An initial consultation cost $270. A partial Medicare rebate applies if you have a referral however you can not claim from Medicare if the consultation is deemed ‘cosmetic’. New changers to the Medicare ruling apply as of 2022. Reception can guide you through the referral process.

Any additional procedures will incur a charge. The cost depends on the procedure itself. As a rule, simple procedures such as injections, pigment or vascular lasers can be conducted on the day. More complex procedures that require sedation require an operating theatre booking & time slot.

A typical consultation takes 20 – 30 minutes. This includes documentation, examination, diagnosis & a treatment plan. My consults are old fashioned, namely I take the history & perform the examination.

I provide a treatment plan however for simple cases including melasma & management of pigmentation, my nurses may take over your case. I make it a point to give the appropriate time, based upon the complexity of the presentation.

For acne & acne scar patients. Virtual acne consultations are designed to give patients a clear strategic pathway to manage acne. During this consultation I will cover all aspects of acne including home options such as topicals, skin care, diet & ancillary treatments such as LED sources, through to prescriptive medications for acne. The recommendations will be algorithm based & expressed as a probability of a program working for you as I take into consideration your clinical picture. Learn more here.

A physical examination is best before any procedural work, this includes acne scars, skin rejuvenation & pigmentation disorders.

In some cases, yes. It really comes down to the diagnosis & the complexity of the treatment. For example, I can treat rosacea on the same day, as well as perform most injectables including dermal fillers & muscle relaxants.

I require a theater booking for most cases of acne scarring (surgical). I also require sedation for most of my laser-surgical cases.

For the most part, yes. I normally build catch up gaps in my consultation list to ensure that I am on time. Several caveats as to why I occasionally run late. Most commonly-

• If someone before you runs late this has a flow on effect. Say if 3 people in the afternoon list run 8 minutes late each, the last patient on this list may need to wait 25 minutes longer. Catch up gaps can reduce, but not eliminate this.
• Complex cases. I give adequate time for a good history & examination pertaining to each patient. Simple cases may take 5 minutes, complex cases may take 30 minutes.
• I also have a consultation list following a procedure list. This keeps me fresh for procedures (which is the majority of my work). Occasionally I may require more time for an operation. An example I may run overtime because I have to control an arterial bleed, or because a patient requires more sutures.

Let’s face it, there are many different types of personalities, ranging from normal (most of my patients), to borderline, narcissistic & even psychopathic – manipulative traits (minority). I also need to factor my personality traits. 

I am– focused on problem solving, focused on solutions for difficult problems, not solutions for difficult patients. I will provide a treatment plan without the BS, nor the upsell.

I am not– a hand holder, I listen to solve problems & to provide excellent outcomes, but counselling is not one of my strengths. If I elect not to perform a procedure, it is because I believe that it would not benefit you.

I do not have the skill sets for the management of body dysmorphic disorders & will refer to other professionals who can effectively treat this complex condition.