“On Being on a Magazine Cover”

 

I recently had the honor of being featured on the cover of Plastic Surgery Practice magazine.  Usually people get on magazine covers if they do something really good or something really bad.  In this case it was the former.  This magazine profiles leaders in plastic and cosmetic surgery and has featured some of the best known surgeons in the country.  Obviously, it was a huge honor for me.

When I reflect on what it took to get there the thought takes me back over a decade ago when I first became interested in cosmetic facial surgery.  At the end of 1996 I noticed a trend that cosmetic surgery was really starting to blossom and permeate numerous specialties besides Plastic Surgery.  Many programs including ENT, Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, Ophthalmology and Dermatology were teaching cosmetic surgery procedures to their residents.   In my specialty, Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, cosmetic facial surgery became part of our board exam and was covered by our malpractice insurance.  Having seen all of these changes and always enjoying the cosmetic aspects of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, I began to seek more knowledge about cosmetic procedures.  I soon became aware of a group called the American Academy of Cosmetic Surgery.  This was a somewhat unusual group as it was made up of members from virtually every specialty that wanted to share their knowledge about cosmetic surgery.  This does not sound that unusual now, but in 1996, many surgeons and specialties operated in stealth, not willing to share knowledge with colleagues.  All of my life I have become obsessed with my passions and it quickly became obvious that I was about to become obsessed with cosmetic facial surgery.  Prior to this time, I had a very successful and enjoyable time practicing routine maxillofacial surgery.  I began a solo practice and with the help of awesome partners, grew it to an 8 man, 6 office machine with 75 employees. As much as I enjoyed what I did for a living, there was something missing.  I felt withdrawn from academics, as many practitioners do after a decade or so of practice.  I was looking for some mental and surgical stimulation and cosmetic facial surgery filled that need.

It did not start out as an easy ride.  As my cosmetic surgery acumen grew, I began marketing my cosmetic services and that ruffled the feathers of some local competing specialists.  A number of detractors attempted to keep me and others from performing cosmetic facial surgery, mostly by deception with other doctors, patients and politicians.  A driven person will not accept defeat at any cost and I was determined to pursue my practice in a cosmetic direction.  As my experience grew so did my patient volume and producing good results with happy patients will trump adversaries over the long run. 

Around 2003, I decided that I enjoyed cosmetic facial surgery so much that I would limit practice to that discipline.  It was a big decision as it is difficult to maintain a practice on cosmetic surgery only, especially a head and neck cosmetic practice.  Surgeons performing full body surgery have more to choose from.  Cosmetic facial surgeons are limited to that area and there is only one other surgeon in my city besides me who limits his practice to cosmetic facial surgery.  Many Plastic Surgeons dabble in cosmetic surgery and fall back on reconstructive surgery to fill the voids but having a dedicated cosmetic practice is much more difficult.

From the onset of my cosmetic surgery experience I meticulously documented my learning and surgical techniques.  I began using this information to publish and teach.  I have always enjoyed writing and used my free time to publish articles on cosmetic facial surgery.  To date, I have published over 200.  I have also always enjoyed teaching and seriously considered a career in academics when I finished my residency.  In 1997 I gave my first cosmetic surgery lecture at a surgical meeting.  As I progressed, I submitted abstracts to more and more meetings from various specialties and organizations.  This is a very time consuming process as it requires unbelievable time and effort to lecture.  I think I spend more time using PowerPoint than anyone on the planet!  Also, a teacher must remain at the cutting edge of what is happening, so it is a significant commitment.  Over the past decade, my ability to teach and lecture became appreciated by various societies and specialties and in 2008 I lectured nationally and internationally 27 out of 52 weekends.  There have been many drawbacks from this; time away from home, work and family, missing hobbies such as bow hunting and fishing and spending countless hours in airports.  There have also been many rewards.  I have met thousands of cosmetic surgeons from all specialties, all over the world.  Some of my best friends have been made on the road and I cherish this family of cosmetic surgeons.  With this experience came committees and board appointments with the American Academy of Cosmetic Surgery.  I have served on numerous committees, was on the board of directors of the Cosmetic Surgery Foundation and have served as a co-chair for two annual meetings.  Also with experience comes other honors and I have been appointed to editorial boards of such publications as Cosmetic Dermatology, Aesthetic Surgery and Medicine and Cosmetic Surgery Times.  Finally, I have been asked by Elsevier, one of the leading companies in medical publishing, to write a textbook on cosmetic facial surgery.  This is a supreme honor and my chance to leave something behind.

