Doctor Ram Nath, the Medical Director of Illumia Medical has been in the business for 20 years. Hence, if we did some rudimentary mathematics where we hazard a guess at the numbers of patients he has seen — a five-day workweek with eight hours a day where he perhaps meets a minimum of three patients — the number is a whopping 109,500.
In the name of journalistic integrity, however, here, an interview with the good doctor himself about his work, philosophy, and views about non-surgical aesthetic treatments.
Kim Lim’s aesthetics empire which includes Illumia Medical, Illumia Therapeutics, and Papilla Haircare has now opened in a literal row at I12 Katong.
Hello Doctor, how’s it going?
Hi, everything is going really well. The last two years have been an interesting and unique period where many things that we used to believe could never change have been redefined.
Even in the practice of aesthetic medicine, we are now adapting to new norms, and rethinking our approach so that we can continue to engage with our patients and provide them with quality treatments in a safe environment.
When I interview someone for the first time, I usually like to get them to do an elevator pitch of what they do in less than 10 words s if you could humour me.
I make your skin fibres and cells happy and healthy!
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What made you focus on non-surgical aesthetic treatments in the first place? Do you think it can ever be better than well, surgical aesthetics?
A large part of my initial education and training was in anti-aging medicine because it was so amazing to learn about our skin’s ability to regenerate and repair itself. Using the combination of science and technology to unlock the skin’s ability to regenerate felt far more sophisticated to me than cutting away excess skin surgically.
I think there will always be a need and place for surgical aesthetics because there are some things that non-surgical procedures can never do. But, I do believe that in the future, any skin-related changes attributing to the aging process will be dealt with so effectively with non-surgical technology that going under the knife could become unnecessary.
Over the course of 20 years, do you somehow remember the number of faces that you’ve worked on? Is there some kind of pattern to trends?
In my 22 years of practicing aesthetic medicine, I have worked on thousands of faces. While it is hard to remember individual cases, it is always the same feeling of great satisfaction when a tailor-made treatment plan is created and executed to achieve the results that we desire.
While my philosophy and approach to aesthetic treatments have not changed over the years, the technological tools available to achieve great results have evolved radically over this time.
With more tools in the toolbox, I am now able to fine-tune and create customised treatments for individuals even more with my favoured combination approach, where I use two or three individual devices that target different layers and structures of the skin simultaneously to maximise results.
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To be honest, there’s something about thread lifts that freak me out. I mean, just the word suture itself makes me shiver. How is it done at Illumia then?
Contrary to common perception, thread lifts are almost painless when done correctly, compared to other face-lifting treatments using skin tightening machines. It takes me only 20 minutes to perform a full-face thread lift using nothing more than a little local anesthetic.
The latest threads are designed to be very slim yet strong so that they can be easily placed in the skin layers with minimal recovery time.
How long does a thread lift last if it’s done by you then? And most importantly, is there any downtime?
The benefits of thread lifts can be felt for many years after treatment. It is not uncommon for my patients who I did thread lift for to still feel the effects of improved strength in their skin even four to five years after treatment.
Downtime is usually limited to mild swelling and a sense of tightness that settles without any medication.
Are there any instances where you’d reject a patient? And why?
I do not reject patients as I am always ready to listen to their perspectives and offer my frank and honest advice. However, I am a firm believer in my treatment approach and philosophy.
If the patients have a radically different view from mine, then the choices are automatically made.
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What do you think is the “Doctor Ram Nath” experience?
I give my patients as much time as they need to absorb all the information that they require to make an informed choice. I am happy to address their fears and concerns during the consultation and help them to make the best choices.
However, while I’m doing treatments, I tend to go full focus on the procedure and not engage in small talk so as not to break my concentration.
Are there any new technologies you’re excited by? What would be one of your dream technology?
There have been a lot of advances in stem-cell technology to treat aging and hair loss. However, the application of these technologies is prohibitively expensive and not quite ready for mass-market usage. The use of stem cells in the future would be a dream for me.
Lastly, I also like to ask this a lot. Do you remember the #1 song on your Spotify last year?
My Spotify account has been hijacked by my kids, but I believe the #1 song on their list was “Dynamite” by some famous K-pop group.
Once you’re done with our interview with Doctor Ram Nath of Illumia Medical, click here to catch up with our May 2022 issue!
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