Healthy Living by Willow Creek Springs
A podcast about practices to promote healthy lives featuring experts, businesses, and clients: we gather to share our stories about success, failure, exploration, and so much more. Our subscription episodes feature some personal and vulnerable, real-life stories that are sensitive to some of the general public.
Healthy Living by Willow Creek Springs
Redefining Beauty: Dr. Nikolov's Approach to Plastic Surgery
What if plastic surgery could transform lives without causing harm? Dr. Nicholas Nikolov, a Beverly Hills plastic surgeon with over 20 years of experience, joins us to challenge misconceptions about his field and share his refreshing philosophy of achieving maximum benefit with minimal harm.
Dr. Nikolov takes us behind the scenes of plastic surgery, revealing its vast scope beyond cosmetic procedures. From reconstructive techniques to hand surgery and craniofacial work, plastic surgery encompasses the art of molding tissues throughout the entire body. Most surprisingly, he shares how many plastic surgeons like himself actually spend significant time talking patients out of unnecessary procedures—prioritizing education and appropriate care over profit.
The psychological impact of plastic surgery emerges as a powerful theme throughout our conversation. "When you feel good about yourself, you end up doing a lot of things in life and overachieving because you have the self-confidence," Dr. Nikolov explains. His approach focuses on subtle, natural-looking enhancements that preserve a person's essential identity, exemplified by his touching story of a rhinoplasty patient whose own mother couldn't tell she'd had surgery.
We dive deep into groundbreaking technology as Dr. Nikolov discusses his work with CellSound Aesthetics, a revolutionary non-focused ultrasound system that rejuvenates tissue without causing damage or inflammation. Unlike traditional methods that rely on micro-injuries to stimulate healing, this technology improves blood flow and lymphatic drainage, promoting natural collagen production and cellular rejuvenation. The result? Healthier tissue that naturally looks better, with applications ranging from facial contouring to enhancing surgical outcomes.
Whether you're curious about aesthetic procedures or interested in cutting-edge medical technology, Dr. Nikolov offers valuable insights that bridge the gap between health and beauty. Visit drnikolov.com or cellsoundaesthetics.com to learn more about his approach and innovations transforming the field of plastic surgery.
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Well, hello and welcome back to the Healthy Living Podcast. I'm your host, joe Grumbine, and today we have a very special guest. His name is Dr Nicholas Nikolv, and this guy has so many credentials. I'm going to just jump more into the things that he is. He's a plastic surgeon for more than 20 years and this guy's got credentials all over the place. He's a brilliant man. He's done a lot of work. In a brief conversation, I see he's got an approach that I appreciate, and working to get the best amount of benefit with the least amount of harm is a thing I wish more doctors would do. Dr Nicholas, welcome to the show. We're glad to have you here.
Speaker 2:Well, thank you for having me. It's a pleasure.
Speaker 1:I always try to begin the show by finding the Genesis story Most doctors. Well, no, it's pretty wide range. We've had a lot of doctors on as guests and a lot of different types of doctors. We've had a few surgeons and, I think, one or two plastic surgeons. But what brought you to this field?
Speaker 2:I realized early on that, even though frequently plastic surgery is very much maligned and people think of the things that we do is only cosmetic improvement and nothing that really changes people's lives, I found that really most things that are done by a plastic surgeon benefit patients medically, help them heal. But just as importantly, even when it's the cosmetic improvements, the things that everybody thinks oh you know that's, do you really need that? It makes people feel better. And when you feel good about yourself better, and when you feel good about yourself, you end up doing a lot of things in life and overachieving because you have the self-confidence. So I was one of those doubters initially. It's like, oh that's, you know, I'm not saving lives. But soon enough I found out I'm making as much of a difference as someone who is fixing their blood pressure and trying to maintain it at an appropriate level, somebody that is fixing the broken bones, because you're making people feel better about themselves.
Speaker 1:And if it's?
Speaker 2:done the right way, it makes a difference.
