As a medical doctor, if you have an eye for beauty and you like good things, it’s easy for you to go into that field because you appreciate beauty. This is more about detailing; you don’t just put things in people’s bodies and faces. You take your time and study them; almost like your painting and artwork. For me,
Rommel
Dr. Rommel Asagwara is a board-certified physician in Family Medicine from the University of Kansas where he graduated as chief resident. He also holds board certification in Medicine from the University of Strasbourg, France. Asagwara has extensive training and expertise in weight loss and cosmetic procedures andis the Managing Director and Chief Consultant at Dream Weight Botox Clinic. In this interview with IJEOMA THOMAS-ODIA, he speaks about his interest in beauty and aesthetics as a doctor.
What motivated youinto aesthetics and beauty, which is seen as a women’s domain?
As a medical doctor, if you have an eye for beauty and you like good things, it’s easy for you to go into that field because you appreciate beauty. This is more about detailing; you don’t just put things in people’s bodies and faces. You take your time and study them; almost like your painting and artwork. For me, I like beauty. I like making people feel happier and better. If somebody says, “this is bothering me; what can you do as a doctor?” it is part of my job to be able to address that just like how I would address someone with a sprained or swollen ankle.
In Nigeria, changing the colour of one’s skin is detested across cultures. What’s your take about that perception?
It’s getting better. People want to ask questions about it, but they are afraid that if they do, people will judge them and question them. They come in from a religious angle and I tell people to remove the guilt from it. Understand “why.” That’s what I do when I meet people. I ask them why they want to do this, because you will find out that people do it for different reasons, and people will tell you they have gone through a lot and how they are in a phase in their lives where they want to find themselves again.For most people, what they want to do is not to change their looks. It’s to actually say, “I let myself go.
I got carried away with time, work, children and life. Can you please take me back to find myself again.” That’s what they come for 90 per cent of the time. Most people do it once or twice. When I listen to them, I tell them, realistically, I’m not going to change you, but if you have a lot of wrinkles and scars (it doesn’t mean they should carry the scars on forever) does it mean you have to remove it? No. But it is a choice.
Medicine has changed to a point where we have to give people choices. We have to allow people to say this is what I want for myself. Is it healthy for them? Is it safe? Who is doing it? If you can tick out all these boxes — safety, healthy, I want it, I’m not being forced, I understand it — then you can have a discussion with me, and I don’t judge anyone.
Talking about safety, there have been cases in Nigeria where aesthetic surgeries went wrong. What is mostly responsible for that?
Number one, it can happen. Unfortunately for those people who it happened to I feel saddened that it happened to them. I don’t do Brazilian Butt Lift (BBL) surgery, and I’ll go into a little bit of details. I don’t do surgery. Everything I do is non-invasive; you will not sleep. However, I have machines to do it. I go under your skin with needles, but you’re awake. This is one non-invasive medical care.
For people that are doing basic medical care, I think the most important thing is finding out if the patients are actually ready to do it.
Finding out if they are the right patients or candidates, and if it is safe for them. I think safety is very important. As a good doctor, take your time, and tell somebody with health problems that it is unhealthy and dangerous for them;do not take their money.
I think that what we need to do as Nigerians is to place an emphasis on safety. We also need to know if the people carrying out these operations are caring for the patients first and not just the money. If they can care about them and perform these operations the right way, then you have already removed half of the problem.
Having set up two clinics abroad, why did you choose to come back home to establish one?
I left here 20 years ago. I never thought I would come back here. But then, when I started telling my family, they expressed the same concerns about people lacking knowledge about this newfound skin care culture. But then, I came home for a TV Show, the Real Housewives and then the owners of the show told me that people would need your services here. They told me people were aware now and were all-over social media in search of the right quality. If you have that ability, people want you to treat them the same way, whether you are in America or Nigeria. So why would you then exclude Nigerians?We actually have a lot of stress in Nigeria and it shows in the facemore.
You practice on three different continents. Can you compare all three in terms of medicine?
Medicine wise, the United States is still the pioneer in so many things because we are ahead in lots of things because of the culture. The medicine there is standardised and you follow protocol. In Europe, it’s also that way. But the difference isthat people there pay more attention to their image. The Nigerian women do that too. Modern American women care about themselves.Our women here deserve it too. They know what they want. Give them the options and they will come..…CONTINUE.FULL.READING>>>
