Well, it’s official (but not really)! A patient called and scheduled a body contouring consultation for CoolSculpting vs Liposuction. And as is customary when a patient schedules an appointment, our front office staff always asks how the patient found our practice. This particular patient said they googled, “best surgeon in San Francisco,” and I appeared!
The irony is that years of medical school, residency, fellowship at a prestigious program (Cleveland Clinic) and 8 years of plastic surgery experience after training have no contribution to being the best surgeon in San Francisco…it’s who Google decides is the best surgeon in San Francisco!
Don’t get me wrong, I’m happy that Google has deemed me to be the best surgeon in San Francisco by allowing me to rank high in search results. But let’s be honest, I’m pretty sure I can’t be the best surgeon in San Francisco. First of all, being best means different things to different patients. Best bedside manner, best office staff, best online reviews, best results. These take on varying degrees of importance to different people so it’s impossible to really designate someone as the best. But with their algorithm, Google has made the decision for the consumer!
So while I humbly accept this, albeit temporary, designation, it’s important that patients find a surgeon they connect with and who is best, based on their personal needs. If you’re looking for a board certified plastic surgeon near you, and you’re also interested in their procedure costs, click here. Price shouldn’t be the deciding factor on who is considered the best but we’d be kidding ourselves to suggest it doesn’t matter. Best of luck in your search.
Click here for the original blog post written by Dr. Jonathan Kaplan for BuildMyBod.