Dr. Dugar talks with Complexion-Me about rhinoplasty and his career as a plastic surgeon!
Interview: Dr. Deepak Dugar, Plastic Surgeon
“Dr. Deepak Dugar is a renowned Board Certified Surgeon specializing in Rhinoplasty and Facial Rejuvenation After mastering the science of surgery, Dr. Dugar traveled the world learning the art of surgery from masters of the craft in Paris, London, Monaco, Miami, NYC, and Los Angeles. Dr. Dugar is also the only Board Certified Plastic Surgeon in the United States whose entire surgical practice is dedicated to Scarless Nose®Surgery.
- Tell us more about how you became a plastic surgeon.
I have always seen myself as both a craftsman and an artist. I love working with my hands. As an Eagle Ranked Boy Scout, I began working with my hands at a young age through the art of wood working. Whether building a box, a shelf, a name plaque or picnic tables – I truly enjoyed the art of creation. Meticulous craftsmanship balanced with artistic design became a source of fulfillment for me. As I got older, I realized I found immense pleasure in helping people with problems and this desire to help people led me to medicine. Once in medicine, I found a balance in helping people with craftsmanship through Surgery.
- Why did you decide to pursue a career in plastic surgery?
I want to say that my biggest goal is to give confidence to people who have an insecurity. I look at myself as a medical Tony Robbins. My purpose is to make you forget about and move past any insecurity you may have. We all have insecurities. Sometimes we can conquer it on our own. Sometimes we need a little help. I am here to help you conquer any insecurities so you can continue to live a fulfilled life and conquer the world! Often, I will even tell patients, “your nose looks great and is in perfect balance with your face. Don’t touch it! You don’t need surgery.” This might sound shocking from a nose surgeon, but I believe in integrity and honor over everything. I am not in this for the money. I’m in this for the passion of helping people reclaim the confidence being overshadowed by an insecurity. I look forward to helping people restore their inner faith in their own beauty.
- Having cosmetic surgery is a growing practice among teens. There is general debate about the appropriateness of cosmetic surgery in teens and whether they truly understand the risks involved. What’s your opinion on the topic?
Well first of all, Rhinoplasty is the number 1 surgical procedure performed on patients aged 13-18, and the number 2 surgical procedure performed on patients 18-29. This is no surprise because a nasal deformity can be devastating to the overall balance of the face. Teenage Scarless Rhinoplasty is a sensitive issue and topic and one that involves the family closely. There are two extremely critical factors when considering to operate on a teenager: Nasal maturity and Emotional maturity. Nasal maturity is when the nose has essentially stopped growing and the cartilage and bones are mature enough to withstand the trauma of a rhinoplasty. Usually nasal maturity is achieved by age 15+ for most noses. There are sometimes 17-18 year old noses that are still not mature physically, so it is anatomically specific for each patient individually. I usually will assess a teenager’s nose to identify its nasal maturity. Emotional maturity is even more important. I read people fast and am interviewing patients the entire time to decide if they are mentally and emotional mature enough to understand the consequences of a scarless rhinoplasty. For some teenagers, undergoing a scarless rhinoplasty can be positively life changing – it can end bullying or teasing from their peers, can increase their self-confidence and increase their awareness and motivation in life. Countless times, I have seen young teenagers grow incredible confidence post-operatively due to the insecurities of their nose now gone. Sometimes a nasal deformity can really bring on a significant amount of stress and tension on a person, young or older, and it’s important not to demean it or ignore it. A conversation about it is important. One of the most powerful thingsI love to do is ironically empower young teenagers who he truly believes don’t need surgery. I boost their confidence and sometimes hearing it from a Beverly Hills Celebrity Plastic Surgeon is all they need for a kickstart to positive mentality of their beauty. Everyone is truly beautiful and no one needs a scarless rhinoplasty…but if it can help remove insecurity and instill confidence, do it.
- What do you think makes nose jobs such a sought after procedure?