Speaker 1:I couldn't agree more. One question I have we didn't really get into but you know people think cosmetic surgery is, you know, nose jobs and breast augmentation and whatever. I even had a guy who did penis enlargement. You know there's been all different types of this that comes to mind. But my dad was a surgeon before he passed and he was a foot surgeon. He didn't do really much plastic surgery. But I came to learn a bit about surgeons and surgery and there's kind of two different types of there's probably more than two, but two kind of categories of cosmetic or plastic surgery. One would be elective or, or you know, optional surgery, where somebody says, well, I'd like to change this about me, and the others might be reconstructive. Somebody might have a bad burn or scarring or some sort of damage. Do you ever deal with reconstructive type plastic surgery?
Speaker 2:Of course, again, I'm a fully trained plastic surgeon. I'm not a cosmetic surgeon, so to speak, who just came into the field through the side door and wasn't trained in all aspects of it. So I would frequently do reconstructive surgery. Even a lot of the cosmetic surgery that I do ends up being revision surgery. Excuse me, people that have had things done, for whatever reason, cosmetically, generally sometimes reconstructive and maybe the outcome wasn't quite what they had hoped for, right? That makes your life a lot tougher, right. But the part that I love about it is as a plastic surgeon. I think you have the rare opportunity to be a doctor, to be a surgeon because you do the procedure, to be a little bit of an artist and I don't want to overplay that, but again, you have to have some aesthetic sense and also you have to be a little bit of a psychiatrist, because you have to get into people's head, you have to understand what they want to do, why they want to do it, and what they tell you initially is never the true motivation.
Speaker 1:I can only imagine A couple questions. One I like to use this show to find truths. We have so many companies and people and businesses issuing all these claims about this and that I'm like, well, let's talk about it and let's find some truth. There are definitions of terms that I don't necessarily know all of. What is the definition of plastic surgery as opposed to other types of surgery?
Speaker 2:Excuse me, allergies are not my friend this time of year.
Speaker 1:Yeah, the winds pick up and everybody's sneezing.
Speaker 2:Plastic surgery encompasses a lot of things, but think of it as coming from the word to mold. Okay, so we're reshaping things and we're dealing with every tissue from head to toe, not just soft tissue. Even hand surgery is part of plastic surgery. Hand injuries, craniofacial, facial fractures all of these kind of reconstructions are part of plastic surgery. Free tissue transfer, where you take a muscle or other tissue from one area, put it someplace totally different and reattach the vessels through microsurgery that's also part of plastic surgery.
Speaker 2:So it's not only the things that everybody considers cosmetic surgery, that's plastic surgery, considers cosmetic surgery, that's plastic surgery. The field is very vast and that's the best part, because there are no limits to what you can do and the areas that you would address. There is no part that it's not part of our field, sure Wow.
Speaker 1:That's powerful. So you brought up a point that I've always. You know I don't know much about plastic surgery personally, but you hear a lot of things from a lot of people. You know you work in Beverly Hills. You deal with a lot of. You know people with means and, like you said, most of the time people come to you they say I want this, but it's not necessarily really what they want, and you spend time consulting with them and maybe trying to get to the core of what they're trying to do. Do you ever guide them away from your services?
Speaker 2:Yes, quite a few times, really, and sometimes the frustrating part for me is I spend more time talking them out of surgery for which, frankly, I don't get paid for talking them out of surgery for which, frankly, I don't get paid for talking them out of surgery that it will take me at times to do the surgery itself and get paid. And finally I really have to go to that particular thing and it's. You know, you understand I'm spending time talking you out of this versus getting paid for it, and you know you going along with things and you know I have a house payment. I'd like to make it Right, but you have to do the right thing. So talking patients out of it occasionally takes a lot more time and energy.
Speaker 2:But it's important to do procedures for the right reason to educate people, and if you take the time, overwhelming majority of patients understand why they know you have their best interest at heart. And if you make them understand what the reasoning behind, uh, the decisions are, it's not forcing them to do one thing or another, but educating them so that they can make that decision with you. And that's where I think education is invaluable. People have to know, and intelligent people, when they know it rings true to them eventually, and you don't have to strong-arm them into it. They come to that conclusion on their own.
