that''s all you need

Plastic surgery and correction operations There are many controversies about cosmetic operations, and opinions differed about the need to perform them. Many cases require corrective, not cosmetic, procedures that contribute to changing the lifestyle of some people and enhancing their confidence in their shape. I am a woman who conducted a private dialogue with one of the most experienced doctors in Saudi Arabia and the world, Dr. Othman Al-Tuwairqi, a consultant maxillofacial surgery, congenital anomalies and cosmetology from Harvard University in Boston and a visiting professor at the University of Maryland in the United States of America, who was chosen from a group of doctors in the Middle East, to get to know Corrective operations that are classified as plastic surgeries and other recent procedures and developments in this field, including participation in the conduct of face transplants.

Popular plastic surgeries in our society

What do you think of plastic surgery in general?

Plastic surgery includes many branches, some of which have nothing to do with aesthetics, such as operations to repair functional deformities and deformities that occur at birth, in addition to corrective surgeries. In general, plastic surgery has multiplied tenfold since 2003, which is a huge increase in this area.

It is noticeable that patients who undergo corrective plastic surgeries in order to modify various deformities, especially in the face, are positively affected psychologically and socially. In my opinion, what motivates us most to perform these operations for patients is what we see in terms of happiness, high confidence and self-satisfaction after the results of the operation become clear. These results push the patient to change his life for the better and open up horizons for him that were not available to him before the operation.

On the other hand, plastic surgery has now taken another direction, which is fighting the signs of aging, such as fillers and botox injections, in addition to traditional operations, due to the progression of the age level in society.

From my point of view, these cosmetic surgeries are considered a luxury and optional and not a necessity, and that a lot of them will increase the errors and problems that could have been avoided. In contrast to the corrective cosmetic operations that help the patient to be an effective and acceptable person in society.

Plastic surgery in Saudi Arabia

How many cases do you receive monthly for plastic surgery in the Kingdom?

Most of the surgical cases that I do are corrective and cosmetic is included in them, which are the cases that I excel at, as this specialization requires obtaining a certificate in human medicine, dentistry and general surgery in addition to the specialty of oral and maxillofacial surgery and specialization in these cases, it includes specialized treatment as well as plastic surgery to appear The patient has a normal appearance after the operation and is not artificial.

The average of cases is about 80 cases per month, the majority of which are of the accurate type in terms of functional correction, equalizing the fit of parts of the face and improving the general appearance.

How long is the preparation of the patient before the operation?

This depends on the situation and what the patient desires. There are cases for correcting the jaws as well as the cleft lip and improving the bony deformities or congenital defects that result in studying the position of the jaws and the proportion of the parts of the face and then rehabilitating the bones and teeth to facilitate the process (pre-operative rehabilitation), and the period may extend to a year or Several years in advanced cases and according to the technology used in terms of its development, as it requires in some cases a three-dimensional stereoscopic work to a special template for the patient, so the results are more accurate.

What is the patient diagnosis process?

Diagnostic method for surgical cases: The method of diagnosis is made according to the situation, but the simplest cases need photography, as well as rays of proportionality in the parts of the face, as well as this is what the American Society for Restoration and Improvement of the Jaw and Face recommends, as for complex cases, they require 3D imaging as well as taking measurements of the jaws And the work of a procedure to transfer the dimensions of the face on specialized devices so that the results of the operation are calculated and known in advance, as well as showing the invisible problems. There are computer programs that approximate what can be produced after the operation and how the expected change will be, and its accuracy is up to 70% of the expected results.

Plastic surgeries have increased in the Kingdom .. What is your comment on the subject? Are they all cosmetic or corrective?

Cosmetic and corrective operations are becoming more and more accepted and demanded these days, not in the Kingdom and the Gulf, but in all the world. Vogue magazine, five years ago, conducted research on this topic, and the results were that plastic and corrective operations amounted to 15 times in a period of ten years (1996-2006) and this has doubled. Several reasons, the most important of which are: the development of equipment and knowledge and the introduction of new technologies into this specialty, the most important of which is the laser, which increased the number of beneficiaries from removing grease and tightening flabby areas.

As well as the presence of accurate devices to reach accurate places in the face, the change of technology and the development of scientific understanding of all disciplines, and we do not forget that awareness and advertising are also an effective medium and what appears to be a change and transformation in some advertising brokers from news presidents or fashion models, singers and singers, and this has a great impact on young people . As for those over forty, they have a tendency to use fillers, botox, and techniques that do not require major surgery, such as day surgery.

Maxillofacial surgery

With regard to corrective operations for the face, are their causes environmental or genetic?

There are cases with known genetic causes such as "Down Syndrome" and the associated breathing problems, large tongue and small jaws. On the other hand, there are environmental or non-genetic causes, most of which are infections at a young age without clinical symptoms or short-term abnormalities, but they appear when growth progresses and at the time of puberty.

If it is environmental, what are the most common cases that come to you in the Kingdom and what are their causes?

Environmental conditions in the Kingdom are injuries at a young age without symptoms or problems in the short term, but appearing in adulthood.

Do changes in the bones of the face occur with old age? Is it possible to avoid them while following a certain lifestyle?

It can be said that these changes are part of aging and the changes that it includes in the face and the eye area, the most important of which are the emergence of hollows around the nose and chin, as well as the enlargement of the nose, receding jaws, sagging in the face, lack of collagen and atrophy of the amount of fat in the face. The best advice and lifestyle is, stay out of the sun and smoke. Make a routine for bedtime and duration.

Activity and movement. The most important thing is the psychological state in which a person lives. Research has found that the most common thing that causes the effects of aging and aging is psychological and social pressures. One of the most important tips to avoid sagging the face and the appearance of the effects of aging is for a person to try to put on himself a weight that he is able to maintain, as the increase in weight and then reduce it to the limits he cannot maintain reflects negatively on the face and causes sagging that cannot be dealt With him easily.

The development of science and technology contributed to facilitating operations, what new technology does your clinic offer regarding corrective and cosmetic operations?

One of the most important developments is the three-dimensional images, the study of deformities, and the comparison of imbalances in parts of the face, giving it a more comprehensive view than he used to work in hospitals. Corrective procedures now include reviewing what changes may appear to a person with age, and there is also a non-surgical face and neck lift.

Any extras?

I hope that there will be awareness among the future reviewers of these surgeries to make sure that the doctor is one of the holders of the specialty and that he is qualified for the Fellowship in Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery. There is a video of the American Society of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery in which the types of corrective operations and who are qualified for their work are highlighted.

Othman Al-Tuwairqi is at the Swan Clinic in Riyadh and soon in Jeddah for appointments and consultations. Contact 0554490408