How I Came to Practice Aesthetic Medicine I practiced internal medicine for 15 years and was introduced to Botox as treatment for my own migraines. It did a wonderful job reducing my migraines and, as an added bonus, it erased the wrinkles from my forehead. I was so thrilled with Botox's effects that I began training to administer Botox and then offered this treatment to my internal medicine patients. I continued studying the use of fillers and added this service to those I offered my internal medicine patients. Over time, I found that I was enjoying the aesthetic medicine aspect of my practice the most and decided to practice aesthetic medicine exclusively. Since 2008, I have administered hundreds of thousands of units of Botox and thousands of syringes of filler.

What kind of training is necessary to practice aesthetic medicine?
Many patients wonder who should be offering these services and what the standard training might be. The answer is that aesthetic medicine is not an area for which formal residency training exists. Aesthetic services are offered by practitioners from diverse backgrounds. The practitioners who own spas and do this full time are usually former primary care physicians. Plastic surgeons and dermatologists offer Botox and fillers as an adjunctive treatment because it is a natural extension of the services they offer, but they do not have any more specialized training in this area than those of us from other areas of medicine. Most of us have learned this specialty at medical seminars or by apprenticeship to other physicians already practicing these techniques. Those of us with an affinity for art have expanded our practice from merely correcting the signs of aging to optimizing the appearance of the unique faces of our patients.

My Practice Of Aesthetic Medicine
One of my internal medicine patients commented that she would not receive aesthetic treatment from a physician other than me because I would never do something I was not good at. I will admit that I am a perfectionist. As such, I proceed slowly and carefully because an outstanding result means everything to me. Therefore, I will not allow any one to rush me, but I do promise that each patient will get the best work and advice I can provide.