Speaker 1:I agree. I expect that in my experience with people, that expectations is a big part of ultimate satisfaction. And how you plant an expectation, well, we don't know if you're going to make it, so your expectation is low. And if you survive, hey, we did it. Or some other doctors are like well, you know, I think we can do this and put this target way up at the moon. You know, this is really such a subjective target that you have to try to find how do you deal with that?
Speaker 2:Well, it's not easy and once again, it comes to education and educating the patient, making sure they understand. They understand why certain things will happen, what the limitations are and I think makes a big difference how patients react to it, and this is not just painting a picture of gloom and doom. Oh my God, you're so awful. We'll make you a little better, but I can't promise you anything. Little better, but I can't promise you anything. You're out of luck. It's being realistic and giving them good information so that they can actually make a decision whether this is the right choice for them. Frequently it's an elective procedure. They don't necessarily have to do the surgery. Sometimes they do, but they don't have to frequently and whether they do it or not, you have to give them the proper tools to make that decision.
Speaker 1:Absolutely. I'm in a different situation. I'm dealing with a cancer issue, so I'm dealing with standard of care and all the you know the obstacles that many doctors have. They said, well, we have to do this or we have to do that. And you know having to find my answers on my own a lot of times. But this is really for a lot of people. There are, there are options that are some more and less invasive.
Speaker 1:When we started talking before the show, you said something that impressed me and you, when we started talking before the show, you said something that impressed me. And you know, again dealing with oncologists, you know they go straight to these really brutal standard of care solutions that will probably help you live. But what's left of you is up to debate sometimes and you know I see both sides of it. I get it all. But you said we try to get the most amount of good with the least amount of harm and I says, wow, those oncologists can learn a thing or two from that principle.
Speaker 1:I know there are a lot of non-invasive or less invasive procedures that have come out. I understand that you are a significant part of a company called cell sound. I see all over the place these you know spas with ultrasound and and all these different you know quote non-invasive solutions that you know you get some training, but you don't need to be a doctor to operate. Tell me a little bit about that side of things. Well, solutions that you know you get some training, but you don't need to be a doctor to operate.
Speaker 2:Tell me a little bit about that side of things. Well, it does start with do the easiest, least invasive, least intrusive procedure that's going to get you the result you want. And I've always been interested in exploring more minimally invasive or non-invasive devices and see what I can accomplish with that, and that's whether it's for improving aesthetics, aesthetic appearance or improving the health. So over the years I've been involved with multiple companies, kind of a lot of times on the forefront, but the last company that I'm working with is CellSound Aesthetics, and that is I mean I've drunk the Kool-Aid, I have to admit I'm really, really excited about it.
Speaker 2:It's a non-focused ultrasound, low intensity, which doesn't damage any tissue. It doesn't kill any cells on any level. It doesn't cause any inflammation. Instead, it improves blood flow to the treated area, improves lymphatic drainage. So the swelling is gone, the congestion is gone. As a result of this, we have improved collagen buildup and collagen formation, as well as improved division of the cells, the mitotic division of the cells. They return to a more youthful level, so we can hit on every node. We want to rejuvenate tissue and this started as a wound healing device for patients that have non-healing wounds, usually on the extremities. Nothing would help, and treating it with cell sound, with this ultrasound technology, which is patent and there's nothing else like it. It's not like your chiropractor or physical therapist device, excuse me. So we know it doesn't do damage. It improves the health of the tissue. However, one of the other things, of course the health of the tissue. However, one of the other things, of course.
Speaker 2:All of us want to look better. We always strive to look better, and I always tell people that have an issue behind improving your appearance. The minute you stop caring about how you look, that's a really bad sign for you as a human being. Generally, you're either depressed or it's kind of you've given up on life, and that's if you look at whether it's psychiatrists, geriatrics they always look for those signs. Once people give up on how they look, that means you've given up.
