I knew this moment would come. One morning I looked at myself in the mirror and said: stop putting up with this! Stop disliking yourself, it's time to go to a plastic surgeon. It's time to raise the falling parts of the face, as the classic said, with a “swift jack.”
No, I know everything about the thesis - you need to age gracefully. This probably suits some people. Not for me. I am not against the wisdom that age brings, but I am against a sagging face, for certain aesthetic reasons. I have the right, after all. This text contains my personal experience of plastic surgery performed at the Primamed clinic in Vladivostok by surgeon, Candidate of Medical Sciences Roman Vinchel.
“Lift my eyelids!”
Mom, as expected, tried to dissuade me until the last moment. Like everyone else, however.
– Don’t be foolish, you’re already beautiful! – these are the words I heard from everyone with whom I started discussing the topic of plastic surgery. Then the well-known went on: you need to grow old with dignity, look at the Europeans, they walk around and don’t worry! This time. Secondly, if you really have to, lice threads. Go for a massage. Do Facebook building. But under the surgeon’s knife - you’ve gone crazy! Then you’ll be a freak, look at some of the TV over there... But here’s the catch: I haven’t watched TV for ten years. Or fifteen. But I stare at the mirror every single day, And it was clear: it’s a thing, brothers, a pipe!
I mean, “our proud Varyag does not surrender to the enemy,” but the skin of that ship... leaves much to be desired. And, of course, you can master the great skill of smiling in a selfie at the right angle so that, you know, all these nasty little jowls on your face are pulled up, but I know that they are all there, with me, acquired by back-breaking labor, and there is nowhere to get rid of them . The law of universal gravitation works, and damn it along with the vile word - ptosis. Girls over forty are aware, yes. But if you take it and do it as absolutely all women do in front of the mirror when they are alone in the bathroom: this way, use your fingertips to touch the skin on your cheeks: go to your temples! And - voila! It’s no longer the sad face from the mirror frowning sadly, but a very sweet face... Mine, lost for fifteen years now, but I still remember it!
And I made up my mind. In general, as a person who published a medical newspaper, I believe in medicine in general, and plastic surgery in particular. I think that if a tooth hurts, you should go and treat it; if it falls out, you should insert a new one, and not walk around with a hole in your mouth. You can, of course, with a hole if you like. It's the same with the face.
Just don’t tell me about threads, injections and hardware cosmetology. Some people probably like all this, but after reading a bunch of reviews and seeing with my own eyes the “thread” and “hardware” ladies, I realized that my choice is a plastic surgeon. As they say, “cut without waiting for peritonitis.”
The main risk is running into a bad surgeon, and this is a very serious risk, to be honest. In Vladivostok, at one time it was fashionable to go to China for a new face, where in border hospitals magicians sewed and embroidered sometimes very bizarre patterns on our women. This option, you understand, is only suitable for crazy people.
When getting ready for the operation, I closely monitored everyone and everything. I looked at Moscow, St. Petersburg, and certainly all of Vladivostok. The price of the issue was more expensive than all the money put together: this is my face, for a minute. But there was one more point that was very important to me - my intuition. This is something I have a lot of confidence in. And I said to myself - it will be Dr. Winchel. And I will have a beautiful face. The fact is that two years ago I gave Dr. Winchel my eyes, and it was my best investment in the last ten years. For many years, I just got mad when I looked at my half-closed eyelids in the mirror. Paint eyelashes, eyelids - why? You still can’t see anything, what’s the point? So I went, and to the screams of my mother - you will be left without eyes! – had blepharoplasty. Perfect. There is not a single scar. Not to mention the fact that I cost myself at least five years. I can’t understand only one thing - why didn’t I do this before? What kind of wild fears were there?
Good surgery is like magic
I first heard the name of the plastic surgeon Roman Vinchel from a friend of mine. As is often the case, word of mouth is the most reliable source of information.
“You know, Lenka came to Vladivostok,” they told me about our mutual friend, who successfully married a Swiss psychotherapist. (After this, don’t believe in stories about magical meetings on dating sites!) Can you imagine, I came specifically to get plastic surgery at Vinchel’s, and left delighted! Here in Switzerland it costs crazy money! I saw her before leaving - minus 15 years on her face.
