Plastic surgery is a profession that seems to be almost inextricably linked with certain ideas about physical beauty in popular culture. Yet, l have often wondered whether working in the field might not give plastic surgeons a more nuanced understanding of beauty than we tend to give them credit for.

In this episode of This is Beauty Podcast, I talk to Plastic Surgeon and Researcher Dr. Michael Reilly, a double-board certified facial plastic and reconstructive surgeon at MedStar Georgetown University Hospital in Washington, DC, about the subject of beauty and the role it plays in his profession and his practices, both as a cosmetic and reconstructive surgeon. How does the concept of beauty inform his work and how has his work influenced, or been influenced by, his personal philosophy of beauty?

While I have always had lots of questions on the subject, plastic surgery is a topic that I’ve always skirted on the show until now — not because it doesn’t have a place here, but because I really wanted to avoid the kind of skin-deep only conversations that can erupt when people mention beauty and plastic surgery in the same breath. In Michael, I found not only an expert on the subject of cosmetic and reconstructive surgery, but someone who has clearly given the concept of beauty and its relationship to his work serious thought.

In this conversation, we discuss Michael’s work with both his cosmetic and reconstructive surgery patients and how beauty takes on different meanings depending upon the objectives of the procedure and more!

Enjoy!

• When perfection matters 
• Social media’s influence on the field of plastic surgery
• How mental health and self-esteem influence patient outcomes
• Dr. DeSilva on the Golden Ratio and the most world's most beautiful women
• Definitions of beauty 
• Bell’s Palsy and Facial Paralysis 
• Who benefits most from plastic surgery
• Why men seek plastic surgery
• Standards of physical beauty: men vs. women
• Age as a factor in procedures
• Why people elect plastic surgery

Mentioned in this episode:

MedStar Georgetown University Hospital  

The Most Beautiful Women in the World - Dr. Julian DeSilva

Bell’s Palsy and Mental Health

Psychology Today Blog: Dissecting Plastic Surgery

Social Media Drives Interest in Plastic Surgery Procedures

Plastic Surgery Can Make You More Likeable

About Today’s Guest:

Doctor Michael Reilly is a Professor of Otolaryngology--Head & Neck Surgery at Georgetown University Medical Center and a double-board certified facial plastic and reconstructive surgeon at MedStar Georgetown University Hospital in Washington, D.C. His areas of expertise include both facial cosmetic surgery, including the full spectrum of minimally invasive treatments, and facial reconstructive surgery, with particular interests in the areas of nerve paralysis and microvascular reconstructive and melanoma...