Plastic Surgery. Who I am and why I blog!

Dr. Andrew Barnett — Wed, 18 Jan 2012 18:30:00 +0000

What do you get when you combine Art and Science? When those are your passions – when doing those things are how you want to spend your life – and when using your hands is how you express yourself – plastic surgery is the answer. No question. So everyday, I wake up excited by the prospect of another day in the operating room. In my studio, I paint and sculpt – in my operating room I do the same. The operating room is very Zen – the rest of the world disappears and the focus is intense. And I get to create. In the studio, there are no restrictions. I do what I want to do. The operating room is very different. It’s not about me, it’s about my patient. I’m tasked with creating what my patient wants. That’s the challenge. But it’ s not one way – I only go to the operating room after spending time with my patient, trying to determine their goal, educating them about what can be done, and what I feel should be done. If we can match expectations and anticipated outcome, then we go. If not, then we don’t. It’s a partnership.

Education is a critical part of the equation. Educating myself on the latest techniques and technology. Educating my patients on what I can and can’t do. So a major focus of my blog will be education. What’s new and what’s now is not always what’s best. One of the things that years of experience teach you is skepticism. Most of my patients learn about techniques and technology from the media – TV, Radio, Websites, Magazines. The media is a business and the way you keep people tied to your product is to give them something new. So the pressure is on the media to amp up their product by giving their readers, watchers, listeners, new stuff. One of my goals in writing my blog is to research what’s new, and try to figure out if claims match reality, if the new is ready for prime time. I try very hard to follow all that’s new in the beauty business, and decide when it’s time to bring the new into my practice. In my blog, I’ll share my thoughts on the new, and where I think it stands. Having trained at Yale, Hopkins, and Stanford, having done research at Harvard, having traveled worldwide working directly with the thought leaders in plastic surgery, and having practiced in San Francisco for over twenty years, I’ve developed a broad network of very smart friends and colleagues in many disciplines. I call them when I find something that looks really interesting if they have expertise or special knowledge that I don’t have. My patients want the very best that is available, but they don’t want to be guinea pigs for someone’s product or project. So I never strive to be the first one using the new, I strive to be the one who determines when the new is right and ready. Then I discuss the option with my patients. In this blog, that discussion will be open to all.

This blog will evolve. The focus now will be on education, but with time that may change. So, if you enjoy what I write, and find it helpful, let me know. More to come!