Today, Susanna Gracheva is a rare specialist for Europe. Her specialty is injection beautification, i.e. non-surgical correction of external facial defects. She studied with Swiss plastic surgeon Michel Pfulg, who was the first to apply knowledge of the golden section in aesthetic medicine, and with Canadian doctor Arthur Swift, a pioneer of beautification.
The basis of Dr. Gracheva's own method is to change the proportions of the face by introducing large volumes of hyaluronic acid fillers into different layers of tissue. In this process, the facial sculpting specialist must perceive the patient's appearance as a whole, striving to achieve naturalness and harmony, and not just to eliminate individual flaws. Unlike traditional contour plastic techniques, which focus on individual areas, Gracheva's method involves a comprehensive perception of the face as a single whole, which allows for more natural and long-lasting results.
Susanna Gracheva not only applies advanced methods in her practice, but also teaches them to other specialists at international conferences, which confirms her status as a world-class expert. Her methods are actively being introduced into European practice. In her work, she adheres to the principle that true beauty lies in harmony and balance, and therefore each intervention must be thought out and based on the individual characteristics of the patient.
Aging is an inevitable but natural process. Why is this topic so pressing today?
Aging is a topic that has always been relevant. Let's remember the secrets of Cleopatra's beauty and youth, the legend of Avicenna's forty potions of immortality, or Pyotr Yershov's fairy tale about the Little Humpbacked Horse, in which the king, in order to rejuvenate himself, was ready to jump into three magic cauldrons.
Today, life expectancy is increasing and the retirement age is growing in the world. For example, when I went to Japan in 2016 as part of a delegation of 20 doctors — winners of the All-European competition “The Path to Active Longevity Begins Today,” they actively shared with us the secrets of Japanese longevity. This country has been the leader in life expectancy for more than 35 years, which the Japanese themselves explain by the development of civilization and, first of all, the highest level of healthcare and great attention to disease prevention.
People remain socialized longer, professionally in demand, and less and less often position themselves only as the older generation helping to raise their grandchildren. The motto of modern grandparents is “70 years is the new 50!” Rejuvenation (and according to academician Nikolai Amosov, this means pushing back your biological age) is possible in our time not only with the help of predictive medicine, but also with the help of a new and rapidly developing direction all over the world – beauty medicine. And if in Bulgakov's novel Margarita was turned into a real witch by a jar of cream from Azazello, today ladies have access to a whole range of aesthetic procedures that can work miracles.
As an expert in the field of aesthetic medicine, I can say that modern minimally invasive injection techniques will quickly and painlessly help you lose age and look more toned, well-groomed and attractive. The main request of my patients is to age beautifully and naturally, receiving compliments, and not questions about how much you paid for injections or plastic surgery.
What types of aging are there?
Until recently, we divided the types of aging into morphotypes:
- tired;
- deformation;
- finely wrinkled;
- muscular;
- mixed.
But the science of facial anatomy has made so many discoveries in the last 10-15 years that we can talk separately about the anatomy of aging, explaining the involutional processes in men and women with new knowledge. For ease of understanding the layered anatomy of the face, I suggest imagining our tissues as layers of a Napoleon cake, where the skin is the surface level that reflects the aging processes in the underlying tissues. You will be surprised, but age-related changes first affect the deepest layer – the bones of the facial skull. In the processes of the lower and upper jaws, the resorption process begins around the age of 23.
What causes premature aging?
Often, a patient after 45 years of age seeks dental care and learns that for successful implantation, an operation to restore bone tissue must first be performed. And patients who, for various reasons, have atrophy of the bone structure are immediately visible. Therefore, tooth extraction without subsequent timely implantation, periodontosis and periodontitis, a neglectful attitude to the condition of the oral cavity provoke premature aging. As well as the presence of chronic and untreated diseases of the ENT organs.
Another layer of facial tissue that influences our appearance is the SMAS, or muscular-fibrous layer. As we age, the ligaments that hold the tissues together stretch, and the muscular apparatus reflects certain patterns of emotion or established expressions that we convey unconsciously, depending on our emotional intelligence.
Unfortunately, with age, our faces increasingly express concern and discontent rather than positive and joyful emotions. And the longer a person's difficult emotional state, chronic stress, continues, the more pronounced the “wrinkles of anger” between the eyebrows or the “marionette lines” at the corners of the mouth will be on his face. Therefore, constant stress and lack of psychological release also provoke premature aging of the face.
The next layers of the Napoleon are the superficial and deep fat pads that give the young face the correct light reflection. Over the years, the anatomy of these structures changes, and more and more shadows appear on the face, giving age. And finally, the skin of the face, which, as we were taught at the medical institute, is a mirror of the health of the body. The skin of a young and healthy person only needs the right routine for care and protection from harmful external factors. Do not abuse injections of drugs based on unstabilized hyaluronic acid or stimulating methods ahead of time. Early intensive impact on healthy skin is also a factor in premature aging. The presence of pathology requires a comprehensive approach and treatment by specialists who are in charge of a specific problem: a dermatologist, endocrinologist, gastroenterologist, predictive therapy doctor.
You should not abuse injections of drugs based on unstabilized hyaluronic acid prematurely.
Many people get hooked on plastic surgery as a panacea, and the results are sometimes frightening. When is radical intervention really necessary, and when can it be corrected without surgery?
I really like the new direction of aesthetic medicine – beautification, or facial sculpture, when you, as a sculptor, can make any appearance proportional, and therefore more beautiful. But I believe that professionally and according to indications performed blepharoplasty and neck lift are irreplaceable and the most effective surgical procedures for facial rejuvenation.
The problem of “excess skin” of the neck and dermatocholasis (loose excess skin of the eyelids) can be solved radically and safely by the scalpel of an experienced plastic surgeon. We can solve most other aesthetic or age-related imperfections without surgery.
Frightening results are possible as a result of surgical and non-surgical interventions if the doctor does not have enough experience and knowledge of facial anatomy, harmony, aesthetic proportions and gender differences, and also if the doctor has poorly studied the dangerous areas of the face and does not have artistic taste and aesthetic insight. The science of aesthetic medicine requires knowledge not only of medicine,…
