Aesthetic medicine or esthetic surgery?
Doctor Jean-Jacques Deutsch has for 40 years been defending the concept of aesthetic medicine aiming to develop the natural beauty of face and body as part of self-fulfillment and a better life style.
« The skill of aging is not a skill of remaining young; it is a skill of extracting of your age the particles, accelerations and slow-downs which constitute youth at this age » (1)
Thanks to ever increasing diversity and efficiency of its technologies aesthetic medicine which at the beginning was complimentary to aesthetic surgery can increasingly replace it and is doing so in more and more cases. That’s why aesthetic medicine is developing ten times faster than aesthetic surgery.
Here are a few examples of astonishing achievements in the field of aesthetic medicine as compared to aesthetic surgery in the last thirty years:
- Disappearance of forehead lifting and endoscopic lifting thanks to efficiency of botulinum toxin: Vistabel (Botox), Azzalure, Bocouture, since 1992.
- Disappearance of mechanic dermabrasion performed with an abrasive tool in favor of chemical peeling and laser
- Disappearance of surgery by scalp strips as treatment of baldness, connected to a significant risk of necrosis, in favor of microvascular implantation, FUE and other technologies (performed in most case by specially trained doctors)
- Significant decrease of use of injections of fat (lipofilling), which require sizable fat reserves, hospitalization, general anesthesia, in favor of biodegradable implants, so called fillers which are injected in a doctor’s office; this procedure may be repeated without limitations (in the areas of temples, cheekbones, under the eyes, cheeks) and using stimulating products (Newfill, Sculptra, Ellanse)
- Almost complete disappearance of cheekbone and jaw implants in favor of slow biodegradable fillers (Radiesse, Ellanse M, hyaluronic acid)
- Decrease of number of indications for surgical blepharoplasty (in particular, blepharoplasty of lower eyelids) in favor of such skin-tightening medical techniques as chemical peeling, external micro-coagulation performed with a special stylus, deep injections of hyaluronic acid (which fills the hollows under the eyes)
- Decrease of number of cases and indications for surgical rhinoplasty in favor of “medical” rhinoplasty allowing to change the shape of the nose (the dorsum of nose, width, tip) with injections
- Decrease of number of cases of mini-liftings among middle-aged patients (from 40 to 55 years old) thanks to biodegradable or permanent threads which are implanted in the medical office and allow tightening of saggy skin. There are other possibilities as well, such as usage of high temperature (Thermage) or directed ultrasound to restore tightness to the lower part of the face.
- Replacement of intimate surgery both for men and women with medical techniques of hydration, volumizing and reshaping
- Replacement of liposuction (in the areas of stomach and waist) by cryolipolysis (usage of extremely cold temperatures in one or two procedures)
- Soon an injection (deoxycholate) will arrive to France from USA classified as medication, allowing melting of fat under the chin.
- Finally, let’s consider the amazing progress in the treatment of surgical scars thanks to injections of platelet-rich plasma (PRP), which allow avoiding the risk of infection, hypertrophy and keloid (thus reducing the risk of another surgery).
To rise to the challenge of the world demand for aesthetic services “without scalpel”, it is necessary to guarantee the doctor’s high-quality education. That’s why Dr. Jean-Jacques Deutsch has been involved since 1980-s with medical education and was active in promoting the state diploma in this field. Though it hasn’t been created yet, university diplomas have been created in Paris, Lyon and Bordeaux.
D. Jean-Jacques Deutsch has participated as an animator in a number of courses. Since 1984 thousands of doctors, dermatologists and surgeons from all the countries have taken part in his seminars. He continues teaching both in the Deutsch Medical Academy and in collaboration with medical companies.
(1) Gilles Deleuze and Felix Guattari, « Becoming-intense, becoming-animal, becoming-undetectable». Paris: Editions de Minuit, 1980, p. 340.