By Louise Gagnon
Canadian plastic surgeons are incorporating nonsurgical, cosmetic procedures—namely, soft-tissue 
injections and injections of neuromodulators—in their practices, according to a new survey presented at the 43rd annual Canadian Society of Aesthetic and Plastic Surgeons (CSAPS) Aesthetic Plastic Surgery Symposium in Toronto.
What’s more, 70% of surgeons said they perform skin resurfacing with dermabrasion as their modality of choice when it comes to skin resurfacing. Forty seven of 160 CSAPS members responded to the survey.
“Canadian surgeons are using modalities with proven efficacy that are also cost-efficient,” says Ryan Neinstein, MD, FRCSC, a surgical fellow based at the Manhattan Eye, Ear, and Throat Hospital in New York City, who presented the new findings at the meeting. The survey results are slated for publication in The Aesthetic Journal. “Dermabrasion, being the most common form of resurfacing, reflects that Canadian surgeons are choosing things that are validated, cost-efficient, and have proven efficacy,” Neinstein says. “Surgeons want to use straightforward and common [nonsurgical] procedures.”
The No. 1 reason why Canadian plastic surgeons reported that they were motivated to offer nonsurgical services was that these treatments acted as a useful adjunct to surgery.
Ryan Neinstein, MD, FRCSCThe popularity of these procedures among patients cannot be denied. The American Society for Aesthetic Plastic Surgery reported that 83% of all cosmetic procedures performed in 2012 were nonsurgical. “If 83 percent of cosmetic procedures are nonsurgical, it is something you need to think about,” Neinstein says.
A plethora of noninvasive treatments can be applied to create a synergistic effect in facial rejuvenation, agrees Tim Sproule, MD, FRCSC, a plastic surgeon in Toronto and lecturer in the Division of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery at the University of Toronto.
The Blended Approach
“I usually offer patients skin care products, injectables, laser [treatments], and then, finally, surgery,”
| Visit the University of Toronto Aesthetic Plastic Surgery Symposium and Breast Symposium website for the latest information about next year’s Toronto Breast Symposium and the Aesthetic Plastic Surgery Symposium. www.torontoaestheticmeeting.ca |
Sproule tells Plastic Surgery Practice. “I usually blend these all together to optimize the results. Blending surgery with laser treatment can give you really good results.”
Patients may be leery about surgery and seek options that will mean a quick recovery post-treatment. “A lot of people are not necessarily interested in surgery, and they want to have something that gives them minimal or no downtime,” he says.
Although patients can seek noninvasive, cosmetic procedures outside of plastic surgery practices, the advantage of seeing a plastic surgeon is that they can offer surgery if patients are not satisfied with the result with noninvasive rejuvenation approaches, Sproule stresses.
| Louise Gagnon is a Canadian journalist, writer, and editor. Her career began at The Medical Post. She routinely covers dermatology, ophthalmology, cardiology, and neurology. Gagnon can be reached at [email protected]. |
