food catered by DEWZ Restaurant. The food and amount worked out well. We had requested food for 30 people for the catering. In the past we had reserved for 60 people (we used Surlas before), and that was too much food. You can get overwhelmed with food. Back to the topic of DEWZ, Judy, one of the owners of the restaurant came herself to make sure the process went smoothly. We are very appreciative.
People were able to walk in and out of my procedure room. I think I heard that the injections into the lip seemed a bit much for patients – it just seemed somewhat “scary” perhaps. Perhaps lip injections weren’t the best public demonstration.
Regardless, many patients stayed for the demo and I think they learned a good deal and some of them even signed up for cosmetic injections.
Feedback on FaceBook
Here are some comments we got on FaceBook after our event:
Results of the Botox / Juvederm Banking (pre-sales)
When we counted up the results, we pre-sold 500 Units of Botox and 19 syringes of Juvederm. We had about 60 guests come to visit. 27 of the guests purchased something – either Obagi, Botox, Juvederm or Latisse.
Thank you very much for coming to our Botox / Juvederm / Obagi event. We truly appreciate the tremendous support.
Empty Botox bottles I’ve collected in Modesto, CA. I have much more, but my staff made me put them away.
Lessons Learned
Having a sign in sheet may improve the flow of the event for those waiting for the Obagi Rep who did free personalized skin care analysis with the reveal machine.
Having catered food for 30 people was enough.
It is possible to do all the advertising through FaceBook without tapping into our email list – especially if the goal is to introduce the practice to new patients. We love having many establish patients come by to mingle and talk about us with the new potential patients.
Most folks don’t come right at the beginning of the open house. The popular time is around 10am or later it seems. A shorter open house between 10a-2p might be a new possibility and this could possibly be done during a work day instead of a Saturday.
My continued struggles with plastic surgery advertising on FaceBook. The challenges are targeting requirements, and possible rejections based on their criteria for “text” as part of images ie. Botox logo or Obagi logo have too much text for FaceBook. And they do not take before and after pictures as part of advertisments, and they sometimes classify breast implants as sexual aids and sometimes Botox as illegal drugs.
Summary of the event pages used on FaceBook for my previous events.
I didn’t include our Surgical Artistry Modesto Marathon event pages here.
I had used three different FaceBook event pages for the Breast Augmentation event (June 1, 2013):
