When St. Luke?s opens its own cosmetic surgery center tomorrow, a new era begins
THE NEW ST. LUKE?S MEDICAL CENTER (SLMC) at the Global City, The Fort, Taguig, opens tomorrow, with its own aesthetic surgery department.

?If you wish to enhance your well-being, particularly the appearance of the face and the body, our Aesthetic Surgery Center serves cutting-edge plastic surgery procedures in an environment that guarantees patient safety, confidentiality, privacy and comfort,? says Dr. Rene del Castillo Valerio, chair of SLMC Global City?s Aesthetic Surgery Center.

He adds that aside from advanced technology and latest post-surgical care apparatus, it specializes in surgical techniques that aim to create seamless results. ?Other centers will use a silicone implant for a nose lift but we have seen bad results. In the long term, the implant is visible or there are deformities. We use the patient?s own tissue like the cartilage from the ear for rhinoplasty (nose lift). It is more comfortable and leaves a better and natural profile.?

Other institutions remove fat deposits through blepharoplasty (removal of eyebags). ?We don?t do that here because it creates an unnatural sunken appearance around the eyes,? Valerio says. ?Instead, fat is repositioned to other areas of the face where there are depressions. The patient?s own fat can also be transferred to restore the curves and volume lost to aging.?

The new hospital raises the bar in sanitation standards. For one, doctors eschew the uniform white coat, which can breed bacteria, especially if it hasn?t been laundered for days.

The hospital holds the largest ambulatory center for minor surgeries with a separate entrance in the Medical Arts building.

?There are many patients who undergo cosmetic procedures under local anesthesia,? Valerio says. ?They can have their eyelid surgery, nose jobs or chin and cheek augmentation done there and go home right away. Out-patients are not mixed with the in-patients so there?s no infection from the outside.?

For multiple procedures, liposuction extracting a large volume of fat and comprehensive facelifts, the surgeries are held in one of the 18 operating rooms. These ORs are fully equipped with state-of-the-art infection-control systems, LED operating lights that don?t emit heat and cast shadows to ensure comfortable and accurate surgery.

For the main surgery and ambulant centers, there are reception areas for the patients? friends and relatives, and spacious pre- and post-anaesthetic care units.

To ensure confidentiality, the staff is well-trained in protocols.

Specialists

The center has a team of board-certified plastic surgery consultants, including a specialist for treating varicose veins.

Valerio says plastic surgeons are a special breed. ?To be a plastic surgeon, you need five years of general surgery training and three years of plastic surgery training. This is outside medical school, which is 10 years. It takes 18 years to be a board-certified plastic surgeon.?

In tertiary hospitals such as SLMC, the doctors have passed the exams of the Philippine Board of Plastic Surgery and are fellows of the Philippine College of Surgeons and Philippine Association of Plastic Reconstructive Aesthetic Surgeons.

Valerio?s laundry list of credentials is impressive. He studied undergraduate and medical school at Kharkov Medical Institute in Moscow, Russia, and took up medical internship, general surgery and plastic-reconstructive surgery at the UP Philippine General Hospital Medical Center. He continued his post-residency courses at Manhattan Eye, Ear, Throat Hospital in New York and the University of Southwestern Texas.

Among his international affiliations are the American Society for Aesthetic Plastic Surgery and the International Society of Aesthetic Plastic Surgery. Valerio explains that to be a member, a board-certified surgeon must initially present a high record of over 70 percent success in cosmetic procedures.

SLMC Global City caters to medical tourism. For instance, 60 percent of Valerio?s patients come from overseas?balikbayan and tourists. He is also a ?mommy makeover? specialist, providing tummy tuck and laser-assisted liposuction which guarantees faster healing for mothers concerned about their post-natal figures. Significantly, more than 50 percent of his cases are revisional surgeries or re-dos in the eyes, nose and breasts.

Valerio has seen a rise in plastic surgery procedures in 2009. ?Despite the economic slowdown, we still see a lot of patients. I dare say we?ve been unaffected by the global recession.?

Aside from surgery, patients will insist other complementary procedures such as Botox and dermal fillers be done on the surgery chair in the clinic. ?Patients will come not only to have their eyes or noses done. They want wrinkles removed, too. It?s like a one-stop shop here,? he says.