I want to share accurate knowledge about aesthetic medicine

I am a cosmetic surgeon in Tokyo, and my name is Michiaki Sakai of Sakai Plastic Surgery.
An acquaintance advised me, 'Since you have been the director of a cosmetic clinic for over a quarter of a century, you should actively share information about aesthetic medicine,' so I have decided to share my own experiences and knowledge here little by little.

Updates will be irregular, but please join me as this is a place for sharing pure medical knowledge and insights, completely free of any commercial elements.☺️

The hurdles to aesthetic medicine being recognized as medicine

It has been over 30 years since I began my medical career as a plastic surgeon at a university hospital. During that time, medical technology and systems have changed rapidly. Thanks to that, the '100-year life era' is now being advocated. According to a report by the Cabinet Office, the average life expectancy of Japanese people increased by 3.21 years for men and 3.05 years for women between 2000 and 2020.

The world of aesthetic medicine is also undergoing rapid change. No, in a sense, it could be said that aesthetic medicine has caused more social change than insurance-covered medical care. 30 years ago, the image of aesthetic medicine being scary, painful, and suspicious prevailed, and I struggled quite a bit to dispel that image. Even though I was recognized, appreciated, and respected by those around me for medical care when I was repairing faces damaged by disasters or accidents, a strange logic prevailed where the image would plummet the moment it involved aesthetic medicine for healthy individuals.

However, as the times have come to accept diversity, and with the efforts of predecessors who tried to raise the status of aesthetic medicine, along with the evolution of pharmaceuticals and medical devices related to beauty, aesthetic medicine has fully gained citizenship. The number of procedures with less downtime (recovery period after treatment) has increased tremendously, and the medical specialty of 'cosmetic dermatology' has become common. According to a report by Recruit Lifestyle, for the younger generation of women (teens to 30s), those who have received some form of aesthetic medical treatment have become the majority. Medical hair removal has become a matter of course regardless of gender, and the number of men interested in skincare is increasing rapidly, to the point where I think the day when the gender ratio becomes equal is near.

Why has aesthetic medicine become so widespread?

The social background is likely a major reason why aesthetic medicine has become so sought after. We live in a world where people openly compete to have even one more hair, a waist even one centimeter thinner, and eyes even one millimeter larger.

The common theory that having a better appearance is advantageous in the exam wars and job hunting, as seen in South Korea, cannot be entirely denied. Unfortunately, in any country and in any era, it is not uncommon for people to be discriminated against by those around them based on their appearance. Regardless of whether it is congenital or acquired, there are many people who are sincerely worried about their appearance.

In this social context, it is no exaggeration to say that bringing one's appearance closer to one's ideal can remove complexes, restore confidence, and provide hope for the future. Just as makeup became widespread, aesthetic medicine is now spreading as a tool to renew one's appearance.

To select accurate knowledge of aesthetic medicine

While its popularity is growing, it is also important for patients to gather accurate information about aesthetic medicine. It is extremely important in medicine for patients themselves to have the correct information and make choices about what kind of procedures, what kind of medical institutions, and what kind of doctors to choose.

However, in this era of information overload, picking out only the correct knowledge is no easy task. I myself try to gather information widely and carefully examine it so as not to be misled by misinformation.

In this column, some specialized content may appear, but I would like to share information about aesthetic medicine in as simple terms as possible, so I hope it will help foster correct knowledge and understanding of aesthetic medicine for everyone.

'For a life beautiful in both body and soul'

Thank you for your continued support.

Michiaki Sakai

Sakai Plastic Surgery: https://www.sakai-keisei.gr.jp/

Reference sites and materials

“2019 White Paper on Aging Society” / Cabinet Office https://www8.cao.go.jp/kourei/whitepaper/w-2019/html/zenbun/s1_1_1.html https://www8.cao.go.jp/kourei/kou-kei/24forum/pdf/tokyo-s3-2.pdf

“Beauty Census 2019 Second Half” / Recruit Lifestyle Co., Ltd. https://www.recruit.co.jp/newsroom/recruit-lifestyle/uploads/2019/11/RecruitLifestyle_HBA_20191120_001.pdf