If you’ve ever had an unfortunate glimpse of yourself on a Zoom call, a cell phone camera, or the bathroom mirror, you’ll know the thoughts that can go through your mind. Mark, a retired executive, certainly had some. Luckily, he knew someone who could help: renowned Cincinnati-based plastic surgeon Daniel G. Kuy, M.D., FACS.
Mark had always had boyish good looks. Even going into his early 60s, he thought he was embracing a youthful approach to living. But on a spur-of-the-moment vacation, that all changed.
While staying at a beautiful old home in Mississippi, Mark found himself in a bathroom with a concerning view. “I am in this bathroom, with all these mirrors. For the first time in my life, I am shocked! I had always been a young-looking person. We’ve been married for 25 years, but I hadn’t seen myself sideways. I could take my index finger and push my chin up. I thought, ‘I’ve really slipped here!’” He decided it was time to talk to an expert.
Dr. Kuy had performed facial rejuvenation procedures for Mark’s wife in the past, and she was delighted. She was thrilled not only with Kuy’s skill, expertise, and the excellent results of those procedures but with Kuy’s sincere, caring manner. She endorsed Kuy 100%, and Mark scheduled a consultation with him after the couple returned from their road trip.
“His bedside manner is amazing,” Mark says. Although Mark intended to get a necklift, Kuy had a better idea. While he could do a necklift, addressing the extra skin above and the puffiness underneath his eyes would be a big help, too. Kuy suggested upper and lower eyelid surgery and a necklift. Mark agreed, and they scheduled the procedure.
A schedule made it easy to follow instructions to prepare for the day of the five-hour procedure. “The day of the procedure, I was introduced to everybody,” Mark says. “I felt comfortable with the process. I had to count backward from 100, and I don’t remember anything past 97. I woke up and went home.
“I had to take care of my sutures and keep them clean. I went back the next day to make sure the blood supply to my skin was going well. I had two-week, one-month and six-week checkups to make sure everything was going as planned.” And it was.
“From Dr. Kuy’s demeanor and his gentle, professional manner to the very friendly staff, they are a well-oiled team, not a machine,” Mark says. “They work together so well because they are so comfortable with each other.”
Mark says Kuy is realistic yet sensitive when addressing a patient’s perceived negative face or body issues. And he offers the most reasonable, positive solution.
“My visit to Dr. Kuy has helped me maintain my youthful outlook on life. My work with Dr. Kuy was simply to take a negative and neutralize it, not to make my looks a strength,” Mark says.
Kuy says that a facial rejuvenation procedure like Mark’s eyelid surgery doesn’t drastically change patients. “It just brightens them back up.”
Lexington resident Laura woke up one morning in March 2020 and decided it was the perfect time to start working out and losing weight. She enrolled in a total-body group workout program located across the street from Kuy Plastic Surgery, as fate would have it.
Between March and October, Laura’s hard work and commitment to fitness paid off — she was 60 pounds lighter and more toned. “I just put my mind to it and never looked back,” she says.
Nevertheless, some extra, loose skin was still hanging around. “My body knew it shouldn’t be there,” Laura, 32, recalls. She decided to schedule a consultation with Dr. Kuy in October.
“I had a tummy tuck on December 17, 2020. It was just completely life-changing! I can’t begin to tell you ... he’s so professional and so thorough, and everyone is so nice! I was nervous at first, but he explained what he thought was the best thing to do during the consultation. I never felt rushed. He answered all my questions; he fully explained the procedure. I feel like I could have asked 100 more questions, and he would have taken the time to answer them.”
According to Kuy, the people best suited for a tummy tuck, like Laura, are those with a healthy lifestyle but find that the excess fat and skin in their abdomen area is still there even with a good diet or regular exercise. Other good candidates, he notes, are women who have undergone multiple pregnancies that have caused their abdominal muscles to stretch beyond the point of return.
With a full tummy tuck, an incision is made to separate the navel from the surrounding skin. Then the skin is separated from the abdominal wall, excess skin and fatty tissue are removed, followed by the suturing of loose skin from the left and right of the navel area. This procedure, Kuy explains, tightens the muscles creating a strong, flat abdominal wall, and the navel is transposed to a more natural position. “My tummy tuck looks so good; my belly button looks so perfect!” Laura says.
A pain pump inserted into the abdomen to deliver a nonstop flow of anesthetic to the surgical site, used for just a few days, reduces soreness. Patients also wear a support garment for six weeks post-surgery, which helps the skin heal in a shapely manner, Kuy further explains. Scars will fade over time, but the desirable results of a tummy are immediate.
