It seems like every second person has undergone some form of cosmetic surgery. No longer taboo, plastic surgery has grown in acceptance and expanded in offerings. People are now incorporating beautification as part of their longevity habits. So, is going under the knife the final piece to boost your well-being as you age? We spoke to renowned US-based Plastic Surgeon Dr. Daniel Maman about the longevity benefits of plastic surgery.
A more natural approach to plastic surgery
“The journey with plastic surgery typically starts, depending on the procedure, in the early 20s to mid 30s for straight augmentation,” explains Dr. Daniel Maman, a Harvard-fellowship trained and board-certified plastic surgeon specializing in cosmetic surgery of the breast, body, and face.
In his practice, Dr. Maman reveals that he spends a large majority of his time performing four types of procedures. These include breast lifts, breast reductions, breast augmentations, and tummy tucks. The remainder of his time is spent doing minor facial procedures.
“As women get older, it typically evolves into a combination of breast implant surgery in conjunction with a breast lift or a breast tightening procedure, which has become much more prevalent in women between the ages of 30 up to the 70s.”
As mentioned, plastic surgery has become more mainstream and viewed as a normal aspect of one maintaining their upkeep,
“People want to look and feel good, and they talk openly about this,” shares Dr. Maman, “When you sit at a table and your friends speak openly about it, you’re much more inclined to also speak openly about it and even seek consultation with a plastic surgeon yourself.”
With that, it’s important to seek out a surgeon whose work is more subtle than obvious,
“The key to really good plastic surgery is nobody knowing that you’ve had anything done. People should be surprised that you did something that looks so natural.”
Getting screened for surgery
“I always say that I would much rather operate on a healthy, active 72 year oldthan an obese diabetic smoker who’s 32 years old.”
So, does that mean that a pensioner can still go under the knife? Well, it would really depend on the individual and what their objectives are.
Take breast implant surgery, for instance. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) does not permit the use of silicone implants younger than the age of 22,
“However, with the caveat that there is some type of congenital abnormality, which is typically poor breast development or asymmetric breast development, then you can go ahead and use silicone implants,” shares Dr. Maman.
“In terms of breast reduction surgery, the youngest age that I will typically operate on is around age 16 or 17 – depending on the amount of development that she’s had already to date.“
An intuitive and ethical approach
Dr. Maman further admits that he would turn away a 14-year-old, and request that they come back at the earliest age of 16.
With that, Dr. Maman divulges that when seeing a patient who’s too young for surgery, he’ll recommend that they seek the care of a dermatologist or somebody else who will provide less non-surgical treatment.
“What is the correct age? It depends. The key is to find the right provider who’s going to evaluate you honestly. I would much rather tell somebody to come back in five years than to operate on someone prematurely knowing that they’re going to regret it in the future.”
Aside from age, there are many other variables that make an individual an ideal candidate for cosmetic surgery. In discussing screening a patient, Dr. Maman details that he and the patient will discuss the least invasive to most invasive surgical options.
Surgery after-care
“Even though what I do is confined to the most invasive end of the spectrum, the non-invasive surgicals are a very important modality to what I do. This is why I have many non-surgical colleagues, dermatologists, etc., that I work with where we come up with a comprehensive treatment plan to optimize the ideal aesthetic for that specific person.”
Regarding patients that he views as the perfect candidate for surgery, Dr. Maman makes sure to inform them about the importance of maintaining and optimizing the results with non-surgical modalities,
“We see it not as a replacement for surgery, but as an adjunct to surgery, both before, during, and after.”
Cosmetic surgery is not a trend
Ask any black girl with full lips about her childhood experiences. You may be surprised to hear how many people teased her for having full lips. I can only imagine their shock in adulthood when they noticed the rise in lip fillers, thanks in particular to Kylie Jenner. The same story can be said for young women who were teased for their voluptuous bodies. This typically occured years before plastic surgeon’s office phones became clogged up with requests for body modifications. However, for Dr. Maman, these are phone calls that he prefers not to answer,
“With plastic surgery, we’re making permanent modifications to the body. Hence, we never operate based on trends. I will never do a procedure simply because it happens to be trendy today.”
For Dr. Maman, the objective is a natural looking, ideal aesthetic that fits the patient: “That is timeless. It’ll look good today, it’ll look good in two years, and that same aesthetic ideal will exist in 15 years. We are permanently modifying your body and hence operating on trends is a terrible idea.”
The BBL Trend
A clear example of this are Brazilian Butt Lifts, colloquially known as BBLs,
“Every celebrity was having it done. Multiple times a day, women were calling the office asking for it and I can tell you this, I’ve never done a single Brazilian butt lift,” unveils Dr. Maman. He admits that he’s not a fan of the procedure, and he views it as the least safe of the cosmetic surgeries that plastic surgeons perform.
“We are witnessing the backside of the trend where it’s now very common to have BBL reversals. The same surgeons that were busy doing the Brazilian Butt lifts five, 10 years ago,are now busy reversing those butt lifts. So it’s just an example of how what an incredibly bad idea it is to do plastic surgery based on trends.”
What you need to know about breast implants
The Brazilian Butt Lift is considered the most dangerous surgery in the world. However, there have been concerns regarding silicone implants.
Speaking on the history of breast enhancement, Dr. Maman illuminates that implants emerged around the late 70s, and they were used in the 80s,
“Then between 1995 and 2005, there was a 10-year moratorium in the United States where all silicone implants were removed off the market despite continued use throughout Europe, Asia, South America, etc. The reason that the FDA pulled them off the market was out of concern that breast implants cause autoimmune disease or cause cancer.”
