PLASTIC SURGERY IS ON THE RISE

THE PURPOSE OF PLASTIC AND AESTHETIC SURGERY IS NOT TO STOP TIME COMPLETELY OR TO LOOK 20 YEARS YOUNGER, BUT TO BE THE BEST VERSION OF YOURSELF AT YOUR CURRENT AGE. THAT IS THE APPROACH OF DR. MARC NELISSEN. HE HAS BEEN A PLASTIC SURGEON SINCE 2001 AND STARTED THE GLOBAL CARE CLINIC IN ZOLDER MORE THAN 10 YEARS AGO, FORMERLY LEVEL4 CLINIC AT THE HARBOUR IN HASSELT. THE BELGIAN PRIVATE CLINIC FOR PLASTIC AND AESTHETIC SURGERY TODAY RECEIVES PATIENTS FROM BELGIUM AND ABROAD. STERCK LIFESTYLE ENTERED INTO A FRANK CONVERSATION.

Global Care Clinic offers a complete range of surgical and non-surgical aesthetic treatments with a particular focus on breast augmentations, anti-aging and skin rejuvenation, facial surgery and body surgery. The clinic is located in the green area around the Zolder race track.

"In our clinic, we organise consultations three days a week. The other days I operate", dr. Marc Nelissen explains. "It's important to let each patient know whether or not his or her expectations are realistic. After all, as a plastic surgeon, you build up a relationship of trust with your patient. In such a relationship, you sometimes have to dare to choose in the place of the patient. It is my intention to listen between the lines to what one desires and to adjust when these expectations are not realistic. Occasionally you also have to be a 'psychologist'. My consultants and I always check whether the patient wants an intervention for the right reasons. Factors such as the pressure of social media or even of a partner are absolutely wrong motives, and then I think it is my duty to communicate that to the patient. And even to refuse to treat someone. Even if someone wants too much such as a 'frozen look' or the famous 'duck face'. Then I refuse with pleasure. A plastic surgeon also has his rights (laughs). We are known for natural results that the others do not notice. By the way, it is becoming more and more accepted that people have something done."

01. less trepidation

STERCK: are people more concerned with themselves and their bodies than they used to be?

Marc Nelissen: "That is absolutely true. And you can also see that in corona times: we all live reasonably well. Many people have made efforts in the last year to make their home a real cocoon and a paradise. But in any case, everyone also has their own temple: their body. Why not pay attention to that? In Belgium there is still a bit more trepidation than, for example, in the Netherlands, where a lot of my patients come from. But you can clearly see an evolution. Belgians generally prefer not to have someone know that they are doing plastic surgery. They want to hear that they look much better without anyone seeing or saying they've had a facelift."

STERCK: Which treatments are most in demand?

Nelissen: "Botox is the most common non-surgical treatment. The demand increases every year. All over the world. We do this in such a way that even the partner does not notice if they do not tell them. We always see the people after a few weeks. I want to hear their feedback. Firstly, to see what you can and know yourself as a doctor. But especially to hear how the patient experiences it himself, because that is a bit variable. I also give workshops in Amsterdam for colleagues from all over the world. And then I like to tell them honestly how things work in daily life with real patients."

02. PERSONAL CARE

STERCK: WHAT IS THE ESSENCE OF A SUCCESSFUL TREATMENT OR PROCEDURE FOR YOU?

Nelissen: "Tailor-made care in a pleasant atmosphere and in a safe way. That's what it's all about. People want to take care of their bodies, be themselves, reward themselves, feel good in their environment. That is the essence. The entire clinic is built around it to provide that personal care. I don't push anyone and maybe send 40% of people away because they come up with a wrong image. If you have never done anything for your body your whole life and you want to continue on the same path for 20 years after a facelift, that is not possible. I like to make the comparison with a garden for my patients. If you never wanted a garden because you have to maintain it, you can't suddenly build it and then not look after it for ten years. It's the same with your body. We like to let people think first to let it sink in. We let them look on the internet or hear them somewhere else. If they can still relate to what we say, then we can start. People really like that. As a surgeon, you were raised to be able to do anything. But you also have to dare to say no. And you also have to dare to admit that you are better in certain things and less so in others."

03. Breast corrections

STERCK: which areas do you mainly focus on?

Nelissen: "I mainly do a lot of breast corrections because for many women this strongly determines their individuality and their well-being. A woman who has had three children and whose body you can switch back to the period before ... Such a woman often feels more feminine and sexy again. Without having to exaggerate, of course. For the partner it is often not necessary, but he often concludes afterwards that he gets a completely different and more confident woman back. While the environment does not need to know that. I think that's the best thing. Many women who have had problems with depression for years can give you a reborn feeling with an hour-long breast surgery. I do not participate in the trend of exaggerated breasts and lips. I want to be able to sit at the same table afterwards with the people I treated."

STERCK: people are thinking about surgery at an increasingly younger age?

