When I someday find myself fearless and flush enough to commit to the midlife nose job I’ve been mulling—or perhaps a facelift with fat grafting (the wish list is endless, honestly)—I hope to snag an appointment with a true leader in the field of plastic or facial plastic surgery. I’ve often wondered though what happens when these very doctors, these illustrious and in-demand world authorities, want a “someday” surgery of their own? When you’ve literally written the book on today’s most popular cosmetic procedures, who can you trust to deliver letter-perfect results that suit your highly honed aesthetic? I posed this question to the industry’s best—and they graciously indulged my curiosity (slash nosiness), revealing what they’ll likely have done and who they want to hold the scalpel. Here’s hoping their anecdotes inform and embolden your own self-improvement pursuits.
Dr. Sheila Nazarian, board-certified plastic surgeon in Beverly Hills, California
“My someday procedure is definitely a follicular unit extraction [FUE] hair transplant to the genetic bald spot in the front of my hairline. My kids have this too and thank me for it. Haha! I would go to LA FUE Hair Clinic, as I send all of my patients there for this procedure and have only had the best feedback. I’ll probably do this procedure sometime this year, once my Nazarian Institute conference wraps up in January.”
Dr. Adam Rubinstein, board-certified plastic surgeon in Miami
“I’ve always had a thicker neck, even when I was much younger. I’ve been getting such fabulous results with Ellevate neck lifts that I would consider having the procedure myself, if I ever decided to improve my neck. Ellevate is a simple, new technique that creates a sharper neckline and jawline without big incisions. It’s usually done using local anesthesia alone and can make a huge impact in the right patients. If the day ever comes, I know exactly who I’d ask to perform the procedure—my good friend, Dr. Barry DiBernardo. Since I can’t do it on myself, I know I can trust him. He’s a very skilled surgeon [who has] plenty of experience with Ellevate.”
Dr. Ziyad Hammoudeh, board-certified plastic surgeon in Miami
“The procedure I plan to do someday is fat grafting to my face. We all lose fat in our faces as we age, and fat grafting is such a powerful way to rejuvenate the face for a more youthful appearance. I also wouldn’t mind a little high-definition liposuction, to sculpt out my abs with the harvest of the fat. I would have a combined approach by two experts in their respective areas. I’d have Dr. Terry Maffi in Scottsdale, Arizona, do the facial fat grafting. And I’d see Dr. Alfredo Hoyos in Bogota, Colombia, for the high-definition liposuction, as he’s the innovator of this procedure.”
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Dr. Geoffrey Tobias, board-certified otolaryngologist in Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey
“When I was 18, I was skiing in Vernon Valley and ran into a T-bar cable and broke my nose. It was a nondisplaced fracture, causing only a slight deformity. Since the imperfection was so minimal, I decided against having a nose job. I regret that now. So the procedure I could see myself having one day would be a no-scar, closed rhinoplasty—[which I’ve found] results in a faster recovery and more natural, predictable results that are less uncomfortable and have more enduring outcomes [than other approaches]. As a professor at Mount Sinai Hospital and a past president of The Rhinoplasty Society, I’ve helped to develop these new techniques. The surgeon I personally know is most familiar with these new approaches is Dr. William Binder of Beverly Hills. He’s worked with me on many occasions and has an excellent reputation. I would trust him implicitly.”
Dr. Karen Horton, board-certified plastic surgeon in San Francisco
“Up until last year, my someday procedure was breast augmentation. However, six months ago I finally had breast surgery with Dr. Melinda Haws in Nashville! Her aesthetic is the same as mine—natural-looking results, no sacrifice of muscle function—and she really understood what I was going for. I’ll be sharing my journey on my blog and in social media posts later this year.
At age 48, I’m not leaning toward any other procedure at this point. However, based on my family members and how their faces age, I’ll probably seek an upper lid blepharoplasty and neck lift in another 10, 15, or 20 years. I’m already doing some fillers, to restore lost volume in my face [that] I’ve definitely noticed over the past 10 years. However, sometimes you do need a little extra help. I haven’t yet decided who I would go to for facial surgery, but I would only trust a board-certified plastic surgeon. It’s crucial to know the difference between a plastic surgeon and a cosmetic surgeon, which is a term loosely used to describe any doctor who wants to do a cosmetic procedure—often, not even a surgeon. As a patient, it’s important to do your homework—even when you’re a plastic surgeon yourself.”
Dr. Sarmela Sunder, board-certified facial plastic surgeon in Beverly Hills, California
“As far as surgical procedures, I would say a brow lift and most likely a facelift at some point. I can tell where my brows and lower face are headed, and I think I’d want to maintain their current positions. As far as who I would have perform them, I’d rather not say. I have a lot of friends in the field and wouldn’t want to offend anyone. It would definitely be a board-certified facial plastic surgeon or a board-certified plastic surgeon who specializes in faces.”
