How to avoid looking overfilled [Michele Shermak, MD, Baltimore]

Eva Sheie (00:04):
Welcome to the podcast Where Before Meets After. Submit your questions for our experts at wherebeforemeetsafter.com. I'm your host, Eva Sheie.

Dr. Shermak (00:15):
My name is Michele Shermak. I'm a plastic surgeon and I'm in Baltimore, Maryland.

Eva Sheie (00:19):
When we see a celebrity or we see someone who might have a little too much filler, what has actually happened here to cause that?

Dr. Shermak (00:30):
They just may have too much filler, or they may not have needed it, or they're aiming for a look that people don't think they need.

Eva Sheie (00:39):
Is there maybe a little body dysmorphia or if someone comes in and asks for more, will you give them more, even if it might make them look too full?

Dr. Shermak (00:50):
If I think it's going to be odd looking, I will step back from that because that's also a kind of red flag for the patient satisfaction. And we certainly don't want to put filler in and then have somebody say, I don't like it. If I can't really understand the goal, then I won't do it. But if I think I can do it safely and they may be looking for a look that seems like I can achieve that and I think they'll be happy with it. I kind of have to feel 'em out because there are definitely some people who get these procedures done and they're not happy, and that's like a lot of unhappiness for everybody to share.

Eva Sheie (01:33):
As a surgeon, you can certainly give people more than just filler and you can offer them fat too. When do you choose fat and when do you choose filler?

Dr. Shermak (01:45):
So fat is great if they're already going to be undergoing a surgical procedure. We don't have to pay for a product, we're pulling off the shelf. It's easy enough to harvest, and I like fat because it actually has a more amped up stem cell effect, so we not only get the volume, but we get that pinkness, we get that refresher. It's really truly a fountain of youth kind of impact we can see. Fat is a little kind of less specific in what we can achieve. I don't like using fat in the lip because it just sometimes looks blobby. It's nice to have the filler so you can have a much finer touch, more of an artistic application, but for a place where fat should be and has decreased over time, like in an older face, fat makes sense. We're just restoring what has gone away. So I guess I'm using it more for older patients and definitely people who are already undergoing surgery. It just makes sense.

Eva Sheie (02:45):
If someone wants to reach out and find out more about you, what's your Instagram and what's your website?

Dr. Shermak (02:50):
So my Instagram is Michele Shermak md. My webpage is Dr Shermak, S-H-E-R-M-A-K com, which you can click into anything from there. And we're always happy to meet with new patients and I just love meeting new people and trying to do good work for them.

Eva Sheie (03:13):
I know that you do. Thank you, Dr. Shermak.

Dr. Shermak (03:15):
Thank you so much.

Eva Sheie (03:19):
On this podcast, we bring you directly to the doctors who are where before meets after. Links to our guest's website and contact info are in your show notes. Follow us on Instagram @wherebeforemeetsafter. If you're a board certified plastic surgeon and would like to be a guest or a sponsor of the show, go to wherebeforemeetsafter.com for more information. Where Before Meets After is a production of The Axis, the podcast agency for Aesthetics, theaxis.io.