By Jesse Ziter, Windsor Body Magazine

Drs. Bruce Chau and Barak Tanzman of Chau Plastic Surgery, P.C., one of Michigan’s top plastic surgery centres, assertively instruct potential patients to ask themselves before undergoing any plastic surgical procedure: “Is this the right doctor for me?” and “Is he or she qualified to provide me with the best care?”

Significantly, Dr. Chau’s second question inverts the traditional doctor-patient relationship, humbly renegotiating it by placing the patient in a position of relative authority. Dr. Chau, at one time a Vietnamese immigrant to Seattle and now proudly practicing within half an hour of the Windsor-Detroit border, is fond of appropriating the Constitution of his adoptive homeland when advocating for his practice. He suggests, “We the people are created equal, but plastic surgeons are not all created equal.” It is Dr. Chau’s belief that this reality should persuade potential patients to perform extensive research before and while considering any plastic surgical or cosmetic procedure. This includes ensuring that your doctor possesses all the appropriate qualifications, is well trained in his field, and has a history of consistent results.

Chau Plastic Surgery, located in Berkley, Michigan, just north of the Detroit Zoo, boasts a geographically diverse clientele that includes Americans from several states, Canadians, and patients from as far away as the Middle East and Asia. Dr. Chau’s out-of-town patients are often attracted to the practice for specialized procedures, although many simply privilege the practice’s reputable history of consistent results and comfortable environment. Dr. Chau’s curriculum vitae, in particular, certainly needs no augmentation. Currently the program director for Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery at Detroit Medical Center – Sinai Grace Hospital, Dr. Chau’s education has taken him from Washington State to California, to New York, Hawaii and Michigan. His associate, Dr. Tanzman, has also traveled through the States to settle in Michigan where he trained at Henry Ford Hospital for his plastic and reconstructive surgery training before joining Chau Plastic Surgery.

Drs. Chau and Tanzman are proudly qualified and licensed plastic and reconstructive surgeons, differentiating them from mere cosmetic surgeons. While most surgeries performed are cosmetic, they still devote time to non-cosmetic reconstructive surgery cases. Dr. Tanzman comments, that many media-disseminated images of cosmetic surgical procedures, such as those performed on reality television, are performed by cosmetic surgeons.

While many cosmetic surgeries are performed in an office setting, by physicians whom are not qualified to work out of a hospital, Drs. Chau and Tanzman perform their procedures either in a hospital setting using board-certified anesthesiologists or at a hospital affiliated outpatient surgery centre. As there are many issues that can arise during any medical procedure, however rare, these medical settings provide a safe, professional environment fully prepared to handle any emergencies or potential complications.

It is not uncommon for Drs. Chau and Tanzman, who are supported by an approachable, and caring staff to consult with a patient two or three times before they decide to undergo a procedure. This proactive philosophy ensures that each patient is completely cognizant of the nature of the procedure to be performed and knows what to expect during and after their surgery. On their website, Dr. Chau stresses that “It is important to take the time to educate patients about their own unique anatomies and the physiological differences between their own body makeup and their desired result.” Drs. Chau and Tanzman are both available seven days a week via a 24-hour paging service. They proudly foreground a stated commitment to humanistic, patient-oriented, compassionate care that does not evaporate following a successful procedure. Indeed, Dr. Chau estimates that approximately 25% of their practice is comprised of patients seeking “re-do” procedures for suboptimal results.

Dr. Chau strongly believes that not all cases of plastic surgery constitute evidence of inappropriate vanity or decadent behavior. Rather, he finds signs of harmless vanity, in various degrees, within everybody, isolating the desires to look better and feel more confident as universal, self-positive impulses. When his colleague Dr. Tanzman, who boasts an artistic background, promises to “help you choose a procedure that will harmonize your inner sense of self with a pleasing visual aesthetic appearance,” he is referring directly to these same interior desires.

Having thrived in his field for two decades, Dr. Chau has observed a number of gradual trends in plastic surgery. Chau Plastic Surgery advocates both surgical and non-surgical procedures to achieve a natural aesthetic look. Dr. Chau bears witness to a constantly increasing social acceptance of cosmetic surgery. In fact, he attests that in certain circles, having had something done can even be a positive status marker. As of late, facial work – which is being performed on a younger clientele than ever before – is increasingly non-surgical in nature. A trend spurred by the availability of Botox® and fillers that promise to create the illusion of youth without compromising a natural appearance. Approximately 10% of Chau Plastic Surgery patients are men, and this percentage is rising. Dr. Tanzman theorizes that this is in part due to career-driven professional men, competing in the workplace with younger coworkers, taking advantage of opportunities to appear more youthful in order to retain their positions or advance in the professional world. In general, male patients are drawn to minimally invasive procedures such as Sculptra® aesthetic that allows for 3D rejuvenation of the face in a gradual and virtually untraceable manner. For women, minimally invasive procedures continue to increase in popularity as well, but procedures such as breast augmentation, liposuction, face lifts, and tummy tucks, to name a few, still continue to be very popular. Finally, in recent years, an increase in bariatric surgeries has brought with it a concomitant surge in associated cosmetic and reconstructive procedures to help those patients reach their post-bariatric aesthetic goals.

Of the many cosmetic procedures performed by the surgeons at Chau Plastic Surgery, liposculpting is one their fortes. With the use of ultrasound technology to assist in the separation of the fat cells, VASER® liposuction, allows for more uniform fat removal and concomitant tightening of the skin. VASER® lipo is used for standard liposculpting as well as High Definition Liposculpting.

Today, Dr. Chau is one of few surgeons in the United States fully trained to perform VASER® High Definition Liposculpture. While VASER® equipment is elite technology exclusive to a small number of surgical centres, Chau Plastic Surgery is quick to promise that the real marvel is not the equipment itself, but the skill of the surgeons using it. VASER® Hi Def, as the procedure is often called, is selective liposculpting between and around the patient’s unique muscular frame to enhance the patient’s physique in order to create a “sculpted”, athletic appearance. The procedure is intended for already fit patients desiring further visible muscle definition, rather than those requiring significant debulking.

The VASER® machine can also be used for fat transfer, when a patient is interested in the removal of fat from one region of the body and transferred to another, more desirable location, such as the breasts or buttocks.

Dr. Chau’s approach to plastic surgery challenges myths about the field, by avoids ostentatiously “obvious” or radical procedures, as well as new, potentially risky procedures yet to be comprehensively evaluated. Drs. Chau and Tanzman stress that all plastic surgeries, including those cosmetic in nature, are still instances of real surgery and examples of real medicine. Bearing this in mind, prospective patients need to engage seriously with appropriate medical and professional concerns in order to identify well-trained, experienced surgeons whose practices demonstrate consistent results.

Both doctors buttress their claims to credibility by offering transparent advocations of plastic surgery and attesting to using some of their own product lines. They consider plastic surgery a viable option for themselves in the case that it would make either feel more confident, and express himself more openly.