Transcribed from the Thieme International interview with Rod Rohrich on Masters of Cosmetic Surgery.
Can you briefly describe your book and what inspired you to write on the topic of cosmetic surgery?
The biggest innovations in cosmetic surgery are probably not going to be in cosmetic surgery, they’re going to be in cosmetic medicine. For example, minimally invasive procedures to remove fat and tighten skin. Those are probably the biggest game changers that you’re going to see. We are seeing refinements, of course, in the things we talk about in Masters of Cosmetic Surgery; refinements in cosmetic medicine as well as refinements in surgery, refinements in Rhinoplasty and aesthetic surgery. Everything is about making recovery better and optimising results with far less down time. That’s the key here.
What piece of advice would you give to residents?
Get trained to do it right. Unfortunately, in most residency training programmes, at least in North America, the training is totally inadequate for aesthetic surgery. To be the best, you have to train with the best and read about this with the best. Visit the experts. Use the books as a starting point.
What advice would you give to Surgeons going into Publishing?
Start now. Just like surgery, you’re not going to get good at something if you don’t do it, fail and do it again, and never ever give up. Probably the first five articles I ever wrote were rejected from the White Journal and then I became the editor. So, don’t give up. Keep persevering. Stay focused. That’s the most important thing.
What would you change about plastic surgery and medical publishing?
Books are always going to be here. From the White Journal, we learned that people love the print, but people want something that comes alive. Our books come alive. They have a very short synopsis, 5 key points, 5 key videos. The reader wants to see it and then do it, and they want to hear it from an expert.
Books have to come alive or they’re perishing.
Find out more about Masters of Cosmetic Surgery here.
Watch the Thieme interview with Rod Rohrich here.