Key Takeaways:
- Academic centers like Columbia offer state-of-the-art cosmetic surgery techniques and technologies, performed by top surgeons who are leaders in their field.
- Surgeons with a holistic approach to care ensure continuity from non-surgical procedures like fillers to more invasive surgeries and focus on comprehensive rejuvenation from the start.
- Choosing an academic center for cosmetic surgery provides additional safety, as surgeons are highly trained in anatomy and capable of addressing any complications that may arise.
We spoke with Christine Rohde, MD, Chief of the Division of Plastic Surgery, about the cosmetic surgery program and its mission toward providing more holistic, individualized care.
Private practices often dominate the field of cosmetic plastic surgery with advertising, outreach, and even TV shows. Why should someone consider a surgeon at an academic institution?
When you come to a place like Columbia you know that your surgeons are up to date on the latest techniques and technologies. You know that your whole team is people who are committed to not only the surgical procedure but perhaps even being the ones who are writing papers about the best ways to do things. Columbia has vetted us in a way that doesn't happen for private practitioners. So you can be assured that people who are hired by Columbia are the top surgeons for their field in the country.
What can you offer patients who want to see before-and-after photos as part of their research before choosing a surgeon?
I’ve never loved asking a patient if we can share their photos publicly, but we always go through pre- and post-op pictures during consultation. We have plenty of photos, and it’s so beneficial to view them while in consultation. There's so much information on the web that people can access, but it's information without any context. You may find things online, but without the context of an individualized examination and personalized care, it's really hard to compare what happens to you individually as a patient to what you read online. That's why it's so important to come see us in person, have us examine you, and talk to you about what the best procedure is for you personally.
How often are you doing surgical revisions to cosmetic procedures done elsewhere?
We’ve always done revisions in general, so it’s common. If somebody seeing me had surgery done somewhere else, we'll evaluate them and see if there is something that we can revise. But I do try to encourage people to see their original surgeon first. Unfortunately, we do see a lot of complications of surgeries done in places by surgeons who aren't as well trained or properly credentialed. We try to do the best that we can for them.
Do you offer any non-surgical procedures?
We do fillers and botox. We don’t have lasers at the moment.
What are the benefits of seeing a surgeon for something like fillers?
The main benefit is that you're having it done by someone who has trained and really understands the anatomy. Someone who can take care of you completely through the whole process of rejuvenation. It's not just injections, let's say eventually you have other concerns that injections aren't going to help. We are the ones who start you off with the less invasive type of procedures, and we can take care of you through the whole process if you eventually want a facelift, fat grafting, or other things that are part of rejuvenation.
There's additional safety when you're having it done by a surgeon, too. If there are issues, we can address them, as opposed to if you get injected at a clinic and then they have a problem and must send you to us.
Give us an overview of how the cosmetic surgery program has developed at Columbia.
It’s exciting. We now have our own cosmetic surgery center in Westchester, which enables us to perform cosmetic procedures at competitive rates. Because of that, we've been able to expand our capacity to perform cosmetic procedures and the full spectrum of facial rejuvenation and breast and body contouring. And we can do all that at our center, which is across the street from NYP Westchester.
What makes you most optimistic about the future?
I'm optimistic that we can continue to do cutting-edge research that leads to cutting-edge surgeries that continue to increase the quality of life of our patients. Our goal is to help patients live their best lives through reconstructive and cosmetic surgery.
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