Park Avenue vs. Rodeo Drive: A Comparison of Patient Desires in America’s Two Most Coveted Aesthetic Markets
A Comparison of Patient Desires in America’s Two Most Coveted Aesthetic Markets
Stereotypes abound in plastic surgery about what patients in different locations are asking for and what plastic surgeons are delivering. From natural enhancements to extreme makeovers, he leading plastic surgery markets in the United States have a long track record of innovating and setting beauty trends. Two of the most notable markets are Park Avenue in New York City and Rodeo Drive or Los Angeles in general. Tune in to hear Dr. Bass discuss some of the east and west coast innovations, patient preferences and plastic surgery styles. Even though it’s fun to point out the stereotypes, Dr. Bass relates how thinking about them can help in planning your own plastic surgery care.
About Dr. Lawrence Bass
Innovator. Industry veteran. In-demand Park Avenue board certified plastic surgeon, Dr. Lawrence Bass is a true master of his craft, not only in the OR but as an industry pioneer in the development and evaluation of new aesthetic technologies. With locations in both Manhattan (on Park Avenue between 62nd and 63rd Streets) and in Great Neck, Long Island, Dr. Bass has earned his reputation as the plastic surgeon for the most discerning patients in NYC and beyond.
To learn more, visit the Bass Plastic Surgery website or follow the team on Instagram @drbassnyc
Subscribe to the Park Avenue Plastic Surgery Class newsletter to be notified of new episodes & receive exclusive invitations, offers, and information from Dr. Bass.
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Welcome to another episode of
Park Avenue Plastic Surgery Class,
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the podcast where we explore controversies
and breaking issues in plastic
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surgery. This is your cohost Doreen Wu.
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And I'm here with Dr. Lawrence Bass,
Park Avenue plastic surgeon, educator,
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and technology innovator.
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Today's episode title is Park
Avenue Versus Rodeo Drive:
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A Comparison Between Patient
desires in America's two most
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coveted aesthetic markets. Born
and raised in New York City.
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I consider myself a native New Yorker,
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which means I know all about park avenue
and whether it be from television,
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social media magazines,
firsthand experience, et cetera,
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we've all seen and are familiar with the
west coast luxury retail of Rodeo Drive
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in Los Angeles. Dr. Bass,
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tell me and our listeners what this
has to do with plastic surgery.
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So here we're really using these
two locations Park Avenue and Rodeo
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Drive as a proxy for New
York City and Los Angeles
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in 21st century America, there's excellent
plastic surgery everywhere. Still,
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there are several hotbeds of plastic
surgery that really stand above the rest.
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In terms of the high rate of utilization,
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the large number of highly
qualified plastic surgeons and a
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reputation for innovation and leadership.
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Are there differences between what
is being done in different cities?
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I'm curious as to what is the public
perception of Park Avenue versus Rodeo
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Drive?
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Well, before I answer that question, let
me give a little bit of a disclaimer.
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We're really talking about stereotypes.
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So I'm going to mention them mostly
to debunk them. That being said,
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there are some style differences that
are more common in one area or show up
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somewhere first, especially
if it was innovated there,
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I'm not trying to offend anyone or
criticize any particular approach.
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We can have some fun with the stereotypes
and not take them too seriously.
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For starters, everyone likes beauty,
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but the conception of
ideal beauty is individual.
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There are definitely regional
differences in cultural differences,
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abounding everywhere, and all
of these are equally valid.
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So if we think of Park
Avenue or New York city,
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the luxury area in New
York City or Rodeo Drive,
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but more properly, uh, a lot
of the areas where the park,
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where the plastic surgeons reside in
those areas in Los Angeles and Beverly
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Hills, we can make some comparisons. And
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as we talk about some of these,
you ask yourself in your head,
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is this a New York city
trend, a park avenue trend?
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Or is this a Los Angeles
or Rodeo Drive trend?
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So early intervention on the face
sometimes called rejuvenation,
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is that New York or Los Angeles?
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Well, rejuvenation is really
a Los Angeles phenomenon.
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It's everywhere now and certainly
present in New York city,
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but it started on the west coast and
there are many trends in plastic surgery
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that have started there and then
spread to the rest of the country
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office based surgery for cosmetic
plastic surgery really started
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on the west coast and eventually
trickled its way into the rest of the
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United States. Uh,
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prior to that surgery was largely
done in the hospital setting, uh,
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big med spa facilities, uh,
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another example of things that started
on the west coast and then landed up
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everywhere.
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So talking about stereotypes
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in doing Botox, other neuromodulators like
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Xeomin, Dysport, Jeuveau,
a very frozen look,
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west coast or east coast?
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The stereotype is that that's
more of a Los Angeles look. And,
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um, same thing with fillers,
a very full look with fillers,
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an aggressive
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or near complete defacement
of certain facial features
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is more of a west coast phenomenon. Now,
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certainly there are patients in the New
York area who go very aggressively with
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fillers,
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but in terms of predominant
outlook on what a desirable
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endpoint is, there are some differences
here between the two coasts.
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From what I've gathered so far.
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Would it be accurate to say that there's
no such thing as the best city for
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plastic surgery? It really depends on
your personal preference and goals.
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Absolutely. As I said at the
beginning of the episode,
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there's excellent plastic
surgery, everywhere, many,
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many very well trained
plastic surgeons, unlike, uh,
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where we were in the United States,
40, 50, 60 years ago. There's
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also very excellent plastic surgery
education from the professional
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societies,
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like the Aesthetic Society and the
American Society of Plastic Surgeons.
