Reconstructing faces, Changing lives

Mary Paulose meets 'celebrity' plastic surgeon Dr David Alessi who helps victims of domestic violence get back on their feet by removing their scars

Dr David Alessi, well known facial plastic surgeon from Beverly Hills, California, has just started the interview, but I already have a party invitation from him. "If you're ever in LA, you have to come to the Face Forward Gala, it's the best party you'll ever attend," he says, smiling across the table.
It's great to be invited, because the gala is an event which supports Face Forward, the nonprofit set up by Dr Alessi and his wife Deborah, both active champions of victims of domestic and gang violence. How fitting that a man who reconstructs faces for a living also gives people who have their faces damaged a chance to lead a better life.
Macy Gray, Chaka Khan and Mary J Blige are set to perform at this year's gala, Dr Alessi says, and Brian McKnight had performed at the 2014 event. "With prizes like two business class round trip tickets sponsored by Etihad, a lot of money is raised at the gala's auction for Face Forward's victims."

FACES OF CHANGE: (top) A patient after receiving one of Dr.Alessi's jaw reshaping surgeries; (bottom) Aubrey Mabrey,a domestic violence victim before andafter plastic surgery
Face Forward does more than just provide pro bono reconstruction surgery to adults and children who have suffered physical abuse. The Alessi couple provides pre- and post-operation therapy - both physical and mental - and social and economic rehabilitation for the victims.
Looking Face Forward
Dr Alessi was in the UAE recently to scope out the possibility of both setting up a medical practice here, and also bring the Face Forward foundation to the emirates. "It's all in the discussion stage right now. Face Forward as a foundation was developed by my wife, to rebuild the lives and faces of women who have been affected by domestic violence," the good doctor says, looking cool in his linen suit, and not one bit ruff-led by the summer heat here. "People think domestic violence has a cultural link, that it happens only to women in ghettos or in the poorer countries, but it happens everywhere, and is not limited to any social, economic or cultural background." At the fancy annual gala, many rich, accomplished and well-placed women walk up to Dr Alessi and Deborah and tell them, they have been victims too.

GALA CAUSE: Domestic violence victim Aubrey Mabrey, Deborah Alessi, Dr.David Alessi, and singer Missi Pyle at the Face Forward Gala in California last year
But the couple doesn't believe in the logic of "giving fish to feed the hungry", as he puts it. "We give the victims the fishing rod itself. After reconstructing their faces and making them presentable, they are given psychological and locational rehabilitation - the entire support system is provided - on the condition that they go out and do something great with their lives," he reveals.
And so they have! Anita, a Ugandan woman whose husband - a professor, no less - threw acid on her face, had several surgeries done on her, now lives in the US and just got a full visiting scholarship to the University of Pittsburgh, and she's going to speaking in front of the UN, Dr Alessi says. Back in Uganda, she was still getting death threats from her ex-husband and being ostracised by society.
There are other Face Forward success stories - the girl who was shot by her boyfriend who is becoming a nurse soon; the woman from Florida who was shot in the face by her husband, and has now made a complete recovery. One of the first Face Forward victims operated upon now runs her own tattoo parlours and is also a motivational speaker. Yet another runs a similar foundation on the East Coast for domestic violence victims. Dr Alessi says about them, "Changing faces is one thing, but changing lives is much more satisfying."

FACES OF SUPPORT: Actors and performers Bonnie Somerville, Shane Mosley and his son Shane Mosley Jr., Jen Lilley and Shantel Jackson attend the Face Forward Foundation's 5thAnnual Charity Gala Supporting Victims of Domestic Abuse

Changing faces for three decades
That's exactly how long Dr Alessi has been practising as a plastic surgeon, and from his online presence and accounts of praise from his patients, one can see he's a well respected figure on the LA/Beverly Hills scene. After his undergraduate education from Michigan State University and PhD from Wayne State University, he continued his residency at UCLA School of Medicine and then the Children's Hospital of Los Angeles, then going on to become chief surgeon at the famous Cedars Sinai ?Hospital's (for head and neck surgery). He is now founder and medical director of Alessi Institute.
After seeing the high demand for cosmetic surgery in the Middle East - Arabs make up one of the largest patient demographics in LA, according to him - he's looking at setting up a medical practice here. "One of my expertise is getting professionals organised to do things, so I'm bringing a group of doctors to work with the clinic, on a rotational basis. For many years, my Middle Eastern contacts have been trying to get me to come here, but I didn't think much about it. But when the thought of opening up something outside LA cropped up, the UAE was the obvious choice," he says.
Dr Alessi is all praise for the business climate here, stating that it's a good place to set up a rotational practice in, and that the country is ready to become a medical destination geared towards consumers. With the times, plastic and cosmetic surgery have become less taboo and more widely accepted. "People love their plastic surgery like they do their designer bags! And with the kind of definitive procedures that are minimally invasive these days, it's becoming more popular. The cultural taboo again-st cosmetic surgery is wearing down."
While the majority of work done by Dr Alessi is rhinoplasty, eyelid surgery, breast implants, liposuction and body sculpturing, the most common age groups seeking surgery are 20-35 for rhinoplasty, and 50 and over for eyelid lifts and other age-related procedures. "Women make up about two-thirds of the patients, and men the remaining one-third, though more men are coming in these days," he says.
Occasionally, of course, he has the overenthusiastic mother who comes in with her teenage daughter for breast implants. "We turn away many patients, because what they really need is therapy, not plastic surgery. You can be a very good plastic surgeon, the best in the OR (operating room), but the best surgeons will not do it for everyone."
The idea of beauty changes down the years, he points out. "In ancient times, if women sought to look like Cleopatra, today everyone wants to look like Kendall Jenner. The media plays a huge role in changing the way you look at things, and sometimes that's unfortunate."
Without revealing any names, Dr Alessi says that he's done work on some of Hollywood's big names - he's in Beverly Hills after all. "And though they will go to great lengths to admit it, most famous names you see on screen today have had some kind of work done."
marypaulose@khaleejtimes.com