How do I keep a patient excited about treatment when surgery is months away? Treat the wait as the most fragile part of the case, not the easy part. Someone who says yes in spring but won't have surgery until summer has months to talk themselves out of it, and a big check written with nothing in hand yet can curdle into regret fast. So you stay in front of them. Personal notes telling them how glad you are they chose the treatment they deserve. Weekly calls. Flowers or chocolates the day they commit. When my patients said yes and I [...]