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This helps information get out
there and techniques be up to date
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at the same time, there
are style differences,
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and it's important to
find a provider, you know,
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whether you are going with or against
the trend in the city you live in,
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or the city you're being cared for in, uh,
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to get custom care with a provider
who shares your view and is
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able to endorse it wholeheartedly
and help you achieve goals.
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Going back to the stereotypes of the two
cities we're talking about today. Um,
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I agree with your perception.
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I think as a whole New Yorkers have a
more natural approach where they want to
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look like themselves, but simply
a little refined and boosted.
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Whereas in Los Angeles,
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people are more forthcoming about what
they've done with plastic surgery and all
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of the different things they do to
maintain and improve their appearance.
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I, I think that's right.
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The number one thing that patients ask
me for when they're seeking a treatment
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and their number one concern on
Park Avenue in New York city,
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where I practice is this is I want to look
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like myself. I want to look natural.
I don't want anyone to know. Uh,
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I think that's part of our Yankee
Puritan heritage in the Northeastern
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United States. You know,
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everyone in the Northeast is doing
Botox and fillers and plastic surgery,
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but they hardly ever tell anyone a
few family members know and one or two
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very close friends, but
they're keeping it private.
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That's very different
than Southern California,
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where people really are very
open about plastic surgery.
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They're happy to show it off, tell their
family or friends or even strangers.
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And it's more of a
status symbol having the,
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the means to get plastic surgery in
Southern California than it is in
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the Northeast.
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And we talked briefly about
differences in the face.
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What about the rest of the
body like breast, for instance?
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So breast is another big dividing
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point in plastic surgery in general,
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Northeastern patients want
modest enhancement, little
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bit of upper pole filling,
maybe enhanced cleavage.
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But the size is definitely
a little bit more muted.
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Uh, I'd say most patients
in the Northeas, and again,
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there are certainly individual
exceptions to this, but most patients,
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if you look at the population average
are looking to be a big B or a small
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C, and that just balances
them in clothing.
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It enhances the female
form without being overly
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obtrusive. In Southern California, it's,
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you know,
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go big or go home and much
larger size even in slim
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patients or patients with
a thin frame is a much
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more common occurrence in
implant size selection.
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And there's no right or wrong here.
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It's just a question of
what seems desirable and
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attractive in the milieu
or environment of,
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of that geographic region.
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So Dr. Bass, we're both New
Yorkers, you know what we're like,
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you know what we want
bottom line it for me,
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are the differences real
or are they just hype?
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Well, you know, at the end of the day,
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biology is the same in all human beings.
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Medical care is the same for all human
beings. These are universal things. And,
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uh, don't change from region to
region at the same time though,
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there are personality
differences, as we said,
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it's different on average in
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these very different regions of the
country, the lifestyle is different.
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The amount of time spent
outdoors is different.
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How we get around is different.
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So that does make some
differences in outlook between
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New York and Los Angeles.
That being said, of course,
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as I pointed out before, there
are individual exceptions to this,
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and there are lots of New York city and
Northeast transplants living in the Los
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Angeles area that walk in with
their preconceptions not having
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grown up in the area, the
aesthetics and beauty standards,
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the way I think this is really useful,
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even though we kind of had fun
a little bit with what people do
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to go to one end of the spectrum or
the other on the east or west coast.
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I think the stereotypes still have
some utility for us because if you
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have a feeling I really need
to have this feature pushed
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hard,
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then you know what direction
feels right for you?
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And if you're feeling natural
is a good priority, you know,
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you need to go in that direction.
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So identifying and considering
the stereotypes helps you in
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your decision making
about your personal care.
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So in that way, it can actually
be useful for us. And, uh,
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even though it may not
apply in all circumstances.
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The other thing to remember
is there are two very
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different jobs that we
legitimately perform in plastic
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surgery. Every day, we do many,
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many things to restore or maintain
appearance as we age or to
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prevent aging change.
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But we also do things to
enhance appearance or alter
appearance to make it more
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appealing. Beautiful, uh, in
the, in the eye of the patient,
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based on their aesthetic goals. Those
are two very different missions.
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They're both important missions and
they're both central to plastic surgery,
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but when you're coming
in to get a treatment,
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or you're asking about a feature
on your face breast or a body,
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it's really important
to have clearly in mind,
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whether you're trying to
restore your appearance,
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bring it back to where it came from
or whether you're trying to alter your
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appearance so that you make sure you end
up in the right place at the end of the
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day.
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That makes a lot of sense.
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This episode has given me
and hopefully our listeners,
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a way to use these stereotypes
constructively to aid
in our decision-making.
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We'll check in with Dr. Bass periodically
in upcoming episodes to discuss
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plastic surgery around
the country and the world.
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If you think of other places that
have a reputation and a style,
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contact us by email or Instagram,
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and we would be happy to discuss them
in a future episode. This is Doreen Wu,
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thanking you for joining Dr. Bass and me.
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I hope you had fun thinking about the
park avenue and rodeo drive stereotypes,
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decide for yourself how much
truth you think there is to them.
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Be sure to join us next time for our
episode kiss and tell revealing all the
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ways plastic surgeons
can beautify your lips,
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stream the episode or subscribe today
so that you don't miss any upcoming
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topics. Providing a critical look
at the latest in plastic surgery.
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Thank you for joining us in this episode
of the Park Avenue Plastic Surgery
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Class podcast with Dr. Lawrence
Bass Park Avenue plastic surgeon,
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educator, and technology innovator.
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The commentary in this
podcast represents opinion.
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This podcast does not
present medical advice,
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but rather general information about
plastic surgery that does not necessarily
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relate to the specific conditions
of any individual patient.
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No doctor-patient relationship
is established by listening
to or participating
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in this podcast,
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consult your physician to advise you
about your individual healthcare.
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If you enjoyed this episode,
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please share it with your friends and
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