Related: 10 Doctors Give Their Best Facelift Advice, in 10 Words or Less
Dr. David Gilpin, board-certified facial plastic surgeon in Nashville
“After a decade of practicing in this field, the procedure I’d consider undergoing in the future would be the deep plane facelift, particularly now with nanofat grafting. I’m loving the results of this new innovation with my own patients, because it provides very natural-looking results. I’m as interested as any other man who’s aging against the backdrop of a growing social-media era. So when I feel the time is right, I will schedule with one of my trusted colleagues and leaders in the field of facial rejuvenation, Dr. Neil Gordon or Dr. Andrew Jacono.”
Dr. Dino Elyassnia, board-certified plastic surgeon in San Francisco
“I can see myself getting a short-scar neck lift—which targets the deep layers of the neck and involves a submental [under-the-chin] scar only—probably with some facial fat grafting. A defined neck is important because it gives a strong jawline and, for both men and women, is of the highest priority for a youthful, healthy, attractive look. I’d trust only Dr. Timothy Marten, my associate and teacher, to perform the procedure—no one in the world knows the neck like him!”
Dr. Jamil Ahmad, board-certified plastic surgeon in Mississauga, Ontario
“I would have liposuction of my waist, performed by Dr. Simeon Wall Jr. in Shreveport, Louisiana. He developed SAFELipo, which is an approach to liposuction allowing precise removal and redistribution of fat to improve contour while minimizing the risk of deformities. Many people have areas of stubborn fat that remain despite a healthy lifestyle, including a balanced diet and regular exercise. Liposuction is a great treatment to address these areas—and is very safe, if performed by an experienced board-certified plastic surgeon.”
Dr. Anthony Youn, board-certified plastic surgeon in Detroit
“My someday procedure is a lower blepharoplasty. Lower eyelid puffiness runs in my family, and I can see it developing in me. In fact, when I do TV, my under-eyes are the only area the makeup artists usually need to touch up. I’d choose my friend, board-certified Los Angeles plastic surgeon Dr. Steven Svehlak of Sunset Cosmetic Surgery. I’ve operated with him countless times and know that he is meticulous, has exquisite attention to detail, and is on top of the latest techniques, so I’d feel very comfortable with him doing it.”
Dr. Jennifer Walden, board certified plastic surgeon in Austin, Texas
“Diastasis repair, because I had twin baby boys near full-term and they stretched my abdominal muscles beyond what exercise can improve. I’d choose Dr. Alfredo Hoyos to perform the procedure. He does a diastasis repair for people who don’t need a lot of skin excision with an in-line retractor at the lower abdomen and umbilicus—so the scar is not as long horizontally, but the diastasis is completely repaired. He also gets fabulous body contouring results!”
Dr. David Sieber, board-certified plastic surgeon in San Francisco
“This is a tough question. I can really only speculate, based on my parents. I’ll probably eventually need to have something done with my eyelids and neck. Just like many of my patients, I’m not looking forward to looking older, so anything I can do to turn back the clock a little is a plus. I have a lot of friends and colleagues who are fully capable of performing these procedures on me. I honestly haven’t thought about it enough to narrow it down to a single surgeon. I think some plastic surgeons have their procedures done by colleagues whom they trust but may or may not be excellent surgeons. My preference would be to have any procedure done by someone I know well personally and professionally who is also a world-class surgeon.”
Dr. Sagar Patel, board-certified facial plastic surgeon in Beverly Hills, California
“My someday procedure may soon become my any-day-now procedure. I want a hair transplant. Every male in my family is balding, and I just don’t want to have to think, worry, or care about my hair. I’ve already talked with Dr. Sejal Patel—no relation—who has his own FUE machine. I offered to give him a hair transplant if he gives me one, but he actually has a nice, flowing head of hair, so I’m not sure how I’ll repay the favor. However, the bottom line is, I’ve seen his work and I trust him with my follicles.”
Related: Tummy Tuck vs. Liposuction: What’s the Difference?
Dr. Lisa Sowder, board-certified plastic surgeon in Seattle
“You’re way too late to be asking me about someday! As for my yesterday procedures, I had eyelid surgery 23 years ago, a facelift 10 years ago, and a breast lift and tummy tuck about seven years ago. I selected Dr. Richard Baxter for my breast lift and tummy tuck because he does the surgery exactly the same way I do it. Like me, he uses progressive tension sutures for the tummy tuck. These prevent fluid collections called seromas. I was at a high risk for seroma because I am a very bad patient—I can’t sit still, let alone lie around in bed. I did not have a seroma post-op, and I’m thrilled with my results. It’s soooo awesome to have a flat tummy at 63! For my facelift, I chose Dr. Tim Marten in San Francisco because I had huge submandibular glands and Dr. Marten is very proficient at trimming them. This is a very tricky surgery—I’ve never tried to do it on a patient—and I knew I would have a compromised result if the glands were not trimmed. I had a very tough recovery, with a lot of bruising, mainly because I was out and about, riding the street cars and walking all over San Francisco a couple of days after surgery. My fault! I scared the crap out of my kids and husband when they picked me up at the airport eight days post-op. My final result was very good, and I have a nicer jawline than I did as a teenager because of the gland trimming.”
