The team behind this comparison

Aesthetic surgery · facial rejuvenation · the surgical decision

Dr. Tongchun Mao is Deputy Director of the Plastic Surgery & Aesthetics Medical Center and head of its aesthetic surgery service at Chongqing West District Hospital, and he is the physician responsible for this site. A core specialist formerly at the Plastic and Aesthetic Surgery Department of Xinqiao Hospital, affiliated with Army Medical University, he has rooted his clinical practice for more than 20 years and personally performs over 700 operations a year.

The comparison this site is built around is the one patients most often get wrong. A lift repositions tissue that has descended; filler replaces volume that has gone. Dr. Mao’s position, and the one this site is written around, is that the answer follows from the examination — and that a patient whose dominant change is volume should not be operated on to solve it, however often the operation is offered.

Clinical focus

• Facial rejuvenation: lifting procedures, and the descent they do and do not treat
• Assessment that separates descent from volume loss before a plan is made
• Nasal surgery: primary rhinoplasty, revision rhinoplasty, and nasal reconstruction
• Facial and body contouring, including fat grafting and hair transplantation

Academic roles & achievements

• Member, Rhinoplasty and Trunk Tumor Groups, Chinese Medical Association Plastic Surgery Branch
• Member, Chongqing Medical Aesthetics Quality Control Center; Member, Chongqing Medical Accident / Disability Assessment Expert Pools
• Deputy Chair, Chongqing Shapingba District Medical Aesthetics Committee
• Published 5 SCI papers, holds 7 national patents, and has participated in 4 research projects
• Repeatedly named an “Outstanding Young Physician” at Xinqiao Hospital since joining in 2005

Plastic surgery · complex cases · revision

Dr. Shaoliang Wang is Director of the Plastic Surgery & Aesthetics Medical Center at Chongqing West District Hospital, and previously served as Deputy Chief of Plastic and Aesthetic Surgery at Xinqiao Hospital, affiliated with Army Medical University. On this site his part is the face that has already been treated: what a previous lift or a previous filler has left in the tissue, and what can safely be done next.

Clinical focus

• Revision and reconstruction after failed cosmetic facial surgery
• Complex wound repair and tertiary-hospital surgical support
• Scar revision and comprehensive scar management

Skin & laser aesthetics · non-surgical facial rejuvenation

Dr. Ke He is Deputy Director of the Plastic Surgery & Aesthetics Medical Center and head of its skin and laser aesthetic service at Chongqing West District Hospital, with more than 20 years on the clinical front line.

On this site she holds the non-surgical half of the comparison, and it is held to the same standard as the surgical half. Filler is not a stepping stone to an operation and not a consolation for one; it treats a volume problem that a lift does not treat at all. Her part of the assessment is to say which of the two changes is dominant, and to say it the same way whether or not an operation is on the table.

Clinical focus

• Assessment that separates descent, volume loss and skin quality
• Non-surgical facial rejuvenation, its honest duration and its limits
• Skin quality, pigment and texture as a separate problem from both

Dermatology · assessment and complication management

Dr. Yongbo Jia is Deputy Director of the Plastic Surgery & Aesthetics Medical Center and head of dermatology at Chongqing West District Hospital, trained at the Institute of Dermatology, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences. His part of this comparison is the skin itself, and the complications of the injectable option — including the ones that are emergencies rather than inconveniences.

Clinical focus

• Dermatological assessment before either a lift or filler
• Management of skin disease that affects healing after surgery
• Recognition and management of injectable complications