More Than Skin Deep
More Than Skin Deep
Montreal Cosmetic Surgeon Enhancing Nature’s Work
By Kristina Edson
On the surface, Dr. Geneviève Gaudreau’s job is to right aesthetic wrongs and make beauty dreams come true. But what the Montreal-based plastic surgeon does is much more than that. The Sherbrooke, Quebec native divides her time between her clinic, La Clinique GG et Spa Médical, which she opened in April 2018, and nearby Sacré-Cœur and Fleury hospitals.
Though much of her time is devoted to performing a large number of the elective cosmetic procedures which her patients seek, Dr. Gaudreau, M.D., FRCS(C), has also built a solid reputation for the work she does performing reconstructive surgery on breast cancer patients. Dr. Gaudreau and her medical colleagues have come up with a surgical protocol that contradicts the “old mentality,” and which allows them to do more for a patient in a single day.
“The general surgeon will remove the breast and I’ll come in right after and put in a breast implant that’s deflated to start. We then add a bit of volume to stretch the skin until we can eventually (in subsequent surgeries) reach the level of the other breast,” she explained of the process that usually also includes removal of the nipple. The initial surgery almost always includes performing a lift, a reduction or an augmentation on the healthy breast so that it will match the reconstructed breast in the end.
And while admitting that it is difficult ensuring that two surgeons can be present for one patient in one day, Dr. Gaudreau feels her patients benefit from the protocol. When consulting with a woman who is often grappling with a breast cancer diagnosis and the loss of a breast, Dr. Gaudreau is aware of the need to offer realistic hope. “Most patients have just had their diagnosis and are going through the learning phase,” she said. “I try to have a positive attitude and listen to them, but also offer empathy.”
Business of Beauty
When not working with breast cancer patients, Dr. Gaudreau, who began her practice in 2012, divides her time between teaching at the hospitals and her private practice. There, she consults with patients, performs surgeries under local anesthesia and offers facial care. Cosmetic surgeries under general anesthesia are performed in a private hospital.
When it comes to what patients want, Dr. Gaudreau says the range is extensive. “I do many kinds of operations such as tummy tucks, arm lifts, thigh lifts, breast implants and lifts, liposuction, eyelids,” and more, she explained. This winter, she will start doing face and neck lifts.
And the doctor counts Ida Fabbro, a medical esthetician, as an important part of her team. “While I perform surgery and do all injectables for my patients, Ida’s skin care techniques, such as facials, laser hair removal, skin photorejuvenation, microneedles with radiofrequency, microdermabrasion and other treatments allow us to offer a complete range of beauty treatments,” she noted.
Being the Best You Possible
Dr. Gaudreau, who says men make up about 5-percent of her patients, admits that while cosmetic surgery is more accepted now, most clients still want discretion. “Getting some kind of plastic surgery done is less of a taboo today for sure,” she said. “Many people talk openly about getting Botox and fillers. It’s sort of like going to the hairdresser, so it’s not as hidden.” At the same time, most want to keep their beauty secrets a secret. “Sometimes people want to hide what they’re doing so they ask me to make them look natural.”
In fact, natural is the word Dr. Gaudreau hears more often than not. “Overall people want to look refreshed and not obvious,” she said, adding, “They don’t come to me to have big lips. That was a trend a few years ago but it’s not in style anymore.”
When asked if she feels people can become addicted to cosmetic procedures, Dr. Gaudreau answered in the negative. “In all my years in practice, I’ve only told one person I didn’t feel they needed an additional procedure,” she said. “Everyone has something they don’t like and wants to have changed. When they come to me, they’re sometimes shy about it, but once it’s fixed, they’re happy.”
Some unusual cosmetic surgeries she’s performed have included operations on earlobes, nipple reductions, and even cosmetic procedures to reshape genital areas. In an often male-dominated surgical field, Dr. Gaudreau feels her status as a woman is an advantage. “We mostly operate on women, and obviously I understand them much better than a man would. I hear male colleagues talk about breasts, but they don’t always think about nipple sensitivity, for example, and why that’s important… I think they maybe don’t understand a woman as much as I can,” she noted.
Dr. Gaudreau, who says elective cosmetic procedures can start at $300 for injections such as Botox, and go up to $10,000 or more for a full facelift and neck-lift, says giving patients the body part or feature they’ve always wanted, or a breast cancer patient a healthy new shape, is gratifying. “When I see how thankful someone is, or how pleased and surprised their partner is, it really makes my day. That’s my reward and my payoff.”