Jeffrey Yager, MD, board-certified plastic surgeon in New York, New York, sat down withDermatology Times to explain his transition from using plastic surgery to fix patient complaints to identifying the underlying causes and integrating a whole patient approach. “You can get a great physical result on a patient, but it doesn’t result in the patient’s happiness.” He continued, “I’m selling beauty, but I really should be selling happiness and inner beauty and tranquility.”
To that end, Yager has teamed up with Jingduan Yang, MD, a board-certified psychiatrist, neurologist, and 5th generation Chinese healer, to create SY Aesthetics. Through their partnership, they are bringing a holistic approach to beauty, integrating anatomy, chemistry, energy, and spirituality in the ACES system.
An Integrated Approach
Yager emphasized that plastic surgery only works on the physical, and he wants to do more. When meeting with patients, Yager finds out their motivation for change. He wants to know the patient’s belief systems, spirituality, nutritional habits, and biochemical issues.
Key Takeaways
- Yager believes that achieving a great physical result through plastic surgery may not necessarily lead to the patient's happiness.
- Yager has partnered with Jingduan Yang, MD to create SY Aesthetics. Together, they integrate anatomy, chemistry, energy, and spirituality through the ACES system to approach beauty and well-being in a comprehensive way.
- Yager is a founding member of the Aesthetic Integrative Medicine and Surgery Society (AIMS). The first annual AIMS Symposium in this week aims to bring together various specialties.
Within the ACES system, Yager focuses on the anatomy of the patient, taking into consideration the patient’s unique features and aesthetic goals; the chemistry of the patient, exploring the biochemical processes and nutrition that factor into overall health; the energy that is the life force of traditional Chinese medicine that enhances vitality and harmony; and the patient’s spirituality, recognizing that faith and inner peace play a role in the pursuit of beauty.
The First Annual AIMS Symposium
Yager is a founding member of the Aesthetic Integrative Medicine and Surgery Society (AIMS), which is holding its first annual AIMS Symposium September 29 and 30, 2023, in Middletown, New York, on the new100-acre campus of the SY Aesthetics center. The event brings together plastic surgeons, dermatologists, aestheticians, hormone specialists, traditional Chinese medicine providers, acupuncturists, and more for presentations that will help clinicians provide better patient care by understanding how the specialties can work together to support patients.
“When somebody feels good and when somebody’s doing things for the right reasons and when the motivations and energy flow are right, you look much better. You look more beautiful without any aesthetic interventions,” Yager said. The goal of SY Aesthetics is to bring together the best of traditional treatments with holistic interventions.
A Global Destination for Wellness and Beauty
The SY Aesthetics campus has a surgical center, as well as an area for non-surgical treatments. The center will also offer acupuncture, traditional Chinese medicine, nutrition, meditation, and a recovery villa.The group will conduct research to evaluate and share how the integrative approach is effective in treating patients.
Yager emphasized the importance of looking beneath the surface to examine the whole patient to determine how the person can best be healed and how their concerns are best addressed. Understanding what is important to each patient will lead to more fulfilled patients and Yager said, “for me personally, a more fulfilling way to practice.”