I feel very lucky to love my job and I am excited to move into our new cosmetic facial surgery office and surgery center which is a state of the art facility here in Richmond, Virginia.  This magazine cover comes on the same week that we move into our new facility and serves to make me feel good about all the countless hours I have invested in cosmetic facial surgery.  As many of my friends that I trained with ponder retirement, it is my hope that I can work another 20 years, because I love what I do.  I also feel great about the fact that I have given back to the community by treating many patients that were unable to pay.  There is no better feeling that helping someone who has no other place to turn, especially children.

So, I spend my days performing cosmetic facial surgery and my evenings making before and after pictures, updating my web site, working on my text book and writing on my blog.  I sometimes feel overwhelmed and wonder what keeps me going.  It is simply that I have a passion for what I do. 

So what does it take to get on a magazine cover?  It takes passion!

To find out more about Dr. Niamtu or cosmetic facial surgery in Richmond, Virginia visit www.lovethatface.com

 

Joe Niamtu, III DMD

Cosmetic Facial Surgery

Richmond, Virginia

He’s Just a Dentist!

One thing about life is that there will always be competition and competition can breed deceit, especially in people with little minds.  Some of this is natural and we see it in everyday life.  Washington Redskin fans hate the Dallas Cowboys, Democrats fight with Republicans (and vice versa), religions fight other, and so on and so on.  Most of this is taken in simple terms, but sometimes people distort fact to make themselves look better.  Case in point.  If a patient comes into my office and says something about being treated by another local cosmetic surgeon and let’s assume I don’t really care for that surgeon or that this surgeon did poor work on this patient.  It is always tempting to say something derogatory, but I never fall for the trap, I just say “oh, he is a nice guy” or simply say I don’t know them.  This is a win-win situation because we both win.  On the contrary, when the shoe is on the other foot, there are numerous surgeons in my town that will go out of their way to demean me (or other surgeons).  They are actually pretty good referral sources because I have had numerous patients leave their offices only to come to me as a patient.  These patients were either embarrassed at the unprofessionalism of the other doc or came to me and said “hey, this guy must really be hurting because he is obviously afraid of your presence, so I thought you must be pretty good to make someone talk like that in front of a patient”.  I have also had patients come to me after a good dose of bashing by some of the smaller minded competition because the patient felt that “if he talks about his colleagues like that, he (or she) probably talks about their patients in a similar vein”.  Anyhow, for that doctor it is a win-lose situation because for them to look good, someone has to look bad.  I kind of feel sorry for them that their life is like that.

On a somewhat humorous note, several of these plastic surgeons tell their patients not to come to me “because I am a dentist”.  I guess they think it scares the patient and I guess they also think that it is some type of insult.  They fail to mention that I am a board certified oral and maxillofacial surgeon, guess that year of internship and four years of hospital residency must have slipped their mind!  It is funny that a person is usually categorized by their last educational experience, not their first.  I think they should tell their patients I am a Zoologist, since that was my college major.  They also never tell their patients that I have published 4 textbooks and over 200 articles on cosmetic facial surgery or that I lecture to their peers on a regular basis or that I have one of the fastest growing cosmetic practices in the State, nope….”he is just a dentist.”

I did graduate from dental school, you have to do that to enter maxillofacial surgery.  My dental training was tremendous as I studied the head and neck (my area of expertise) for four years and honed my manual dexterity which truly has paid off in my cosmetic surgical career.  There are few people that can use their hands in such an artistic manner as dentists, so I would not trade it for the world, it has made me a better cosmetic surgeon.

Every once in a while, they may scare a patient away, but their bashing has actually encouraged patients to come to me once they find out the facts.  In addition, I have redone some of their work on patients that they scared away from my office and the patients returned with their tails between their legs admitting they were duped.  That part is not the biggest deal because all surgeons at some time probably have work redone by someone else (including mine), but it seems that I have seen more complications from my loudest opponents that the other competition.

Who ever said “if you can’t say something nice about someone, don’t say anything at all” was right on the money.  For more information about cosmetic facial surgery in Richmond, Virginia see www.lovethatface.com

Joe Niamtu, III DMD

Cosmetic Facial Surgery

Richmond, Virgina