Beauty is in the refinement of the face – not change. I think nose jobs are so sought after because the smallest of changes can make the most meaningful refinements to a face. It can soften the face so it all blends well and becomes more aesthetically pleasing. If you are considering a rhinoplasty, it’s important to know you aren’t alone. There are more than 220,000 rhinoplasty surgeries performed every year in the United States. But unfortunately, over 50,000 of them are revision surgeries, so picking the right surgeon the first time is extremely important. But one truth we never forget is that every nose is unique, and so should be every surgery as well. We do not believe in a “one nose fits all” strategy most surgeons practice based on the mathematically engineered textbook definitions of the “perfect anatomical nose.” We believe rhinoplasty is more art than science, and the art is about balancing your nose to your face.
- What’s the difference between an open rhinoplasty and a closed rhinoplasty?
The technical difference between an open rhinoplasty and closed rhinoplasty is that in open rhinoplasty, there is a use of an external cut along the base of the columella which is used to elevate the entire soft tissue-skin envelope of the nose. This gives superior visualization of the nose and allows easier teaching to students. This is why open rhinoplasty has become the procedure of choice for most surgeons as this is all they were ever taught. Sadly, closed rhinoplasty is a dying field I am trying to revive and continue as it is the superior option for primary (never operated on before) cosmetic noses. The main difference between open and closed rhinoplasty is PHILOSOPHY. Open Rhinoplasty inflicts as much surgery as possible to completely change the nose, whereas closed rhinoplasty performs as little as possible to preserve the character of the nose, while providing the meaningful refinement – all without the risk of a scar at the base of the nose.
Also the healing and downtime is markedly less with closed rhinoplasty. Most of my patients are back to work or school on Day 7 after surgery when the cast comes off.
Actresses, actors, models, entertainers and athletes routinely choose closed scarless rhinoplasty as their method of enhancing their nose and improving their breathing because of its obvious superior advantages over a traditional “open” rhinoplasty. With Scarless Rhinoplasty, we look at the face like a beautiful painting. From time to time, beautiful paintings need to be restored or enhanced. Just as a museum curator would never make a cut down the middle of the painting to make these restorations, neither should a rhinoplasty surgeon inflict a scar in the middle of a face when it is not necessary.
We find that most of our patients desire refinement or enhancement, rather than significant change to their noses. We aim to tweak and subtly enhance the nose, withou causing the post-operative “unrecognizable” phenomena when too much has been done to the nose. You will still look like you, just the refined version. We often joke that God did a fabulous job but was just in a little rush – so we are here to help finish finessing the painting.
- What do you think of non-surgical nose jobs and who’s the perfect candidate?
I think these are grossly over utilized and has become even more grossly abused because of social media trends. The only candidates i think that qualify for this are people looking to hide minor asymmetries or mask small bumps. Remember, adding fillers only makes a nose BIGGER – it cannot make a nose smaller. So the proper candidates are actually less than you think. Using safe reversible hyaluronic acid based fillers like Juvederm, we can contour a nose to hide asymmetries or mask bumps when they are subtle and/or if the patient cannot undergo surgery or desires not to. This procedure takes less than 10 minutes in expert hands and for most patients results last 1 year with no appreciable downtime after the procedure.
- So how would you define beauty?
I believe each person has an individual beauty. My job is NOT to change anyone. I look at every face like a painting. Like a Conservator at The Louvre for fine paintings, my job is only to enhance or maintain. I do not believe in changing. This is the philosophy I take with both noses and injections (botox and fillers). Rhinoplasty should be performed with such subtle enhancement that it could potentially fool the mother’s eye. I believe too much is “done” to noses to make them look fake or “plastic.” My biggest fear is creating a nose that looks “done” so I am always constantly engaging myself in this thought process during a nose surgery. This is also why I only perform CLOSED SCARLESS Rhinoplasty. I believe inflicting a scar in the middle of the face (as most surgeons do with Open Rhinoplasty) is blasphemy. While it is necessary in some noses, most primary rhinoplasty can be performed through a closed, scarless technique.
- Can you please name some of the most beautiful faces of all time – in your own opinion – existing or dead.
Cindy Crawford, Adriana Lima, Reese Witherspoon, Deepika Paudikone, Blake Lively
- Lastly, for someone who’s trying to avoid getting a facelift what are your top tips?
Lasers, Fillers, and Botox on a consistent basis! People don’t realize maintaining your face is just like maintaining your body. Nobody goes to the gym once or twice and expects to have a six-pack consistently.”
