The Big Interview

By: Katharine Griffiths
Created on 09th November 2009

Cosmetic Surgery & Aesthetics Magazine interviews top cosmetic doctor Dr Rita Rakus

What inspired you to become a cosmetic doctor?

I have always been interested in health and fitness and preventative medicine. The aesthetics field, especially in the last twenty years, has become much more focused on preventative measures so now it is possible to avoid a full facelift in your fifties if you start looking after your face and body in your thirties.

It is a very inspiring business to work in and I find it still really cheers me up - everyone can have days where they feel tired or a bit down but after you have had twenty satisfied clients thank you and walk out much happier then you can't help but be happy as well.

What is your background in the industry?

I studied medicine then trained in the UK with a plastic surgeon who was Italian-born and trained at Harvard, so he had the Italian artistic flair combined with the American expertise. He had the first plastic surgery day clinic in the UK where you came in for the operation and either went home or to a hotel. I worked with him for ten years so I have a very good idea about what can be achieved with plastic surgery.

At the time the non-surgical side of the aesthetics industry was starting to come into its own. We started with collagen and Botox and then there was a real explosion as technology made great advances.

What advice would you give patients when choosing a cosmetic doctor?

There are so many different ways to approach this; you can read about doctors in the press, have recommendations from friends and family, or can look them on the websites of the relevant organisations. I think word of mouth is the most important. 

I recommend my patients always have two or three consultations. Even if you see three doctors who are very similar in experience, method and results you are going to bond with one of them more because they will share your artistic vision.

This is important because not every treatment has instant results - with some treatments like laser and Sculptra it can be a matter of months and if you've only seen one doctor you're going to start worrying that you've chosen the wrong person. You will also be more comfortable about asking questions if there is anything you're unsure of or unhappy with.

How do you evaluate patients?

First of all I ask them what they want. And then I listen very carefully!  A lot of patients have fixated on one particular problem or line or wrinkle but actually they may have other problems that need addressing. The ability to tell patients this is definitely something I learnt over time. When I first started I would have patients leaving in tears because I'd been too brutal. The trick is to point people in the right direction without upsetting them.

Patients are already coming in with a worry - you don't want to send them out with a complex.

You are famous as the London Lip Queen. What is your philosophy of a successful lip enhancement?

Subtle - we always start very slowly and don't put too much in. We also analyse the patient's face which is very important. It's not just about lip enhancement but peri-oral rejuvenation so you might need to work on the cheeks or the frame of the mouth.

The main thing is to have an artistic eye and work with your patient and their expectations.

Even though you are well known for your facial treatments what body treatments do you offer?

We have some great body treatments that work either separately or combined. We offer a Mummy Tummy treatment that is aimed at women post-childbirth who aren't happy with their stomach area. LipoSonix burns fat and is great for eradicating any stubborn pockets of fat; Thermage is a skin tightening treatment which is aimed at crepey skin; then we can offer Fraxel laser treatments for stretch marks.

We are now the fifth busiest Thermage clinics in the world and I have patients come from all over the world because we guarantee good results. We get good results for 95 per cent of our patients and for the remaining five per cent who aren't satisfied we refund their money.

What treatments would you recommend to get ready for the festive season?

My advice is to do it now. We try to see everyone before the festive period so extend our opening hours or work on a Saturday - we say to our patients you can come in but you're not allowed to stop and chat like usual!

Looking you're best at this time is either dropping a dress size to squeeze into your LBD or having a glowing complexion or getting beach body ready for a new year trip to the Caribbean or a cruise.

Try and get everything done a month before so you still have all the benefit of the treatment but if there has been a minor complication such as bruising or swelling then it will have disappeared.

Of all the new treatments that have been introduced in recent years, what do you feel has been the standout treatment?

Thermage is the real stand out treatment for me for both the body and the face. Botox is still the best treatment for dynamic wrinkles and in terms of injectables, the natural hylauronic acid fillers such as Juvéderm and Restylane are great products to work with.

You are a founder member of the British Association of Cosmetic Doctors. What are the aims of the association?

I started the BACD with Patrick Bowler a few years ago and now we have nearly 400 members. We meet twice a year to discuss changes in the industry and keep abreast of latest techniques and treatments.

The aims of the BACD are to provide safe and effective treatments to the general public and to explore any new treatments, to be at the cutting edge. There are three hundred different types of fillers out there and some will have a better safety record and some will have less side effects.

We look at all the new treatments and then try and guide our members about which is the safest and what is patient appropriate.  
We can't just ignore new treatments - people are going to try them anyway and find them somewhere or even buy them themselves off the internet. We try to be progressive because our patients are progressive.

Any last thoughts?

I want the experience to be beneficial to the patient; physically, emotionally and on their pocket. I always talk to a patient about what they comfortably want to spend and then we do the best we can.
We want our patients to walk out feeling better about themselves. And that isn't just down to the treatment but the whole experience of coming to our clinic.
CS&AM