Nelissen: "In principle, you have to wait until the age of 18. Although I don't always find that logical. Protruding ears can be operated from six to seven years, while those children do not know what is going on at that time. In principle, we only do that from the age of ten to eleven because they then realise more. A colleague from the Netherlands told the story of a 17-year-old girl who did not have any form of breast formation and where he performed a breast correction. She has become a completely open-bloomed teenager."

04. upholding ethics

STERCK: do you still see certain trends?

Nelissen: "The number of non-surgical procedures has increased by 30% every year over the last ten years. Then we are talking about botox, fillers, skin treatments, skin rejuvenations ... Also with the help of medication. In surgery, the top three treatment is fairly constant: breast augmentations, liposuction, and eye and rhinoplasty. I do far fewer liposuctions than I did ten years ago because I often found that people had too high expectations. They think they're getting tighter, but that never happens. Often they are better off waiting a little longer because the excess skin has to be cut away afterwards. Such patients then go elsewhere where they perform the procedure anyway, but they come back years later to say that I was right. They didn't lose weight and still lost their money."

STERCK: there are now numerous parties that offer anti-aging treatments?

Nelissen: “You have to have the expertise for it, but also take the time to listen to a patient. If you just take it and want to help everyone, you have a problem. Some GPs take their time for it and then that is perfectly possible. However, too often people just want to do what the patient asks and treat everyone. A patient can also shop perfectly in Belgium. If someone does not want to perform an operation, the patient will find someone else. I think that as a doctor you have to keep ethics high. The patient should feel good, but so should you. People often need coaching. A facelift? You may need to tackle the skin with a number of treatments first. Only then can you consider whether surgery is really necessary."

STERCK: yoy work with a whole team?

Nelissen: "On operation days we work with eight to ten people. On consultation days we are with five employees: three assistants, one nurse and myself. We do operations weekly on one or two fixed days in two operating theatres. We can then operate for more than twelve hours. Thanks to a good organization, we do more one day than we used to in the public hospital in a week's time. We only treat healthy people and they also have to walk outside healthy. The treatment or procedure is also always done in day admission and we give anesthesia that is aimed at day hospitalization. In other places, people often work with much deeper anesthesia, but there is a greater chance of bleeding and thromboses. The patients are here in a deep, comfortable sleep, they breathe spontaneously and we give pain relief. Every body area I operate on, I numb extra. Men who come for their eyes or eyebrows sometimes have a terrible fear of anesthesia or pain. They all wake up and feel nothing. People don't believe that. I think 99% of patients wake up painless before breast augmentation."

05. treatments on men

STERCK: even among the male audience, PLASTIC AND AESTHETIC SURGERY IS NO LONGER A TABOO?

Nelissen: "Men mainly come for eyelid corrections, skin treatments and botox. These are small interventions that give them a calmer appearance without looking more feminine. Especially for the latter, men are afraid. Rhinoplasty and liposuction are also common in men. What is true: once a man has taken the step, you usually get the full confidence. That's nice. Nevertheless, there are still some taboos among the male audience. But why is going to the hairdresser, buying new clothes, working out and doing yoga obvious? While you can follow a treatment here for a sometimes smaller budget without your environment knowing it? Our strength is that we offer a very good price-quality ratio where people even come to Zolder from far away. And they can park in front of the door in peace."

06. OPERATIon infrastructure available

STERCK: in addition to plastic-aesthetic surgery, OTHER MEDICAL DISCIPLINES ARE INCREASINGLY FINDING THEIR WAY TO THE GLOBAL CARE CLINIC?

Nelissen: "That's right. The current Covid19 crisis meant that certain disciplines received little or no operating time in the hospital. Moreover, the European hospital landscape is in full development. The classic hospital as we know it today will continue to play an important role in our healthcare, but as in other countries (eg. The Netherlands) there will probably also be more room for treatments outside the general hospital, so that people can focus on the core business of the sick patient. Both patient and practitioner are the requesting party. The patient wants more and more personalized care, personal contact, efficient service, small scale, affordable care... For the medical professional, it is often more interesting, especially for the treatment of non-sick patients, to work outside the classic hospital environment. Global Care Clinic therefore offers health care professionals the opportunity to hire surgery time. A tailor-made plan is developed for every health professional because the needs will always be different."

GLOBAL CARE CLINIC key assets

Multipurpose and modern infrastructure
Two fully-fledged operating theatres (S2 & S3) with pre-anaesthesia room and a spacious recovery for 6 beds.
Biennial inspection (strict quality mark of the Belgian Society for Private Clinics)
Separate exit for postoperative patients
Spacious bed lift
Anesthesiologist
Secretarial service
Hotel service in the immediate vicinity
Good accessibility: in the municipality of Zolder in the vicinity of the Lummen interchange (junction E314-E313)
Ample free parking
Discretion and privacy assured by its location in a wooded, residential area