- Why don’t you do it yourself? If Vinchel is such a cool surgeon?
- What are you talking about, I’m afraid!.. Lay down the knife - no way! My husband will kick me out of the house.
There was no one to kick me out of the house, and at that moment I was most afraid of my reflection in the mirror. Remember Gogol's Viy? “Lift my eyelids...” That’s roughly what happened to me. Just like the overwhelming number of citizens crossing the threshold of changing their passport. 45 - it, of course, is a berry again, however, what to do with overhanging eyelids, under which no makeup or drawn arrows are visible, only the feeling of an eternally tired and offended look at this world is visible.
At our first meeting, Dr. Winchel seemed indecently young, but later I found out that he was about forty, that’s just how he looked. But I immediately liked his hands. You know, you feel the hands of a good surgeon in an inexplicable way.
Good surgery is like magic.
“You see, a surgeon is like a gardener,” I remember one of the most famous trauma surgeons in Vladivostok explained to me. – One sticks a stick into the ground and a rose grows. Another sticks a rose into the ground - it turns out to be a withered stick. Hands must be magical. I don’t know what it’s called, energy or what... But remember: if they say about a surgeon that he has good hands, this is not a figure of speech. This is a gift from God! I'm not joking now!
It turned out that blepharoplasty performed by Roman Vinchel is just some kind of holiday. No, this is not general anesthesia, local, I didn’t feel anything, but I heard the doctors talking, and for some reason I was in a great mood. All this jewelry work takes about forty minutes. Immediately after this, they give you a mirror, and you understand that even like this, with stitches, it’s already good. After a couple of days, wild bruises appeared on my eyes, but after ten days they went away, and my smart eyes opened to the world again!
There was not a single trace left on my eyelids from Winchel's blepharoplasty. After that, I realized that a surgeon’s scalpel in talented hands is not scary at all.
After anesthesia - barbecue!
Some forces, as they say, led me literally by the hand to the second part of the “Marlezon ballet” - facial plastic surgery. Last fall, by the will of fate and the sharp eye of an uzist, I ended up at the Primamed clinic for surgery to remove fibroadenoma. I was lucky - the operation was performed by Evgenia Ptukh, a famous oncologist-mammologist surgeon in Primorye.
After the operation, I was pleased to learn that now the same plastic surgeon Roman Vinchel, the man who returned my open view of this world, works at Primameda. And so, sitting on the bandage, I talked with the nurse about facial plastic surgery, which I had been seriously thinking about for a year now: does it hurt a lot, and are there a lot of bruises?
– Yes, after Vinchele there are almost no bruises! – the nurse said as if it was something taken for granted. – And it doesn’t hurt at all. If you tighten the oval of the face, there are no nerve endings there.
To be honest, I didn’t really believe it then, but I again signed up for a consultation with Roman Vinchel.
- Doctor, give me back to me! – I told Roman Vladimirovich at the meeting.
Oddly enough, the doctor recognized me. He said that the waiting list for him for surgery was at least two months. And he gave a list of tests that need to be completed before...
We had to choose a day. Full moon - no, you can't. Don't ask, you just can't. The days of the lunar calendar are important in terms of plastic surgery. I counted everything, picked it up, and it fell on February 12th. If anyone doesn’t know, before any surgical intervention, patients are checked inside and out: a full range of blood tests, ECG, etc. No one is going to risk the patient's health. Facial plastic surgery is a serious operation. Five hours of anesthesia is no joke. By the way, it is long-term anesthesia that patients fear most.
However, anesthesia and anesthesia are different. Alas, there is a big difference between anesthesia in public and private clinics. Again, I tested it myself: when I had my fibroadenoma removed at Primamed, I didn’t feel any anesthesia at all. I just closed my eyes and woke up in the room. And an hour later she was devouring a delicious lunch with gusto.
This time, before the plastic surgery began, several specialists talked to me, as it should be. Among other things, I met with the same anesthesiologist, Alexey Suchkov, who prepared me for the removal of fibroadenoma in the fall.