Dr. Maman further adds that, after extensive research, the silicone implants were brought back on the market in 2005. This was after researchers realized that there was no good data anywhere in the world in a reputable journal to support those claims,
“What I always say is breast implants are one of the most studied medical devices in the world. There are millions and millions of people all over the world walking around with breast implants and as a result of that, we have a huge amount of data over 50 plus years, and we know that they’re incredibly safe.”
Breast implants and lymphoma
That said, that doesn’t mean that implants are not problematic. Dr. Maman carries on to reveal details about a 2011 French case where implants were subsequently recalled, and where a recommendation to remove those implants was made.
Dr. Daniel Maman
Also, within the last decade or so, Dr. Maman details how both in Europe and in the United States, there has been increased awareness of a very rare lymphoma called anaplastic large cell lymphoma. This type of lymphoma is associated with a certain very specific type of breast implant – textured surface breast implant.
“As a result of that, several types of implants were taken off the market both in the United States and abroad. But again, we’re talking about very small numbers, around 2000 women in the entire world that have had this type of very rare lymphoma.”
Dr. Maman repeats that there is no hard, concrete evidence in any published in a credible journal in the United States or abroad that demonstrates a direct link between silicone breast implants or silicone implant rupture with any type of autoimmune disease, chronic malaise, or cancer. Despite the caveat of approximately 2000 women who have that lymphoma associated with a very specific type of breast implant, that implant is no longer used.
Medical Tourism: What you Need to Consider when it comes to going under the knife abroad
With the rise in demand for cosmetic procedures has caused a rise in costs. For those looking to enhance their appearance, this then means that their surgical dreams are out of reach. Or, are they? As the world globalizes and access to different locations becomes even easier, medical tourism continues to expand.
“The vast majority of people who engage in medical tourism will travel because there are significant cost savings that not only justify the expense of travel and extended stay in that location, but because there are significant savings to be incurred.”
The second subgroup of people that engage in medical tourism, which is what Dr. Maman sees in his practice, are people that travel. They feel like the quality of care is better in a certain location than at home.
“You always get what you pay for in plastic surgery. If you’re going somewhere because the cost is low, the quality of what you’re getting is probably lower,” says Dr. Maman, who adds that an incredibly important part of plastic surgery is that it’s not a one and done procedure.
“This is not getting your dress tailored, and then taking the dress and getting back on a plane and flying to New York or to South Africa, or wherever you might be. Continued care is incredibly important because surgery has risks. And even in the best of hands, the risks of cosmetic surgery hover around 1%.”
Dr. Maman continues to add that 1 out of 100 women that he operates on will have some type of complication that he needs to address personally in the office in a continued care fashion. Thus, when a patient travels to these medical tourism destinations, they are not getting that aspect of the care.
Cosmetic surgery is truly skin deep
It’s easy to view plastic surgery as a superficial endeavor, but it’s much more faceted than that.
There are two main elements to plastic surgery; reconstructive and cosmetic plastic surgery,
“On the reconstructive side, we’re talking about major cancer reconstructions, cleft lip reconstructions, facial, nose, rhinoplasty reconstructions after severe trauma, car accidents, etc. These are necessary medical procedures that restore baseline aesthetics.”
Dr. Maman adds that it’s not just about restoring the body’s anatomy. Rather, it’s also about making the person feel whole and confident again.,
“Let’s take a 38-year-old woman who has had two or three children,” narrates Dr. Maman, “Her breasts have completely deflated, with age, gravity and breastfeeding causing significant sagging of the breast. This results in her not feeling good about herself.”
“We’re not trying to get unnatural looking results by putting in huge implants so she can wear a G-string bikini on the beach. What we’re trying to do is simply restore her back to her pre-pregnancy baseline so that she feels confident.”
The growing popularity of mommy make overs
Dr. Maman believes that plastic surgery is incredibly powerful in doing that, with it being his objective with everybody that he sees. This may explain why he specializes in mummy makeover procedures,
“Most of the women I operate on prioritize healthy lifestyle habits, but having children has significantly changed their bodies.”
“There is simply no physical therapy or diet that will ever restore what they were other than surgery. Being able to make them feel confident again is the beauty of what we do in cosmetic surgery.
About Dr Daniel Maman
Dr. Daniel Maman is a Harvard-trained aesthetic and reconstructive plastic surgeon with a private boutique Park Avenue office. Dr. Maman is Board Certified by the American Board of Plastic Surgery. Areas of expertise include cosmetic surgery of the breast and body, with emphasis on advanced techniques in breast augmentation, breast lift, breast reduction, and tummy tuck surgeries. A significant amount of his time is dedicated to revisionary breast implant surgery for both aesthetic augmentation and breast cancer reconstruction.
Dr. Maman holds an undergraduate degree from the University of Pennsylvania, a Master’s degree from Oxford University in England, and a Medical Doctorate from the Mount Sinai School of Medicine. He subsequently completed a 6-year Plastic & Reconstructive Surgery residency at the Mount Sinai Hospital in Manhattan, serving as chief resident during his final year. Dr. Maman then pursued additional fellowship training in aesthetic and reconstructive breast surgery at the world-renowned Massachusetts General Hospital/ Harvard Medical School, focusing on cutting-edge implant and microsurgical flap techniques. Dr. Maman also served as an Attending Staff Surgeon at the Massachusetts General Hospital during this time.
Dr. Maman has given numerous lectures on breast reconstruction both nationally and internationally and has been published in prestigious medical journals. He has traveled to third-world countries on surgical missions, including a mission dedicated to breast cancer reconstruction in Hue, Vietnam. Most importantly, Dr. Maman prides himself on patient safety, patient comfort, and superb aesthetic results.
www.drmaman.com
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