Meeting Doug Rossillon

BrusselsLife.be: Doctor, we know you through your publications. Would you please tell us about your track record? Doug Rossillon: I studied at the University of Louvain and at the ULB, then I went to the USA and I've been practicing plastic surgery since 1989. Besides working in my own clinic, I am the head of service at the hospitals of Jolimont and Nivelles. I have made more than 15 000 operations, each one of them was amazing. Over the years, my work in reconstructive surgery has started to decrease and today I mostly work in plastic surgery. It brings me a daily satisfaction, between manual and intellectual works and of course, my biggest pleasure is to see a transformed patient. Indeed, plastic surgery is also about the soul, it helps people to find self-confidence and to improve their way of life, their social life and their own satisfaction. Because of my work, I have to travel a lot, I attend retraining and international trainings in order to meet my colleagues, to share new ideas and technic improvements. I also travel to work in relief medicine, for example, I went to Nepal and soon I'm going to visit Burkina Fasso. When I've got some free time, I like to get away from here, to put my head in the clouds on the tops of mountains from each continent. BL: What is plastic surgery and which are the most demanded operations ? DR: Plastic surgery is the surgery of the body's embellishment but it is also about the soul. I do work in breast, face and profile surgery. About the breast, we practice breast elevation and reduction and the reshaping of sloping breast. The work on the face is essentially based on eyelid, nose and lifting of course. Liposuccion is part of the shape's category. BL: Which one is your favorite operation ? DR: Here we practice each kind of operation. Thanks to our training and experience, we are the only ones able to decide which technic may be used in order to be the most convenient for the patient according to his wishes, we always want to work with the best safety conditions and to give him the best cares. Because a plastic surgery is not always the perfect solution. The patient has to be checked, his skin's complexity, his wishes, we have to tell him about the advantages and disadvantages. I currently love a new kind of lifting on which I have been working: it gives lasting results and provides a natural appearance to the face. All my patients are really satisfied: they do not feel any kind of nagging pain and their friends compliment them about their stunning face! BL: Where do you practice ? DR: Important reconstruction surgery has to be practiced in a hospital, but plastic surgery operations are done here, in my clinic in Overijse. The center has a registered operation room. At the beginning, there were not any rules in Belgium, that's why we followed the American model. We had to study a huge notebook and we built our OR which is now a reference place in Belgium and we often welcome colleagues who want to draw their inspiration from our OR. When it is possible, we operate in OBA. BL: OBA ? DR: OBA means Office Based Anesthesia. This is a practical which is performed and controlled in the US and it is coming here. To say it quickly, we operate with general anesthesia and people come to right after the operation. A medical staff is there to support the patient when he comes to, each patient has a nurse, specialized in intensive care, by her side. She injects pain killers to the patient, so our patients always feel comfortable after their operation and have very reduced recovery needs. BL: Is plastic surgery covered by the mutual insurance company? DR: Mutual insurance companies allow refund for plastic surgeries of reconstruction, divided between anesthesia, surgery and hospitalization's fees. However, if the operation is only about aesthetic, the mutual insurance and private insurance companies do not refund. BL: I've made my decision, I want to be operated. How do I choose my surgeon ? DR: It is necessary to choose a licensed surgeon, in order to avoid centers only based on profit. BL:How do I know that my surgeon is licensed? DR: At first, he has to be graduated from plastic surgery, reconstruction and aesthetic. His diploma should be on a wall of his practice. His INAMI code has to end with 210. But it nos necessary to check his membership in a plastic surgery company, because the standards are often very hard and are the symbol of extra recognition. (i.e. : Société Internationale de Chirugie Esthétique - www.isaps.org ). Finally, you can also trust word-of-mouth: reputation is the best business card for a plastic surgeon.