Speaker 2:So, having said that, all of us care about how we look, some more than others, but we all do and with this device, we found that we can actually contour the face and contour the body and also, whenever we want, to decrease the amount of fat under the skin and even deeper in the abdomen. That is a great thing. So here you have a device where your tissue is healthier. You're reversing a lot of the things that happen as a result of aging and whenever you want to, you can take off some fat and sculpt your face or body and you see a visible change. And it doesn't hurt because it doesn't cause any damage. So you're not killing tissue, it's not going to hurt. So that's where I get really excited.
Speaker 1:Yeah, yeah, it sounds, like I said, like a holy grail. You know, I know of people, practitioners, that use some of these. You know, whatever you call over-the-counter devices and all these different things. And there's, you know, people claim results, this and that, but there's always inflammation, there's always, you know, suffering and limitations and complications and all this stuff.
Speaker 2:It sounds like you got a tool that you can just go in and just use and not well if you look at most devices that use whether it's a laser energy, radio frequency, focused ultrasound this is unfocused. You're delivering energy which causes at least micro injury and as a result, the tissue tightens, remodels, or you lose fat by killing the fat cells. This does none of that. There is no micro injury at all. Quite the opposite. You're healing the tissue, but having healthier tissue, it turns out, it actually looks better too. So there is something to be said about being healthier.
Speaker 1:So do you use this as a solo tool or do you use it in conjunction with surgery and other tools and devices?
Speaker 2:I use it. I'm a surgeon, so, uh, this is. I equated a little bit to a paint brush. Okay, and yes, you may be used to initially doing one specific thing. And yes, uh, you do treatments on the abdomen and flanks and you sculpt it beautifully. Uh, you do treatments on the abdomen and flanks and you sculpt it beautifully. You do treatments around the jawline and neck, and patients look a lot better. However, I do a lot of revision surgery, as I mentioned. Frequently, I would use it before the revision. It tends to improve the blood flow that's compromised a lot of times when there's an injury. It tends to soften the scar. So when I do the surgery, I have an easier time, and I like having an easier time when I do surgery.
Speaker 2:I use it afterwards Helps the swelling, helps the speed of healing and it's safe. So even after a facelift, I can use this on the facelift four or five days after the surgery, wow, and it doesn't cause any damage and I'm not worried. Oh my God, my flap is going to die. If anything, I'm happier because it's probably going to heal faster.
Speaker 1:Wow.
Speaker 2:So, yes, there's a lot of things to do with using it as a surgeon and adding an extra dimension to my practice, where I can improve my surgical results by using this device.
Speaker 1:How long have you been working with this device?
Speaker 2:I've been using it just over three years now.
Speaker 1:Okay.
Speaker 2:And each day I come home, my wife laughs at me. It's like, okay, what does it do now? What else did you do with it, because every day I find some new use for it.
Speaker 1:Wow, that's fantastic. So it sounds like you're really just exploring. It's almost like you got some alien technology. You're not sure what all it does, but you're pointing it at different things, putting different settings and finding out. Well, look at what we can do now. Is there some kind of upper end of like you know some things, different drugs, different treatments? There's only so many times you can use a thing. Does this have an upper end on that?
Speaker 2:Well, that's the other part where, let's say, you use radiofrequency or lasers, you can use them only so many times, right, you know not to use a hyperbole, but you can fry your skin only so many times and then it looks like shoe leather, right, absolutely. With this you're not causing any injury at all, so you can keep using it. I mean, we have protocols. It's usually uh, for most things it's two treatments a week for a total of six treatments, so that's for three weeks. However, if you want more of a result and you love it, or you want to treat a different area, you're not causing any damage. I mean, forget micro damage. There's zero inflammation. So you can keep doing more treatments if you'd like, and there's no limit to it because you're doing the opposite You're getting the tissue healthier.
Speaker 1:So you're part of this company, CellSound. I'm assuming the target market is plastic surgeons just like yourself. How is it being received out there?
