Faculty in MAFAC: San Diego 2017

 Faculty in MAFAC: San Diego 2017

This is an original article written by Dr. Minhee Ryu from RNWOOD Plastic Surgery in Seoul, South Korea, translated in English for convenience: 

Dr. Minhee Ryu participated as a faculty member in the Melbourne Advanced Facial Anatomy Course (MAFAC) during the American Society for Aesthetic Plastic Surgery (ASAPS) 2017 conference in San Diego. The ASAPS conference also marked its 50th anniversary, featuring influential figures such as Dr. Sherrell Aston, Dr. Daniel Baker, and Dr. Timothy Marten, who discussed the evolution of facelift techniques. Their presentations highlighted decades of innovation—from SMAS procedures to advanced High SMAS methods—and reflected mutual respect among leading experts. The event offered both academic and personal inspiration, reaffirming the enduring legacy of modern facelift surgery and Dr. Ryu’s ongoing commitment to advancing aesthetic plastic surgery through education and research.

The workshop, created by Dr. Bryan Mendelson, allowed surgeons to explore detailed facial anatomy and facelift techniques through cadaver dissections, emphasizing facial nerves, retaining ligaments, and surgical applications. 

Dr. Ryu served as a dissection tutor, guiding participants and sharing personal surgical insights.

Please enjoy the full article below:

The American Society of Aesthetic Plastic Surgery (ASAPS) conference was held in San Diego from April 27th—May 2nd. Among the various lectures, I have been participating as a faculty member in the Melbourne Advanced Facial Anatomy Course (MAFAC) since last year. MAFAC is held twice a year, in the Spring at the ASAPS Meeting and in the Fall in Melbourne, Australia. 

This workshop, created by Dr. Bryan Mendelson, enables participants to directly experience facial surgical anatomy theory and facelift techniques through cadaver dissections. In particular, it focused on providing a deep understanding of facial nerves, retaining ligaments, and spaces, and on providing practical assistance in surgery. This program includes new content on retaining ligaments and techniques for augmentation using HA (Hydroxyapatite).

Plastic surgeons from different countries participated, and after lectures and demonstrations for each part of the face, they were prepared to practice it themselves. Two corpses were assigned to each group, and each group was divided into two people per corpse. The faculty members were divided into a team that lectured and demonstrated dissection with Dr. Mendelson, a team that directly tutored participants in each group, and a team that supported areas that were lacking through circulation. 

I was assigned the role of a dissection tutor. Last year, two American plastic surgeons and one Latin American specialist were assigned, and this year, two Taiwanese and one Vietnamese participated. 

Just like last year, the level of the team members was high, so I think I played a greater role as a facilitator than teaching them one by one. If there were meaningful things, such as clear structures or mutations, they were actively shared with other groups, and in addition to the prepared content, each faculty member was encouraged to share their own techniques. I tried to share generously with the participants, and I learned a lot.

No one can deny Dr. Mendelson's contribution to the achievements and historical development of facial aging & surgical anatomy. He has created the history of this field by writing dozens of SCI papers as well as textbooks for the American Society of Plastic Surgeons, and he is still continuously developing theories and surgical methods. This time, new content on retaining ligaments was added, and it was impressive that the number of upgraded slides increased significantly. 

Through an assistant who worked with him for a long time, I was able to look deeper into his passion and thorough self-management. Even though the pre-meeting the day before the workshop and the meal lasted late into the night, he said that he simply drank and went straight to the hotel to prepare meticulously on his own until late at night, and that such a lifestyle is his daily life. I heard that he also manages his physical strength through weight training, rope jumping, and running, and that he devotes himself to research while saving sleep. Despite his very busy schedule with overseas lectures almost every month and a full schedule of surgeries until the end of the year, I was impressed by his passion and sincerity in constantly striving for research.

The workshop ended successfully and there was a dinner party. It was held at Mister A’s Restaurant, famous for its beautiful sunset and night view in San Diego. The atmosphere was that couples had to wear the dress code and attend, but I felt bad going to a place like this alone. The staff I’m close with also recommended that I come with my wife, so I thought that I should bring my wife next time, if possible. It’s because I wanted to have a classy party with beautiful scenery and introduce my respected Dr. Mendelson and great friends.

Professor Ruth Graf, who joined the MAFAC faculty last year, won the “Best Journal Article” award in the international section of the Aesthetic Surgery Journal at this conference. I sincerely congratulated her, and it was an honor to be a part of the faculty colleague with such outstanding achievements and passion.

At conferences and dinners, every friend I met would ask if Korea was safe. It couldn’t be helped because the war crisis was heightened by North Korea’s nuclear and missile provocations and was covered on international broadcasts every day. I ended by thanking them for their interest and asking them to pray for peace and well-being on the Korean Peninsula. Various topics came and went, but the atmosphere became warmer when they talked about travel, health, and family. In particular, the most heartwarming moments were when they talked about their children and grandchildren, and they would laugh heartily as they exchanged photos.

This was the 50th anniversary conference of the American Society of Aesthetic Plastic Surgery (ASAPS), and the first session was ‘50 years of facelifting – The Evolution of My Technique Through a Better Understanding of Aesthetic Goals’. The speakers were Dr. Sherrell Aston, Dr. Daniel Baker, and Dr. Timothy Marten.

