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'Tell me what you want to look like' - Surgeon
August 3, 2010, Tuesday
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AS a young man, Dr Zhao Zheng worked as a surgeon in a field hospital, fixing broken bodies. Today he is a distinguished cosmetic surgeon called by some "the beauty maker to the stars." Pan Zheng reports.Dr Zhao Zheng works in an ordinary building on Pinghai Road. He never advertises, though he is one of many cosmetic surgeons there. And he doesn't have to.
Dr Zhao's fame has spread far and wide. He is one of the best-known and most sought-after cosmetic surgeons in China, He has opened a clinic in Thailand and travels regularly.
Some call him "beauty maker to the stars."
We're lucky to find him in his office. The corridor is lined with photographs of some famous people, all of whom Dr Zhao has helped achieve a certain look or forestall the signs of aging.
Zhao is a big name in MIAM - Minimally Invasive Aesthetic Medicine - cosmetic treatment mostly with lasers, injections (Botox and fillers) and a bit of nip and tuck. He has a lot of regulars.
Procedures are simpler and safer than traditional cosmetic surgeries and recovery time is shorter. But they must be performed by specially trained professional doctors.
"Although the procedure is much simpler, it's still a big deal," says Zhao. "I only perform safe, effective and sustainable procedures so that in case the patient isn't satisfied, I can restore it to the original in most cases."
Dr Zhao has just completed one double-eyelid surgery and in the past four days he has performed around eight procedures.
"Tell me what you don't like about yourself" - that's the first thing patients hear when they step into the clinic in the American TV series "Nip and Tuck."
But Zhao's prologue is different. He usually begins: "Tell me what you want to be like."
This can be very hard to put into words, so patients usually say something like, "I want a nose like Julia Roberts" or "I want a beautiful nose."
Zhao was born into a family of doctors and has been in "aesthetics medicine" for a dozen years. Before 2002, he worked at the Hangzhou No. 1 Hospital, but left to open his own clinic.
Now he has opened an office in Thailand and it's not always easy to find him in Hangzhou because of his travels.
Zhao's medical career began in the late 1970s when he was a military surgeon in a field hospital during the Counterattack against Vietnam in Self-defense (1979). He was just 20 at the time, working several kilometers from the frontlines where it was safer but where he saw the smashed bodies of many soldiers.
"The Vietnamese army often used a little mine in the battlefield. When our soldiers stepped on it, the lucky ones got broken ankles, but others were killed or gravely wounded. Every day we were doing amputations," he recalls.
Today there's very little blood in his work.
Dr Zhao notes that cosmetic surgery actually is connected with war because it originated in China in the 1950s when soldiers returned from the Korean conflict with ruined faces and serious disabilities. So special clinics were set up in Beijing to help them.
Today's minimally invasive aesthetic surgery is far different - and surgery is elective, not essential. Patients come to him on the recommendation of satisfied customers. If the patient is new, Zhao gives them a psychological questionnaire.
"Many people don't know what exactly they are doing and what they really want when they come to me," he says. "Some even blame their appearance for their business failure. In these cases, what they need is a psychologist, not a cosmetic surgeon like me."
Many of Zhao's regular customers are well-known faces, including singers, actors and actresses. When they need a quick fix, another shot of Botox - it wears off in around six months - they see the doctor.
In Zhao's opinion, it's not fair to criticize celebrities who seek cosmetic surgery. "After all, they get paid for their beautiful faces, that's their advantage and they have to maintain it."
Zhao has also performed surgery for his mother and his daughter. He has also asked colleagues to give him cosmetic injections.
"Some people say these procedures are meaningless since that final day comes to everyone," says Zhao. "But for me, though we cannot change destiny, we can delay it."
Dr Zhao's fame has spread far and wide. He is one of the best-known and most sought-after cosmetic surgeons in China, He has opened a clinic in Thailand and travels regularly.
Some call him "beauty maker to the stars."
We're lucky to find him in his office. The corridor is lined with photographs of some famous people, all of whom Dr Zhao has helped achieve a certain look or forestall the signs of aging.
Zhao is a big name in MIAM - Minimally Invasive Aesthetic Medicine - cosmetic treatment mostly with lasers, injections (Botox and fillers) and a bit of nip and tuck. He has a lot of regulars.
Procedures are simpler and safer than traditional cosmetic surgeries and recovery time is shorter. But they must be performed by specially trained professional doctors.
"Although the procedure is much simpler, it's still a big deal," says Zhao. "I only perform safe, effective and sustainable procedures so that in case the patient isn't satisfied, I can restore it to the original in most cases."
Dr Zhao has just completed one double-eyelid surgery and in the past four days he has performed around eight procedures.
"Tell me what you don't like about yourself" - that's the first thing patients hear when they step into the clinic in the American TV series "Nip and Tuck."
But Zhao's prologue is different. He usually begins: "Tell me what you want to be like."
This can be very hard to put into words, so patients usually say something like, "I want a nose like Julia Roberts" or "I want a beautiful nose."
Zhao was born into a family of doctors and has been in "aesthetics medicine" for a dozen years. Before 2002, he worked at the Hangzhou No. 1 Hospital, but left to open his own clinic.
Now he has opened an office in Thailand and it's not always easy to find him in Hangzhou because of his travels.
Zhao's medical career began in the late 1970s when he was a military surgeon in a field hospital during the Counterattack against Vietnam in Self-defense (1979). He was just 20 at the time, working several kilometers from the frontlines where it was safer but where he saw the smashed bodies of many soldiers.
"The Vietnamese army often used a little mine in the battlefield. When our soldiers stepped on it, the lucky ones got broken ankles, but others were killed or gravely wounded. Every day we were doing amputations," he recalls.
Today there's very little blood in his work.
Dr Zhao notes that cosmetic surgery actually is connected with war because it originated in China in the 1950s when soldiers returned from the Korean conflict with ruined faces and serious disabilities. So special clinics were set up in Beijing to help them.
Today's minimally invasive aesthetic surgery is far different - and surgery is elective, not essential. Patients come to him on the recommendation of satisfied customers. If the patient is new, Zhao gives them a psychological questionnaire.
"Many people don't know what exactly they are doing and what they really want when they come to me," he says. "Some even blame their appearance for their business failure. In these cases, what they need is a psychologist, not a cosmetic surgeon like me."
Many of Zhao's regular customers are well-known faces, including singers, actors and actresses. When they need a quick fix, another shot of Botox - it wears off in around six months - they see the doctor.
In Zhao's opinion, it's not fair to criticize celebrities who seek cosmetic surgery. "After all, they get paid for their beautiful faces, that's their advantage and they have to maintain it."
Zhao has also performed surgery for his mother and his daughter. He has also asked colleagues to give him cosmetic injections.
"Some people say these procedures are meaningless since that final day comes to everyone," says Zhao. "But for me, though we cannot change destiny, we can delay it."
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