A day in the knife..

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As one of the UAE's first female Emirati plastic surgeons, Dr Buthainah Al-Shunnar has watched the cosmetic industry evolve. She tells Medical Times about the perks of private practice, why she's behind tighter industry regulations, and the rising popularity of plastic surgery without the surgery.

What is your background?

I went to medical school in Dublin, Ireland. I did my training in surgery in the US where I completed my general surgery first at Johns Hopkins Hospital and George Washington Hospital, followed by my plastic surgery training at Johns Hopkins.

The training in the US took seven years. I then worked in Pennsylvania for three years after my training, before returning to the UAE and working in Sheikh Khalifa Hospital for two and a half years. I was away for a total of 16 years, between medical school and training.

What prompted you to establish your own clinic?

You can create your own standards. You are not obligated to have standards imposed upon you that you may or may not be happy with. The thing I miss about hospitals is the teamwork, having a big group of physicians. With your own practice, you don't have to deal with hospital politics, but I do miss the hospital camaraderie.

From the clinical perspective, what elements do you particularly enjoy?

The good thing about plastic surgery is that it encompasses everything. You don't get bored. There is always something different. The cosmetic/reconstructive split of my practice is probably 70/30 - the reconstructive part is anything from a skin graft to breast reconstruction, which is one of my passions.

It makes a very big difference to a patient's attitude and psyche and, from my side, it encompasses the symmetry, the art. It is one of my favourite procedures.

Are there any aspects of your job that you don't enjoy?

Paperwork. The endless paperwork. But is has become second nature - I'm very obsessive compulsive about it now. I do my dictations immediately after surgery. I keep the surgical notes at my clinic and at the hospital so, 10 years from now, should a patient want information on their implant for example, it's all there. I think that's important, but I do hate paperwork!

Do you feel cosmetic surgery is irresponsibly portrayed in the regional press?

It is not just in this region, it is across the world. People often underplay plastic surgery, but at the end of the day it is surgery and you have to keep that in consideration. There are complications that can occur with any surgery; if you haven't had a complication, that's because you haven't done enough surgery.

Do you think the recent clampdown on medical advertising will help regulate claims?

There is such an influx of plastic surgery and there is so much advertising out there. I did advertise for the first few months, but I stopped. The regulations said you can't promote where you're from, where you studied, and that didn't make sense to me.

I spent all that effort in going abroad, and if you remove all the highlights then why advertise at all? For patients, it is hard to determine what is real and what it not, rigid regulations are at least a way to protect society. It may be a little restrictive, but at this stage it is probably what the country needs to do.

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Bravo!
Posted by Stephanie Eijsink MD, Tyler, Texas, USA on Thursday 11 October 2007 at 00:00 UAE time

Excellent article! It was so refreshing to see a female plastic surgeon in the Middle East! I would very much like to attend CME in Qatar or Dubai. Could you please give me some leads? I'm interested in internal medicine, ER and bariatric surgery. How do I find more information? Thanks!

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