A group of medical experts from different countries convened in Middletown, New York, over the past weekend to reimagine beauty beyond conventional cosmetic medicine.
Dr. Jeffrey Yager, founding president of the AIMS Society and a board-certified plastic surgeon in Manhattan, said beauty was more than skin deep and rooted in personal happiness, an understanding that he came to realize after nearly 30 years in practice.
“I’ve done so many surgeries, I’ve taken care of so many patients, and my technical skills were where they need to be, yet still some patients came out and they were not satisfied,” Dr. Yager said during his opening remarks at the symposium.
“I’ve not committed malpractice, I’ve done everything that I’ve been taught, I’ve done it right, but I didn’t make them happy,” he said. “So, what’s the natural next question? How do you change this so that you can have more success? How do you make people happy?”
Once he made that switch in his mind, he was ready to tap into wisdom and knowledge beyond plastic surgery to help his patients, whether through nutrition or emotional management or other means.
This evolution in understanding of beauty serves as the philosophical foundation of the AIMS Society and its symposia, Dr. Yager said, at which medical professionals across disciplines learn from one another and work together for patient beauty and happiness.
“This is the Knights of the Round Table,” he said of the AIMS Society. “The principle is that there is nobody at the head of the table ... we are all here to talk to each other, we are all here to learn from each other, and we are all here to grow together.”
Energy
Dr. Jingduan Yang, director of integrative medicine at SY Aesthetics, spoke about the cosmetic center’s unique multi-dimensional patient evaluation model.Called “ACES” for short, the model looks at four levels of health (anatomy, chemistry, energy, and spirit or soul) at one time to help patients obtain long-lasting beauty.
For example, when it comes to the skin, at the chemistry level, it’s made of water, protein, fats, and minerals, which can be obtained through nutrition or supplements.
At a deeper energetic level, skin is connected via invisible channels with the large intestines and lungs, whose conditions have a direct bearing on one’s skin health, according to Dr. Yang.
“When people hear the word ‘energy,’ they have trouble understanding it,” he said. “It is invisible—you can’t see it, you can’t dissect it, and you can’t operate on it. Just like the air right here in the room, it is the most important energy we need, but we don’t see it.”
“The energy, if you apply modern concepts to the human body, is literally the electronic activities that we measure in medical practice,” he said, “If you don’t fix that internal energetical problem, you will not be able to fix the skin permanently; you can make it better, but it will keep coming back—that may be good for the business, but not good for the patients.”
He said that traditional Chinese medicine provided a deep understanding of the human body at the energetic level, with acupuncture and herbs as primary tools to unblock energy flows and facilitate healthy circulations inside the body.
Human emotions can affect energy flows. For example, sadness can lead to energy issues in one’s large intestines and lungs and in turn, affect one’s skin health, he said.
“Taking care of that energetical part of your body is about managing not to be afraid, not to be angry, not to be overjoyed, not to get lost in life, and not knowing the meaning and purpose in life,” he said, adding that this is where the fourth element, the soul, comes in.
Not Taught in Medical School
Dr. Harvak Hajebian, a graduate of the University of Queensland–Ochsner Clinical School and a general surgery resident doctor at Garnet Health, said the symposium opened his eyes to new medical concepts.“It is fun, it is interesting, and it is not something that is taught in the medical school where I went. We don’t learn things like the holistic approach, the energy channels, or the spiritual aspect of it,” he said. “This is all new for me, and I am interested in learning more about it.”
Dr. Hajebian said he was interested in practicing plastic surgery following his residency.
Dr. Brittany Borto, another general surgery resident doctor at Garnet Health with a strong interest in plastic surgery, said she liked the broad range of topics covered at the symposium.
“Integrative medicine was part of my training as an osteopathic physician at the medical school,” she told The Epoch Times. “It is nice to see a lot of intangibles or things that maybe were not researched in a recognized way are now coming into play.”
Walter Nolan, a mental health counselor and personal trainer from New Jersey, said the symposium provided ideas about how to help his clients stay healthy and happy.
“I look for anything that might help my clients out,” he said. “Often that’s about values, like Dr. Yager said at the beginning, and how they live their values, whether it be in their profession, whether it be in their hobbies, and whether it be interpersonal. That all leads to that internal joy or happiness.”