“This time it’s not an hour of anesthesia, but five, so there may be consequences, nausea, possibly vomiting,” the anesthesiologist frightened me.
I’ll say right away that the doctor’s predictions did not come true. During anesthesia there were no dreams, no “cartoons” and no nightmares. Then, after the endotracheal tube, my throat was a little sore, but there was no nausea or vomiting. I woke up after the operation, drank some water, and fell asleep again. I woke up for dinner – I thought my face would hurt. No, nothing hurt.
For dinner we brought grilled fish kebab and baked vegetables. Plus a cupcake. I ate everything with gusto and without problems. Then a nurse came, put on a drip, and gave me an injection of sleeping pills to help me sleep better. But I would have fallen asleep anyway, it seems to me.
They spent three days in the hospital after the operation. The next day - dressing. I walked with excitement, thinking that I would be covered in bruises. But even here a surprise awaited me - there were practically no bruises. Confirmation of this is on my Facebook page, where I posted photos of the second day of the operation. There is a swollen face, it’s a fact. There are practically no bruises, incredible, but true!
https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=1242018518
- How so? – the ladies I know are perplexed. – We have never seen anything like this after such an operation!
The main question is: does it hurt a lot? It doesn't hurt at all. I swear it doesn't hurt at all. Well, of course, I feel the stitches wrapped in bandages, but there is no pain. Sleeping is uncomfortable, but tolerable. The stitches will be removed in two weeks. For now I walk like Sharikov, in a bandage. But when the bandage is removed, I already like myself, I have no strength! Despite the fact that the face is swollen. To be honest, I don’t understand why there are no big bruises and swelling. I have only one answer - the magical hands of Roman Vinchel.
And I think I'm not far from the truth. How he does it, I don’t know. Apparently, this is the same case when a gardener sticks a stick into the ground - and a rose immediately grows.
«Abyrvalg,” or what they “do magic” after the operation?
I was released home on the fourth day, extremely exotic. The head was rewound, like Sharikov’s from “Heart of a Dog,” all that was left was to bark dully, like in the movies: “Abyr, Abyr, Abyrvalg!”
The glasses miraculously stayed on top of the bandages. I suspect that those who saw me at that moment only had one thought: the woman is bad, completely bad!
I went to Primamed for dressings by taxi, and the drivers took me with a tragic expression on their faces. They probably suspected something bad. I suspect that if they found out that it was plastic surgery, they would spit on him and drop him off in the middle of the road. Unfortunately, men have a hard time with plastic surgery. By the way, in vain.
It would be worth seriously thinking that a pleasant-looking face is not only personal aesthetic preferences, but also a serious factor for success in work and, dare I say it, in business.
– It’s a myth that for older men, appearance doesn’t matter, at least write about it! – one well-known business lady in Vladivostok asked me. “Here he comes to meet me: his eyelids are drooping, his chin hangs three stories high, like a Shar Pei, honestly. Why don't they take the example of the president?..
Okay, not a word about politics.
During the dressing change at Primamed with Dr. Vinchel we talked about art. Roman Vladimirovich advised me to watch his favorite film – “Death Becomes Her”, about a plastic surgeon and his two ladies. The point is that that surgeon refused to drink the cup of eternal youth. – I suppose you wouldn’t refuse such a cup? - asked the doctor, suspecting that Vinchel had already found this very cup, but he didn’t admit where. - Still would! Of course I would drink it! And you?
- And I would drink! - I say. – These are all fairy tales about the fact that eternal youth is an eternal curse. Eternal youth plus wisdom is, you know, a very interesting mix! “Oh, poor thing, it must hurt you,” the nurse wailed when the doctor came out, and she began pouring alcohol on my beautiful stitches, I mean, my ears. “It doesn’t hurt at all,” I say, “not a bit.” And it didn't hurt. This operation brought me nothing but happiness! My sister looked strange and started bandaging my head faster. Apparently, she decided that I needed it urgently. From the dressing, the second taxi driver drove me home like a vase. And he was also tragically silent. He dropped me off at the pharmacy with a mournful look.
