Posted: November 22, 2016
The concept of Brazilian Plastic Surgery really doesn’t start with surgery at all…it begins with the country and the people. During my time in Brazil I was fortunate to receive training in four different cities (Sao Paolo, Porto Alegre, Belo Horizonte, and Rio de Jainero) with multiple world renowned surgeons, but I got the sense that the art of Brazilian Plastic Surgery really started with the country and the people itself. Brazil is big, and yet there was a common feeling and a sensuality that permeated the culture and that root essence bubbled out in almost everything they did. Food, dance, and music are all celebrated through a confidence and joy that touches all parts of life. So when they dance, it comes out as the Samba, and when they sing, it has a purring, dreamy quality that sounds like they are half asleep. It makes them feel good…and when you are down there, it makes you feel good too!!! Plastic Surgery in Brazil is the same. It seems to get produced with that equal spirit of warmth, confidence and sensuality that blankets the country. But what is it exactly that makes it different? In many ways, that is a question that I am still asking myself, years later. Is it a different way of looking at things or is it a different technique that makes it unique?
After much thought and experience, I have concluded…that it is both. Starting with the first premise, I do think they have a 
different way of looking at things but I don’t think it’s just looking with an artist’s eye, although that is no doubt part of the equation. What I began to feel during my time there was that they honestly felt that what they were looking at WAS art….that the female form already was a work of art and they weren’t there to create it, but rather enhance what already existed. It’s almost as if it wasn’t a patient they were looking at, but something different, something…more. There is no doubt that the confidence that Brazilian women seemed to have, no matter the size or shape, contributed to that feeling. But the surgeons seemed to have this thought process as a starting point, not as an end. I think this leads them to be more “eye” oriented and less “tape measure” oriented. For example, there were many times during my plastic surgery residency training in the United States that we measured the patient for a breast surgery operation before the operating room, and then during the surgery we followed exactly the plan we had measured out. In Brazil, it seemed more “tailor as you go”, following a plan dictated by the form of each individual patient.
And with the second concept, that of technique, they seemed more free to think outside the box and constantly push to find improved results. Sure you can reduce and lift a breast, but what does it look like 5 years later, besides just smaller? Sure you can remove excess skin from the tummy, but can you give it shape? Some techniques, such as the ones I use for breast lift or mastopexy, are specifically designed for maximum shape and longevity and are very different than what I learned in the United States. I have made changes over the years to fit more closely with the American woman, but the core concepts of many of the techniques that I learned remain the same.
This is only a start. I think as time passes and I spend more time in the operating room and in conference with my Brazilian colleagues, I begin to see a bit more of what I felt in a country so different than all the others.
If you would like more information on the artistic Brazillian approach to plastic surgery, contact our experienced board certified plastic surgeon, Dr. Corey. We happily serve the areas of Phoenix, Scottsdale, Gilbert, Mesa, and Chandler.