I’ve heard that facelifts are your favorite
procedures. Why?
It’s a very special
surgery—you need to make the person look better but not different.
It’s not
a face change; it’s a time change. Sometimes I
feel like a shrink
with a knife.
Do the visions that people have in
mind for their
“new” faces and bodies generally make sense?
Of course not! A patient will say,
“I want breasts this
big!” They have no idea how to live every moment of the day with
these new breasts, which are like a dream they’ve had for 20
years. It’s very hard for doctors to judge, based on their own
tastes, what would be a good dream and a bad dream.
So the trick is finding a doctor who shares your
tastes.
Exactly. I was once asked why so many people
destroy their faces by getting big lips. There are three kinds of
doctors:
the ones who have good taste aesthetically and wouldn’t
give you those big lips; the ones who’d do anything to get paid
for it; and, finally, the ones who think those big lips look good.
People should choose a doctor who’s very well recommended, or one
whose work they’ve seen on their friends.
I’ve also heard that you collect
art…
I just love art. My passion is 17th-century
Italian, but I also have Italian works from the 16th century, along with
some contemporary Brazilian things—even some pieces carved from
wood that I see on the streets.
You yourself create objects of beauty—some people call
you an artist.
I do think cosmetic surgeons are a kind of
artist, because
we have to imagine the results before we do the
work—and sometimes a tiny thing makes a world of difference.
