Posted September 13, 2009 in Blog, Botox and Facial Fillers, Plastic Surgery in the News, Uncategorized
Mitch McCabe’s HBO film documentary, “Youth Knows No Pain” explores the obsession with anti – aging procedures and the pursuit of eternal youth. Mitch McCabe is the daughter of late Michigan plastic surgeon W. Peter McCabe, M.D. She has long been intrigued by the extreme measures that people take to maintain the appearance of youth. Ms. McCabe spent two years traveling the country to visit doctors, experts and anti-aging enthusiasts, interviewing hundreds of men and women ranging in age from 18 to 93. As a facial plastic surgeon, watching “Youth Knows No Pain” was “painful”. It certainly does not paint a pretty picture of the plastic surgery profession, with internet solicited Botox parties organized by a cheesy NYC anesthesiologist who corrals clients looking to save a buck to a “dental” office for “expert” (read “week-end instruction Botox injection course” graduate). After all, he “has student loan bills to pay back”; to world famous dermatologist Fredrick Brandt, M.D. proclaiming himself “The Baron and King of Botox” while admitting to his self injections that appear to be anything but natural looking. In striking in contrast to this buffoonery and loss of professionalism is the old time professional values portrayed by the film-maker’s father. Dr. McCabe was an orthopedic surgeon in a Viet Nam MASH unit, dealing with life and death 24/7 for years. The photos of a solider getting a tracheotomy, another being repaired after losing both legs and most of his pelvis, amputated fingers, shattered shrapnel legs, and Dr. McCabe’s reconstruction of pediatric cleft palates, bring the viewer back to reality, back to the reasons that most of us went into medicine. Mitch explains that after the war her father pursued a career in plastic surgery because he was tired of dealing with life and death situations on a daily basis (something that he could not control), and wanted to do something that made people happy, now (within his control). It is evident from the footage of Dr. McCabe that he was a most loved physician and surgeon who possessed the old fashion values of Trust, Love, and Understanding. The documentary underlines the importance of finding those character values when choosing a cosmetic physician. By the end of her travels, Mitch McCabe found that physician in Rebecca Fitzgerald M.D., the physician who injected her face with fillers. Unfortunately, Ms. McCabe and the medical profession lost a great man and physician too soon, while there seems to be an increasing abundance of those in the anti-aging field who lack class as well as Trust, Love, and Understanding. Be well and choose your cosmetic physician carefully.
Dr Persky is located in Encino, California but services all of Los Angeles and the San Fernando Valley. Including, Beverly Hills, Hollywood, Santa Monica, Malibu, Sherman Oaks, Studio City, Calabasas, Woodland Hills, Tarzana and Agoura Hills and more.
