Making Plastic Surgery Better

Posted June 20, 2024 in Uncategorized

By Dr. Patronella

I am often asked why I do things a certain way. A technique I use may be different from what someone else uses. And that speaks to something I’ve noticed over three decades in plastic surgery as it’s evolved. And that is our patients are much more discriminating today. They are much more educated. They have a much better idea of what they like and what they don’t than the way things were in plastic surgery 30 years ago.

I think the reason for that is the easy access to social media, doctors’ websites, and other information. And that has served to challenge plastic surgeons to be better at what we do. For that reason, we, as plastic surgeons, must embrace that mission and improve the procedures that we do by reviewing what others are doing and how they do it at plastic surgery meetings and through other educational vehicles we have available to “up our game.”

This evolution has taken place with certain procedures I’ve done over the years, in particular, tummy tuck surgery. The tummy tuck that I did 25 years ago was the one that I learned when I trained. But I rapidly became disenchanted with the overall results with that type of procedure. And over time, it became better as I incorporated techniques to improve the aesthetic outcome as well as the recovery experience, culminating in the True Form Tummy Tuck® I do today. Now it is a much more excellent procedure—a much more complicated procedure, l would say, and it takes me longer to do than the tummy tuck I did earlier in my career. But in the end, the result is much better.

The same is true for the buttock lift procedure that I do today. I developed a method of preserving a patient’s own tissue in order to enhance the profile of the hip and upper buttock so that I could improve the overall result. Originally, the procedure often flattened the hips. By preserving the tissue, I can prevent that from happening and create the more attractive contours I strive to sculpt.

The educated patient requires us as plastic surgeons to continually improve the quality of our results. And I like that. It elevates the quality of care and results that we provide.