“I need an elastic bandage,” I say to the pharmacists. - Tie up your jaw! Girls, don’t be afraid, no one hit you on the jaw, it’s plastic surgery. – How – plastic? Where are the bruises? Where are the swellings? We were here after plastic surgery, blue and swollen! We could use the doctor’s phone number... That moment when you feel like a walking advertisement, yes... I left the pharmacy and remembered that my daughter asked me to buy food. First, I decided to go to Vinlab. When there is no dry red at home, there is an understatement in the grocery set. Again, what if the child suddenly wants to drink after work? I come in and see that the saleswoman is familiar. He looks at me, his face changes: - Oh, who is this you? Hurt? Did you get into a fight with a guy? Did you call the police? - Zina, sha! – I say. “I don’t have a man, you know.” - Who then? – the eyes bulge sympathetically. “The plastic surgeon did it,” I say. -– With talent and love! - Oh, did you get any injections? – Zinka breathed out a sigh of relief. “What kind of injections,” I say, “they cut me with a scalpel.” Beautiful! Give me some ice cream and a dry red, Merlot. – Is it possible to do magic after surgery? – the caring Zinka asked sternly. — It’s probably harmful, isn’t it? “You can’t play magic,” I say with regret. – I am now on a course of antibiotics. Their sorcerer. Let it be at home. It’s somehow empty without the red dry house, let it stand as a symbol of a new face and beautiful France. “Oh, you’re crazy,” Zinka shook her head. - Why, if I were alive, I would go under the knife... And then the local alcoholics rushed into the store. What intelligent men there are around the house! They see my bandaged head, even if someone moved their ear: no questions. They bowed, then said: “You are beautiful as always, madam!” “What,” I say, “even in bandages?” “Nothing spoils true beauty,” says one and opens a bottle of beer. – We will now use it for your health! - Sirs, I will soon be even more beautiful, get ready! - I say. The blond man with a beer in his hands raised an eyebrow in interest: “Madam, can this be considered as a proposal?” Are you free, madam? Why were you silent for so many years?.. Damn it, how much time we wasted! And he drank immediately. About. And I went home. Like Sharikov. With a smile, however. And faith in a bright future.
Lada Glybina.
Attention! There are contraindications. Specialist consultation is required.
Photo by the author.
Vinchel Roman Vladimirovich
SPECIALIZATION:
All types of aesthetic surgeries on the face and body, blepharoplasty (including Asian century transformation), various types of SMAS lifts, otoplasty, mammoplasty, abdominoplasty, liposuction and lipofilling, intimate plastic surgery for women and men.
Correction of scar changes in skin and soft tissues.
The use of low-traumatic methods (thread lifting), contour plastic surgery, plasma lifting.
Modern methods of laser rejuvenation and correction.
EDUCATION:
2003-2005, Vladivostok State Medical University, diploma
2005, Vladivostok State Medical University, residency in Traumatology and Orthopedics
2005-2008, Vladivostok State Medical University, postgraduate study in “Allergology and Immunology”
2007, Vladivostok State Medical University, professional retraining in the specialty “Surgery”
2008, Vladivostok State Medical University, professional retraining in the specialty “Maxillofacial Surgery”
2010, Peoples' Friendship University of Russia, professional retraining in the specialty "Plastic Surgery", Moscow
REFRESHER COURSES:
2007, Advanced training, Vladivostok State Medical University, “Surgery” program
2008, Advanced training, Peoples' Friendship University of Russia, under the program "Reconstructive, aesthetic, plastic surgery and surgical cosmetology", Moscow
2010, Advanced training, Peoples' Friendship University of Russia, program "Plastic Surgery", Moscow
2012, Advanced training, Peoples' Friendship University of Russia, thematic improvement in the "Surgery" program, Moscow
2015, Advanced training, Peoples' Friendship University of Russia, program "Plastic Surgery", Moscow
2017, Advanced training, Peoples' Friendship University of Russia, program "Surgery", Moscow
2020, Advanced training, Pacific State Medical University, thematic improvement in the program “Plastic Surgery”
2020, Advanced training, Academy of Continuing Medical Education, certification cycle for the Surgery program, Yekaterinburg
Internships in leading clinics in France, the Netherlands, Spain, Germany, and the USA.
