I have just read that my colleague Dr. Mang from Germany, a cosmetic surgeon well-known in the media who took part in a soap opera about beauty, has published a critical book on cosmetic surgery. General theme: No more superfluous breast augmentation, facelifts, or liposuction – stop making zombies out of people! My respect!
Dr. Mang is remarkable for many reasons, not just because he speaks openly about the problems of the branch, but also because he openly admits to being an ENT doctor. It is no secret amongst us doctors that the specialist origins of a cosmetic surgeon say little about his ability, even though some specialists like to portray this differently to the public and the media.
I share Dr. Mang’s reservations – my misgivings about the stressful surgical methods of traditional plastic surgery are known. I am reminded here of the old saying: “Someone who has a hammer sees everything as a nail” – the more tools you have at your disposal the less likely you are to see everything as a nail that need to be hammered in! Surgery is often like the proverbial hammer…
For this reason I am of the opinion that (specialist) general practitioners with additional training in cosmetic surgery have a better basic training for the New Cosmetic Surgery than plastic surgeons! This is because they can choose the optimal tools for beauty and rejuvenation from all medical fields. In the area of beauty minimally invasive surgery, stem cells and bioidentical hormones are normally more effective methods than silicone and scalpels!
Stressful reconstructive surgery that of course belongs in the hands of an experienced plastic surgeon should normally not be necessary in cosmetic surgery.
DDr. Heinrich, MD