As a leading voice for aesthetic medicine, W. Grant Stevens, MD, FACS, has recently worked on a new book that paints a landscape of where we stand in the aesthetic medical field — the paths to be taken and choices that must be made in a changing field.
Stevems, who is not only as a mentor to other surgeons but their teacher as well, and a vocal commentator on the state of the industry, stands in front of a long list of accomplishments, most notably the cohesive breast implant (aka, gummy bear breast implants), the Mentor CPG and the Sientra highly cohesive breast implants, the Mommy Makeover, the Laser Bra, and simultaneous mastopexy augmentation.
Stevens holds as a priority the open discussion of what is in store for the future plastic surgeon. He actively promotes the viability and continuation of cosmetic plastic surgery by plastic surgeons.
"Turns out that 72% of board-certified plastic surgeons make the majority of their income from doing cosmetic plastic surgery," Stevens notes. "Now, there’s a disconnect here. If 72% of the surgeons are making more than half their income from cosmetic surgery, then why aren’t we teaching cosmetic surgery?"
Stevens believes there is a legacy being created by his specialty, and he takes it personally. "I want plastic surgeons to remain significant in this space," he says, "and the only way that we’re going to do it is by teaching the residents, even if they don’t do it for a lifetime. I’m not doing craniofacial surgery, but I had to do craniofacial training. I’m not doing neuro surgery but I did neuro training. And I respect the surgeons in the other divisions.
What about the practitioners against doing cosmetic surgery? "They have this sort of distrust for it or contempt for it—or jealousy, in my opinion, for it. There’s turf war issues even within plastic surgery." Stevens adds. "Now, outside the division, we’re trying to embrace the core."
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[Source: PSP]