ACADEMIC DEGREE:
2009, Awarded the academic degree of Candidate of Medical Sciences
SCIENTIFIC AND PRINTED WORKS:
Author of more than 40 published works on immunological aspects of surgical patients.
PROFESSIONAL AWARDS:
Letter of gratitude from the Duma of the city of Vladivostok “For services in the field of healthcare of the city of Vladivostok, many years of conscientious work and in connection with the celebration of Medical Worker Day”
WORK EXPERIENCE: Operating since 2008
MEETING
Is it possible to maintain a fresh and youthful appearance without plastic surgery? Reflecting on this, friends and colleagues - medical plastic surgeons Evgenia Ptukh and Roman Vinchel agree: every patient after plastic surgery will certainly look more well-groomed and attractive. But no one promises to return youth!
Briefly. Honestly. Mercilessly, like a surgeon's scalpel. So, should we cut without waiting?.. Or?..
Did you seriously say just now that youth cannot be restored even with the help of plastic surgery? Roman Vinchel: Absolutely. Mature patients often come to us and say: “Doctor! I want to become younger! But, you see, youth is not appearance. This is a state. Regardless of how old the woman is according to her passport. When such patients ask how many years younger they will look after surgery, I answer: not at all.
And I see misunderstanding on their faces.
Disappointment, I would say.
R.V. Absolute. People want to hear something different! They tend to talk in numbers. They want me to say: “Yes, you will look ten, fifteen, twenty years younger...” So - once! - and again it became “strange nineteen”.
No. Sixteen cannot be returned. A person after plastic surgery will look fresher, more well-groomed... And that’s right - maturity should be beautiful, bright, pleasing to the eye. And anyone who strives to regain youth at any cost, it seems to me, has chosen the wrong direction. Youth is manifested in the look, in the gait, in the manner of speaking, in the ability to look at the world in a special way, in the ability to smile like a fool... But not in appearance.
Evgenia Ptukh: Youth is in a hormonal state. In the eyes, in their shine. In the look. Not in the absence of wrinkles, but in the quality and color of the skin. Unfortunately, plastic surgery can neither return nor give you the radiance of 20-year-old skin. Probably everyone has seen perfectly smooth faces. But these are not young, but well-groomed older women.
R.V. Unfortunately, many, in pursuit of the appearance of youth, try to do things to themselves that would be better if they did nothing - they still won’t be able to compete with young people. But any age has its charms.
E.P. Everyone does for themselves exactly as much as they want to do. If a woman likes it... It's her life.
R.V. Yes, the main thing is that a person is comfortable with himself. When a woman does something, alters something with her appearance, pursuing social goals, for example, wanting to get married, I wonder: where is the relationship between “getting married” and “appearance”? If a person undergoes plastic surgery for himself, if he feels good and comfortable in the image, in the state that he creates for himself, if he feels inner harmony, then plastic surgeons are at your service. And if for someone else... This is the path to nowhere. I repeat once again: if you change something in yourself, then only for yourself. To be honest, it seems to me that the vast majority of people around me don’t care what this or that person looks like.
E.P. No plastic surgery will make a woman happier if she is boring, tedious and dull. No matter how beautiful she becomes outwardly after plastic surgery, nothing will change in her life; external metamorphoses will never help her find inner harmony.
R.V. If a person does not have charisma or drive...
E.P. And if there is no joy in life, we won’t put it into his head!
R.V. I once read a book about a utopian society. No one grew old there, everyone remained forever young. And the problem was not having a young body or a young organism, but a young soul. People were tired of living.
E.P. And no one will ever fix this.
R.V. No one ever. When a young woman comes to an appointment with a tired look and the hope that maybe a plastic surgeon will help... There is only one answer: it won’t help!