Speaker 2:Initially. I can tell you what my response was Okay, this is too good to be true. You're telling me all this yeah, yeah, yeah, it does this and it does that. And you know, I've been through salesmen trying to pitch different devices and at the end they don't do 10% of what you were promised. So I was very skeptical. Just because it sounds too good to be true. Sure, and I'm the first one to admit it. But once I started using it and anybody that even has one treatment, they're already on board Nice, to give you an idea, in my practice and again, I'm not a med spa, I'm a plastic surgeon I like doing surgery, but we do these treatments. I never sell packages, I never worry about that. I don't want you coming back because you felt you paid for it and you have to. I can say in three years I have had one patient not come back and she moved out of town, and that's a true story.
Speaker 2:So once you see the results after the first treatment, I don't even have to have a conversation with them. Patients like, okay, when can I schedule the next one? And that, for me, makes me feel good, because I don't feel like a salesman. I feel like I'm providing a good service and patients are happy with it. So it makes me feel good about what I'm able to do for everyone.
Speaker 1:I love it. Well, we're getting a little thin on time, but before we kind of wrap it down, I always like to hear from my guests. You know you've been in this field for more than 20 years. You've probably got hundreds of stories that you could share, but there's probably one that really sticks out. You know a lot of practitioners of all different types help people in ways that are, you know, readily noticeable, and others take years to. You know, realize the value of, but yours is, you know, very quickly somebody is going to see a result. Can you share a remarkable story with this?
Speaker 2:In terms of cell sound or just in general.
Speaker 1:Wherever you see fit. Just one of the patients that you've worked with that was just one of these most remarkable transformations.
Speaker 2:I will tell you the story that, for me, rings true. Most may not think it's the most, not the most remarkable transformation, but it probably aligns best with my philosophy. I operated, I did the nose cosmetic rhinoplasty on a good friend of mine and I knew her family as well, so we did the surgery. She went home for the holidays. She got in an argument with her mother and she told her mother she had surgery. And it's like no, you haven't had surgery. You've always looked like this, wow. And she, she called me and it's like you got to email me the photos, nice.
Speaker 2:The reason I was very happy and proud of that is not that there wasn't a change. There was a significant change. However, she still looked like herself, right that even her own mother felt like she looked like the daughter I've ever had always had, and she didn't see a change. She saw her as who she is and I sent them the photos inside. I don't remember. You know it's looking this bad, but it made me feel good that she looked like herself and symmetry, harmony of the face. It all was balanced, that it not stand out as something done, but it stood out as this is the way, in a way, she felt she was meant to look Right. So I don't know it. Just for me it's a feelgood story and we have different things that are important to us, but for me that's crucial no, I, I would agree with you when it comes to, you know, plastic surgery.
Speaker 1:You see people all the time it's like oh look, she had work done, they had work done. You know, it's like if you notice it and maybe it looks better, maybe it doesn't, but it you probably don't look like you did before.
Speaker 1:You know you don't right you're losing sight of who you are, maybe a little bit, and I can appreciate that. Well, doctor, um, this is a point where I like to give you a chance to share. You know there's got to be a point that you want to really let people know and then a way that people can our listeners can reach out and find you if they want to uh, well, that is very easy.
Speaker 2:I'm in beverly hills, california. Uh, my website is dr nikolov n-i-k-o-l-o-V. My last name, com, so drnikolovcom, and you can find me also on Instagram at drnikolov. Reach out anytime. Cell Sound if you need any more information. It's cellsoundaestheticscom and just the way it sounds, and you can get a lot more information about the technology, the device, before and after photos and get more educational information on that. On that. Ultimately, anytime knowledge is power. So anything I can do to help you understand, reach out. I'm happy to provide information and discuss anything that may be of concern.
Speaker 1:Well, I appreciate that. Dr Nikolv, I thank you for joining our show and you know we have a lot to talk about. If you ever want to come back, I'd certainly welcome you back, and I'd like to say this has been another episode of the Healthy Living Podcast. I'm your host, joe Grumbine. I want to thank all the listeners for supporting the show and we will see you next time.
