How to Ensure a Natural Result

An overarching trend for the new millennium is a desire to look and feel natural. Not only are populations trending towards how to best feel natural via diet and exercise, but they want to look natural, too. For plastic surgery, patients are requesting procedures and results that will reduce the effects of age while maintaining a natural, non-augmented look.

While the trend towards natural hasn’t always been in play, the best plastic surgeons have long sought to make their patients look better, rather than look like someone else. Board certified plastic surgeons Dr. Brooke R. Seckel and Dr. Jason Cooper discuss ways to ensure natural results when seeking out cosmetic procedures.

Augmented vs. Refreshed – How to Maintain “You” When Having Surgery

Everyone has had an experience where they saw another and immediately wondered (or knew) if that person had underwent plastic surgery in the past. Whether the image was of extra large implants or a wind-blown face, something unnatural stuck out, leading the mind to consider surgical augmentation.

For Drs. Cooper and Seckel, this is also an obvious sign of bad plastic surgery. “When I see a person and I can tell they’ve had plastic surgery, that means they’ve had bad plastic surgery!” shares Seckel. “All patients are worried about wanting to look natural, and I say, ‘You’re just going to look better.’ You shouldn’t look different.”

This is a fundamental aspect of great plastic surgery: results should maintain and improve the natural look of the patient, not transform them into something “unnatural.”

Hollywood – Not Always Great Example of Plastic Surgery

A confounding reality is the collection of Hollywood and other famous stars who have had noticeable plastic surgery. It’s easy to assume that these folks are able to find and pay for the best, so why are their plastic surgery results poor?

“I’m always astounded,” shares Seckel. “You think Hollywood people have all the money in the world – they must have the greatest plastic surgeons. All you have to do is think about poor Michael Jackson: he lost his nose and had to wear a rubber nose, and he could afford the best in the world!”

Dr. Cooper believes this conundrum might be the result of surgeons pressured to obtain a perfect result. When performing procedures that involve removing skin and fat, removing too much is a permanent change that will make correction difficult. Getting this balance right is the expertise of thoughtful surgeons.

“I think a lot of that come from the surgeon feeling pressured to get the best possible result,” details Cooper. “Often that translates into taking out too much skin, taking out too much fat, adding in too much fat, changing positions of things. Really, it makes them look surgical, like they’ve had something done. That’s what we want to avoid.”

Ensuring Great Results – Research, Patience, Surgeon Selection

The best news for would-be patients is modern life affords a wonderful set of tools for finding a great surgeon. The internet is a great place to do research, read reviews of surgeons, and check out before and after pictures. Even with these powerful tools, consulting with a surgeon will always be where the real information is found.

“I encourage patients to have multiple consults and get several opinions,” explains Seckel. “They need to see that surgeons results. And nowadays, we have social networking. Patients can read reviews on that surgeon’s experiences. There’s a lot a patient can do to inform themselves before they make a choice.”

Natural results entirely depend on the patient’s effort in selecting a proper surgeon. When all of the right boxes are checked prior to surgery, fantastic results await on the other end of the OR.