Maybe at least start with an external transformation, and then, you see, you’ll want other changes in your life... E.P. No, unfortunately, it doesn’t work in the opposite direction. A person either initially considers himself wonderful, and everything is fine with him, or he doesn’t. I have seen many women who are extremely ugly by nature and who are absolutely happy, charismatic, enjoying life. And I saw unrealistically beautiful girls, yearning alone, because no one can stand communicating with them for more than one day. Well, plastic surgery cannot change a person’s life! Plastic surgery will not change what is inside the head. And in no case should you look for answers to psychological questions in plastic surgery, much less hope that if the surgeon radically corrects something in your appearance, then something will radically change in your life.
If a person has a problem that bothers him, and he does not expect that solving this problem will change his life, then the problem must be solved. It will be more comfortable this way. But often girls, in an attempt to change their lives... enlarge their breasts. This doesn’t help, and then they change their nose, eyes... By the age of forty, such patients turn into dolls that look cool on store shelves and very strange in everyday life.
You can change! Change is great as long as you don't change yourself. Don't cheat on yourself. Many, unfortunately, think differently. I repeat once again: plastic surgery is not a method of solving psychological problems. It is clear that if a person has a huge nose with a hump, it is better to reduce it. If the eyelids begin to cover the ciliary edge with age, this needs to be corrected. If the oval of the face has swollen, it needs to be restored. If after the birth of triplets the belly hangs, it is necessary to operate, because with the help of sports you cannot restore such a figure. Or there is no butt, the sides are hanging - you can remove the sides and make a butt. But it is impossible to change yourself, your inner self, with the help of plastic surgery. No operation will in any way affect the psychological state of a person. On the state of his soul.
R.V. I completely agree.
How long have you known each other? E.P. We met when we began studying pedagogy together and teaching at a medical university. It was 2005. Fifteen years.
Remember first impressions? E.P. Yes... Roman Vladimirovich impressed me with his charisma, unusualness, non-standardism. I was very angry.
R.V. So you understand: we studied to be teachers - and tried to live up to this title!
E.P. Roman Vladimirovich, by the way, still teaches at the medical university, he is the head of the plastic surgery course at TSMU, an associate professor. For many years I worked as a head teacher and associate professor at the Department of Oncology. Now there is not enough time for this. Roman Vladimirovich, apparently, still has time for social activities.
R.V. We still have strength. There is not enough time either.
When did you start working together?
E.P. Two years ago. Of course, I invited Roman to work for us for a long time, but he is a decent person and could not leave another clinic because he was bound by obligations.
R.V. However, a stalemate arose that did not depend on us.
E.P. Everything was fair: the clinic where Roman Vladimirovich worked had expired its license to conduct operations. But we had and still have a license. Therefore... there were no questions. And Roman Vladimirovich had no other options where to work. I would have cursed him then!
You're both lucky.
E.P. Of course.
R.V. Very much. We are very comfortable, very soulful together. At work we are like family.
E.P. There is no competition or rivalry between us, no discord. We are always ready to help each other. Moreover, if something is not clear, we can always ask each other for advice.
R.V. Such professional relationships are very valuable. They are worth a lot.
What if you suddenly cross paths in operations?
R.V. _ We cross paths. In almost all operations. We, as plastic surgeons, perform the entire volume of work.
E.P. And sometimes we even operate together. We are a team.
What does a well-done operation mean to you?
R.V. In my opinion, a well-done operation is when the result looks natural. Nobody around you sees naturalness. Nobody understands what happened. Something in the person has changed subtly.
E.P. He seems refreshed, rested, looks good...
R.V. And if a person receives compliments from others after a successful operation, then the question is whether this operation is so good... You know, in Brazil and Venezuela there are a number of plastic surgeons who perform operations in such a way that the stitches are visible. Author's handwriting. And anyone can find out who had plastic surgery done. This kind of indicator of coolness is something a person “can afford.” I hope this “fashion” never reaches us.
E.P. In general, we are for naturalness. Like surgeons, like people. When a person radically changes his appearance at twenty years old, it is not a fact that at thirty he will still like it. Your outlook on life changes. Therefore... without fanaticism.
Have there been situations when you refused a patient to undergo surgery? E.P. Very often.
R.V. Constantly.
E.P. Each doctor has his own patients.