“I would tell anyone considering a tummy tuck that the pain is such a temporary thing for such a lifelong result,” Laura says. “I used to wear plus sizes. I was always trying to find a pair of size 16 jeans and a 2X shirt. Now I can wear a size 10 or 12, some smalls or extra-smalls. It’s crazy what it has done for my confidence and how positive my outlook is!
“We have a boat, and we boat all summer. But I was to the point where I dreaded being in a swimsuit,” Laura says. “I told myself I was going to lose weight for summer 2021. I did it, and I had such a good summer!
“Dr. Kuy’s standard of care is just so high. He cares about his patients, and he takes such pride in his work. He personally calls you after surgery and checks on you. You know he really cares.”
Kuy, certified by the American Board of Plastic Surgery and American Board of Surgery, specializes in facial cosmetic surgery and body contouring. In addition to his primary office in Cincinnati, Kuy also performs procedures in Zürich, Switzerland, where he grew up and received his early medical training. He also trained at the Craniofacial Center at the University of Illinois at Chicago.
According to Kuy, cosmetic surgery and the advances in skin care products and procedures are the “necessary backend of the curve” of advances in health, medicine and longevity science.
“Ultimately, my role as a medical doctor is to guide and enable my patients to realistically appear as they perceive themselves,” he says, reflecting on his 25-year professional journey from Switzerland to Cincinnati.
“I have a wonderful staff that is knowledgeable and has been with me for many years. Great care is not provided nor positive outcomes accomplished by me alone; it takes our whole team.”
According to Dr. Kuy, there are four keys to ensuring a rewarding cosmetic surgery experience.
1. Consultation
The first goal is to learn about you, the patient, by scheduling a consultation, a process Kuy believes needs to take time in a comfortable, unrushed environment where you feel respected and your privacy is guaranteed.
“I need to draw out your vision, the ‘before’ and ‘after’ that lives in your mind. What motivates you to seek cosmetic plastic surgery? What is the improvement you desire in your features that only you can define for me?” Kuy says.
Next, he develops your customized plan of action and follow-up care.
“Whether it’s an eyelid that swells in slumber, a lip that has receded and thinned, or a jawline that needs redefinition, I need to know what is feasible. I need to find a practical solution for each individual patient,” he explains. “The solution you seek may be multi-phased, only possible to achieve over time, or it may be an obvious ‘quick fix.’”
Whatever the solution, it is imperative that you are fully informed, compliant with your care plan, and actively engaged in the process.
“Expectations must be realistic,” Kuy says. “And attitude affects outcomes.”
The Kuy Plastic Surgery staff is educated, experienced and professional in all their interactions and communication with the patient. All your questions are answered, and your medical history is examined in its entirety.
“My staff is well-trained to provide a safe procedure environment and skilled in attending to your needs and guiding you through the healing process,” Kuy says.
What are a surgeon’s most important tools? Confident hands guided by reasonable judgment, achieved only through years of tactile experience and acquired knowledge, Kuy says. Clearly, with Kuy Plastic Surgery celebrating its 25th anniversary this year, the world-renowned surgeon has more than plenty of both.
“Most important is a deep understanding of the variations of our anatomy so as to cause no harm,” Kuy says. “ Then comes a gradually developed sense of what is aesthetically pleasing, as fine-tuned as a musician’s ear or a painter’s touch to canvas.”
Kuy is a firm believer in natural-looking surgical results rather than complete transformations. Who hasn’t seen a Hollywood actor who has had “too much” cosmetic plastic surgery work to the point of looking overdone, often unrecognizable? That is not what you want. A natural invigorated look is always Kuy’s goal.
One common question among patients is, “What about the anesthesia provided during a surgical procedure?” With that in mind, Kuy chose an excellent, experienced team of four certified registered nurse anesthetists equally committed as he is to providing a professional, safe and pleasant surgical experience.
“My patients awaken nicely, immediately upon the end of a procedure, most without pain or nausea, due to the skill of my anesthesia team,” Kuy says, “Precision anesthesia is equally as important as precision surgery.”
He trusts his team. “They watch my patients closely every minute of the surgery, and they understand timing and dosing of medications.”
An experienced nurse anesthetist, Kuy explains, will adjust your medication appropriately and continually to ensure you sleep comfortably and lightly, yet sleep deeply enough not to feel pain or recall the procedure. This contributes to the best patient experience and a fast recovery. Your care continues in the recovery room until you are fully alert and stable.
Finally, you will rest in a cozy, private area, monitored by a caring nurse until you are deemed ready for discharge.
Interested in scheduling a consultation with Dr. Kuy? Visit drkuy.com or call 844-794-7763.