After graduating in medicine and surgery, Gary Gambassi moved to Innsbruck (Austria) where he began his training in orthopedics, traumatology and reconstructive surgery. He has had the good fortune and the honor to operate in the best German and Austrian centers focusing above all on the treatment of musculoskeletal deformities. At the same time he carried on the study and surgical practice in the field of aesthetic surgery. After the specialty he continued to cultivate medicine and cosmetic surgery, a passion rather than his job.
What is the purpose of an aesthetic intervention?
Gary Gambassi, former general doctor specialized in cosmetic surgery : “The purpose of an intervention is to give dignity, security and freedom of oneself. If one intervenes to improve and not to save a life, the risks must be reduced to a minimum and it is on this premise that my personal vision of a beautiful profession is based, which often leads me to say no”.
Saying no to a patient is the highest form of respect a surgeon can show”
What is the state of health of cosmetic surgery?
Who is the target that addresses you and what do they ask you in most cases? “The golden era of plastic surgery, which began in the mid-80s, has never really ended even if there is a tendency to prefer aesthetic medicine (to be clear: the famous punctures), the whose results, however, are certainly not comparable. My target is made up of 65/70% women and the rest men. The average age has dropped significantly over time and it is not at all uncommon for women to same mothers accompanying their 18-year-old or in any case very young daughter to a consultation: here is one of the typical cases of my no’s linked to the fact that the patient is, in my opinion, too influenced by external factors. let’s say that most of them are operations on the breast (mammoplasty, often after breastfeeding), liposuctions, lifting of the lowered eyelid (blepharoplasty), skeletal bone modifications to the face. It’s generally a need to improve one’s appearance.”
Special requests to the cosmetic surgeon: many convictions dictated by bad information
Did you have any particularly curious and unfeasible requests? “Always bearing in mind that our body is not mouldable plasticine and that every intervention is irreversible for our body (not in the sense that we cannot return to the original shape, but that once done it still leaves a trace) and given that my fame itself does not bring me patients with absurd requests misinformation often has its effects: for example they ask me if it is possible to change the tone of voice with surgery. The answer is obviously no. Cosmetic surgery must not be self-referential and fine to itself, but a tool for self-improvement”.
Improving yes. And these are the cases in which we do not notice it because it is discreet and well made. However, there are also disproportionate breasts and exaggeratedly swollen lips: why does this happen? Can’t we stop? “A patient can submit to the doctor’s opinion, but can then decide autonomously what he wants. A doctor can decide to perform an operation or deem it unsuitable: it is not a technical choice, but an ethical one. That said, when everyone looks himself sees something different from the others. What is certainly wrong is transforming fragility into business and those who have been doing a job like ours for a long time are also a bit of a psychologist and in interviews are able to grasp various nuances which then allow to decide.
Operate safely: “Yes to general anesthesia, but it’s a doctor’s choice”
Perform a safe operation. What are the risks and what are the precautions? “There are no particular risks if you turn to professionals, who must be doctors even if we are dealing with aesthetic medicine. As for me, I have chosen to perform them only on hospitalization and with general anesthesia. I want to keep the patient under control at least for the first 24 hours (even for a blepharo). However, many do outpatient operations under local anesthesia. It’s a choice”.
Author: Nicolas Corsaro