 

Dr. Sherrell Aston said that he has been with the ASAPS meeting for 42 years out of the 50 years of its history. He is a living witness to the history of American plastic surgery and has contributed greatly to it. In this lecture, he gave a serious and detailed explanation of the history and meaning of facelift, and also explained the recently popular methods in detail. I have wanted to greet him for a long time, and I had the opportunity to meet him this time. This is because I have cited his anatomical theories and techniques as a pillar of my own surgery, and he kindly wrote a commentary on my facelift paper published in 2015. He is also Dr. Mendelson's teacher. After completing his training at the Mayo Clinic, he studied under Dr. Aston at NYU along with Dr. Converse and Dr. Rhee. When I mentioned the paper to him, he said he remembered me and kindly gave me words of encouragement.

Dr. Baker is famous for SMASectomy, SMAS application, and presented on the trend of facelift and combination with other techniques. The combined use of fat and filler is positive for improving facial aging, but he emphasized caution against overinjection. It is also a problem if it is too obvious, and it is quite difficult to reverse it. Dr. Marten is famous for the High SMAS method with ligament separation, and is recognized as the best of his time. In this presentation, he explained the basis and technique of his surgery one by one.

I felt that it was no coincidence that Dr. Aston, who can be called the living history of facelift, Dr. Baker, who shows excellent results with a relatively simple technique, and Dr. Marten, who pursues the best results with fundamental improvement, were invited to the first session of the 50th anniversary academic conference. I thought that the status of facelift in American aesthetic plastic surgery was that high, and that they were figures representing its past, present, and future.

As soon as the session ended, there was a scene where Dr. Baker and Dr. Marten hugged each other deeply. That seemed different. It is true that Dr. Baker, who represents a relatively simple method, and Dr. Marten, who pursues more fundamental improvements, have taken different paths. In particular, I saw a nuance that seemed to be mixed with emotions in Dr. Baker's paper, which strongly opposed submandibular gland (SMG) reduction, and although it is purely my personal opinion, I guessed that there was conflict between the two. I could have overinterpreted their passion for academia and their fierce debate as personal grudges, but while the other panelists just shook hands and left, it was unusual for the two to hug each other deeply. I think the image of the masters who know how to respect and acknowledge each other will remain in my memory for a long time.

Next, there were presentations by Dr. Dino, Dr. Mario, and Dr. Francisco in the session ‘Neck Rejuvenation: Surgical Approaches for Long-Term Results’. There was an in-depth look at the analysis and improvement methods of the Neck & submental area. There was a different perspective on the commonly performed methods, and several more aggressive techniques stood out. In addition to SMG reduction, there were partial reductions of the Parotid gland, partial resections of the hyoid cartilage, interclavicular fat reduction, and wide dissection and division of the Platysma muscle flap. I respect the efforts to achieve better results, but I thought they were overly aggressive compared to the effects. Differentiation is good, but we must be careful not to let it become the goal.

I attended Dr. Charles Thorn's IC lecture, which was about the subdivision of facelift. Among them, the most memorable one was 'Ignore fat compartment' in fat graft. I was a little surprised because it was similar to my usual thoughts. Fat compartment is a structure whose boundaries are defined by the retinacular cutis in the subcutaneous layer. Although it may have some anatomy, I personally had doubts about its clinical significance in relation to fat grafting. Although it may differ depending on the case and method, the general target of fat grafting is the deep part of the subcutaneous layer or a deeper layer, and it is not easy to perform the procedure while considering the fat compartment in clinical practice due to the principle of structural fat grafting, which is to inject it in a scattered manner to maximize the contact surface.

It was meaningful to be able to celebrate and participate in the 50th anniversary conference of the American Society of Aesthetic Plastic Surgery (ASAPS), which can be said to have written the history of aesthetic plastic surgery. There were many presentations that looked back on the development process of each topic in line with the 50th anniversary milestone, but I regret not being able to attend all of them due to the tight schedule. However, it was time to say hello to Dr. Aston, whom I wanted to meet, and to write a novel about Dr. Marten and Dr. Baker, whether it was right or wrong. As a registered lecturer (faculty) at MAFAC, I think I will attend the American Society of Aesthetic Plastic Surgery (ASAPS) every year unless something special comes up. I will learn and practice a lot from Dr. Mendelson and other masters, and I will try to contribute to the development, even if it is small.

Dr. Minhee Ryu, M.D.

RNWOOD Plastic Surgery

Seoul, South Korea

(Source: https://blog.naver.com/rejuvemaster/221015988357 )

Dr. Minhee Ryu is a World-Class FACELIFT Specialist and Global Educator, who is deeply committed to sharing his facial rejuvenation surgery and anatomy expertise. As a lecturer, tutor, and demonstrator, he is invited to deliver DEEP PLANE FACELIFT presentations and perform live surgery and cadaver dissection Demonstrations in more than 15 countries, including Korea, the US, Europe, Singapore, Australia, Japan, and beyond.

Recognized worldwide for his expertise in DEEP PLANE FACELIFT, Dr. Ryu is a Faculty Member at MAFAC since 2016, a guest Faculty Member at Mayo Clinic since 2023, and an Editorial Board Member for the Aesthetic Plastic Surgery Journal (SCI) since 2019. He is an active member of KSPRS, ASPS, ASAPS, and ISAPS. As a global top-tier leader in Facelifts, Dr. Minhee Ryu makes dedicated contributions to academic advancement and surgical education.

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