R.V. Yes, we choose those with whom we agree in opinions, in views on the future result. The doctor's psychotype must match the patient's psychotype. There will never be mutual understanding with some people. You can immediately feel it - communication is too energy-intensive. It's easier to refuse.
E.P. Plastic surgery does not save anyone, we are free to choose. The main reason for refusal is the high expectations of the patient, who thinks that he will undergo plastic surgery and become a “cover person.” Inflated aesthetic demands, expectations that are far from reality, are a big pain for plastic surgeons.
R.V. We talk about this a lot, correctly and delicately, but such patients hear only what they want to hear and cling to certain phrases or words. They love to manipulate. I feel very keenly when a person tries to manipulate my opinion in order to hear confirmation of what he invented for himself. We refuse surgery for such people.
It is very fashionable among some patients to research plastic surgery on the Internet and come to the appointment “prepared” in all respects. And when I understand that a person does not hear me, I usually say: “I cannot fulfill your desires. If some other doctor guarantees you a 100% result, and you feel that you will be 100% satisfied with the result, then you can have the operation.” The patient leaves. But a year or two passes, and he returns with the phrase: “Look what they did to me.”
E.P. We almost always show patients photographs of our previous works - naturally, the most beautiful ones, which we are rightfully proud of, which professionals evaluate as “the ideal work of a plastic surgeon.” And when a patient, looking at such a photo, says: “Oh, what a horror, I don’t want this!”, I understand: we definitely won’t work together. Not my patient. Even if I do a job with a very good result, worthy of the competition, he will not be able to appreciate it! Let him go to someone else.
There is a category of patients who, from the very beginning, instead of telling them what they want, begin to criticize other doctors. We don’t work with those either. Because sooner or later you will find yourself on the same list.
R.V. There is a category of patients who go to plastic surgeons for the purpose of psychoprophylaxis. I’ve been observing a recent trend: young ladies who have absolutely no aesthetic defects come up with the idea that they are so old: “Look, a wrinkle has formed!” Which, by the way, only she sees. I went to one plastic surgeon, another, a third... Everyone denied the problem. “Oh, thank you, I feel better!” And there is an opportunity to say on social networks: “I consulted with several plastic surgeons, they said that I am beautiful, I don’t need to do anything!”
E.P. Such entertainment from boredom.
Does it happen that a patient sets a task that, at first glance, is unrealistic, impossible, but is so inspiring and captivating from a professional point of view that you think: “I’ll take a risk! I'll try!" A person’s charisma works, his faith in you as a magician. And thanks to this, it becomes possible to climb the next rung of the professional ladder and master a new level of skill. R.V. No.
E.P. We perceive everything adequately. We think consistently. We see what such patients do not see - both their anatomical features and possible difficulties... And, again, inflated aesthetic expectations. All this together only promises problems.
Maybe you are underestimating your skill level? E.P. No, we adequately assess our capabilities. And sometimes we overestimate! I especially suffer from this. Kidding. In fact, no patient will ever captivate a normal doctor with his dreams. And charisma... can only discourage the doctor from getting involved with such a person!
R.V. We do not work in the experimental field. But there are, of course, doctors who like to reach unattainable heights.
E.P. Probably, we all went through this stage at a young age, when we came from some cool conference and started trying... experimenting... then redoing it... got sad... Experiments are very expensive - both for the patient and the doctor. The older the surgeon becomes, the more experience he has, the more difficult it is for him to decide to experiment. Experimenting on another person is very problematic. It is advisable to do this in dissection courses - there is absolutely no risk of harming someone or making a mistake. But in real life you have to work very carefully. Step by step. We’ve taken a small step—an innovation, we’re waiting. Then they added another small step. Let's see. If not, then it’s a completely new operation. As the great Italian plastic surgeon Giovanni Botti says, the most severe, terrible results of plastic surgery always happen after large conferences, when surgeons watch what others do and try to repeat it.
How then can a plastic surgeon grow professionally? E.P. Little by little. There is no other way. Roman Vladimirovich and I go to conferences and congresses, learn, watch, absorb. Open to the world. And the world is open to us.
