My First Anti-Aging & Restorative Medicine Client: A Brief Story

As a Plastic Surgeon, I have been asked several times why I would add an Anti-Aging/Wellness component to an already very busy practice. After all, how in the world does anti-aging fit in with Plastic Surgery and vice-versa? To answer this question, let me introduce you to my first patient.

My first client began his journey at the age of 44 and was in seemingly good overall health. He was eating well (or so he thought), he was getting enough exercise (or so he thought), and he was in the prime of his life looking great for his age (again, that is what he thought). But he also noticed that friends around him were developing age-related health problems and he simply didn’t want to find himself on the standard slue of medications that it appeared he was heading towards. And so he made a change.

When I first saw him, he was the typical 44 year old Type A male who loved his dinners out, never met a martini he didn’t like, and worked long hours often with little physical exertion in between. And, he loved his Sunday Fundays. He would take the day and relax with his girlfriend and order take out, crack a bottle of wine, and then wake refreshed the following day and hit the ground running. But with everything going well, he began to notice changes in his physical appearance that didn’t jibe with the appearance of a young man. Instead, he was noticing early jowling, fullness to his neck, and the gradual appearance of love handles. And so he decided to make a change. And that is where he began.

Fast forward to today and he is a completely different man. He has lost over 20 pounds of pure fat and has replaced this with lean muscle. His diet is clean, his alcohol intake is dramatically reduced, and he is getting exercise on a regular basis. Over the past few years, he has worked with a personal trainer and has even gone so far as to enter a highly competitive Men’s Physique competition where he recently took 1st place in his age category.

I know this patient well for one reason. This patient is ME!

As a very driven person, I have always set goals for myself and have done everything I could to achieve them. But over the years, some goals apparently took precedent over others and my personal health took a backseat to professional success. But as I began to see friends experiencing changes in their health, I began seeing a young man in the mirror that looked more like an older version of himself and someone who was decidedly heading in the wrong direction.

And so one day, I had had enough and decided to make a change. As the result of hormone supplementation, a clean diet, an amazing personal trainer, and an incredibly supportive circle of friends I am now a completely different person both inside and out. And as a result of these changes, I have been inspired to share them with my own patients and help them achieve the same transformation that I was able to make.

As a Plastic Surgeon, I can affect my patients in dramatic ways externally but I always felt that I was shortchanging them by not addressing the aging process or the lifestyle factors that brought them to my office in the first place. But now I can. I have always said that you can never guide someone through a life journey that you yourself have not experienced firsthand. But now I have. And I firmly believe that the hard work and the dedication necessary to achieve what I have achieved were worth it in the end.

The road to optimal wellness is often challenging and requires dedication. But when the endpoint is a more productive and a more vigorous life, and when the years ahead are potentially free of disease, there is no greater reward.

I will be launching this exciting program in the next few weeks and look forward to working with you.  To learn more, please email your questions to drbuford@beautybybuford.com or call us.

Be well!