Welcome to the June issue of PRIME Europe. It’s another fantastic issue, filled with cutting-edge peer-reviewed content written by leading experts in their fields. We cover everything from telomeres to acne treatments, hair micropigmentation to weight loss.
For all those reading at FACE 2014 in London, I hope you’re enjoying the conference and its host of world-renowned speakers.
We at PRIME would like to celebrate the great humanitarian work many of you undertake, not just in your home country, but across the world. Unfortunately, a section of the media have a distorted view of the work of aesthetic practitioners. To them, you all drive sports cars and inject and stretch the faces of celebrities for suitcases full of money. They paint the humble general practitioner as the servant of humanity but cosmetic surgeons live in another, more glamourous world among the rich and famous.
We say, ‘enough!’ The public need to hear of the many aesthetic practitioners who have dedicated their lives to those suffering from disfiguring and even life threatening injuries. They need to hear about the work of practitioners such as Dr Constance Neuhann-Lorenz, the subject of this month’s PRIME People feature. A plastic surgeon from Munich, she is also one of the founding members of the IPRAS Women for Women programme, which offers free reconstructive surgery to women from developing nations who have suffered from domestic abuse at the hands of their husbands and family. These women would often have horrific burn injuries and would never have had the opportunity to seek medical care had it not been for Dr Neuhann-Lorenz and the rest of the volunteers at the programme.
Thankfully, Dr Neuhann-Lorenz is just one example of many. In last month’s issue of PRIME North America, we featured Dr Craig Hobar, CEO of the LEAP Foundation. Dr Hobar and the Foundation provide free surgical care to children and adults born with severe facial or body deformities. Focusing on cleft lip and palate surgery, they have sent teams to India, Belize, Haiti and the Dominican Republic. They are also currently sending volunteer teams to Jordan to assist refugees fleeing the crisis in Syria; perfoming crucial recontructive and surgical treatments for traumatic blast and gunshot wounds to the extremities, hands, and face (the full interview is available here).
Through the work of such individuals and the organisations they represent, the wider world is able to appreciate the role of aesthetic practitioners on the humanitarian stage. Speaking to the Chair of the Humanitarian Programs at ISAPS, Dr Tunc Tiryaki, he tells me people are beginning to realise that in many cases of disaster relief, it is aesthetic practitioners who have the range of skills required to effectively treat victims.
The team here at PRIME have been so moved by the great work that many of you do we would like to continue to provide you with a platform to share your stories. As proof of our determination, over the coming months there will be many more PRIME People features dedicated to the humanitarian work of aesthetic practitioners. Furthermore, if you would like to feature in PRIME People or know someone you feel should be celebrated for their humanitarian work, please get in touch.