Are the works and discoveries of other plastic surgeons often surprising? E.P. To be honest, not anymore. Everything is known, familiar. There are no openings. If something is new, then just a little bit. But, as a rule, nothing exclusive.
R.V. At conferences, we can often even predict: this innovation makes sense, but this will definitely be bad. And next year we look at the results - yes, we were right.
E.P. By the way, only in Russia do plastic surgeons try to demonstrate exceptionally good results. They are showing off. Foreigners, on the other hand, love to present bad results. And that's cool! Any doctor does not want to see beauty, but to learn how not to do it!
R.V. When plastic surgeons show how this or that mistake was made and how the correction was carried out, this is the most interesting and most useful at any conference. You see, the techniques are the same. For more than a hundred years of the existence of plastic surgery, human anatomy has not undergone any changes. The suture material and anesthesia may have changed, but the approaches remained the same. And when a professional talks about a well-known approach and some incredibly ideal result, it is clear that there are certain tricks and nuances. And I, for one, don’t mind sharing them! But doctors often hide details.
E.P. Quality is always hidden in the details. This also applies to plastic surgery. The basic principles are written in textbooks. And it’s the little details that are interesting that will make the operation even better.
R.V. And, returning to the conferences, if you saw at least one “little thing” there, then you were lucky with this conference - it was not in vain.
E.P. If you saw at least one technique that will later facilitate the operation, optimize it, that’s cool.
When you have to redo the results of operations of other plastic surgeons...
E.P. Sometimes we misunderstand how exactly the operation is done - after all, you can work in different ways inside. This always makes remodeling more difficult. As for other people’s mistakes... Maybe the doctor didn’t have enough experience? Maybe he was tired at that moment? Maybe he calculated and planned incorrectly?.. All surgeons make mistakes. And we are not perfect. Anything can happen during any operation.
R.V. A sore point. Often people come whose first phrase is: “Look how they mutilated me!”
E.P. We always try to level this out.
R.V. Because the work is often done with dignity. And there is no talk of any ugliness. There are nuances to which the doctor, perhaps, drew the person’s attention, but he did not hear him. And when you start explaining that everything was done correctly, but there are certain anatomical features, the person refuses to believe.
E.P. Such nuances must be discussed before the operation and in great detail. Because any explanation after the operation sounds like an excuse.
What if you yourself see that someone else’s work was done incorrectly?
R.V. I leave without comment. We see everything, but the patient does not need to know about it. If he has questions, we always suggest that his treating doctor comment on them. You see, there are so many people, so many opinions. We have our own position on various issues, but it is not a fact that this is the ultimate truth.
It's Instagram time. How does this affect your work? R.V. Instagram appeared in 2010, and we began to increasingly observe the following picture: guys and girls live an Instagram life, and in order to post beautiful pictures online, they come to us. For the sake of the picture! They bring photographs passed through many filters and say: “I want that too!”
E.P. Yes, unfortunately, social networks change people’s psyche. In the wrong direction.
R.V. They corrupt a person's vision.
Well, it gets you a job.
E.P. Yes. But, you see, we don’t live only by plastic surgery! We live an ordinary life, surrounded by people. And as doctors we understand: the psyche of many people is changing, they do not have time and often cannot withstand the huge flow of information. Living for the sake of a beautiful photo?.. This is not life. This is some kind of sublimation.
R.V. We see something that increases the scope of our work, but significantly complicates our existence.
Are you considering plastic surgery for yourself?
R.V. A matter of time. I have a very positive attitude towards my own upgrade.
E.P. Not even discussed. Of course, yes, when the time comes.
R.V. And then, how can I advise something to another person when I do not accept it for myself? It seems to me that then we will not have the moral right to offer plastic surgery to patients.
E.P. Maintaining a presentable appearance and feeling comfortable for many years - in my opinion, this is so natural! We're all for it. And you?
Text: Yulia Udovenko; photo: Anna Orlenko; style: Natalia Ermolenko; makeup: Evgenia Chetverikova; hairstyle: Ekaterina Zagorulko
We would like to thank the multi-brand boutique FASHION for their assistance in the shooting.
September-October, 2020
