Beyond beauty

MANILA, Philippines - After knowing dermatologist Aivee Aguilar-Teo for over half a decade, I can say she remains unscathed by time’s grip. Not only does she work miracles on others, she does so even on herself. This writer was witness to how this doctor’s life and career blossomed. From a small clinic at Las Piñas Doctor’s Hospital, where she dealt mainly with pathologic dermatology (treating dreaded skin diseases), which Dr. Aivee juggled then with another clinic at NU.U Asia Center on 35th Ave. at the Fort, she has now managed to open not one but two branches of The Skin Laser and Aesthetic Center, have two more babies and overcome a long-distance relationship.

Back then at her old clinic in 2008, Dr. Aivee couldn’t even manage to squeeze time for me to interview her in the afternoon, nor in the evening when I returned. Heck, the clinic couldn’t even squeeze room for so many patients that when more people entered, I offered my seat to stand and wait outside. When I came back on another day, I made sure to come back late at night, around 9 p.m. It was only then that she had time, not only to talk but to eat what was her second meal of the day. A conversation from her husband, cosmetic surgeon Dr. Z Teo cut our interview even shorter as he called from Singapore to check on his wife in Manila, who, despite a crazy day, was still a ray of sunshine.

Dr. Aivee recalls her days then. “My practice started growing. It was leaning more toward cosmetic dermatology so I purchased more lasers. I started doing more injections, anti-aging treatments. I opened this Burgos Circle clinic in 2009, which has an operating/cosmetic surgery room. I wanted my patients to have a one-stop-shop center. (Eventually) we also incorporated cosmetic surgery. We also put up our Hair Restoration department (in 2011) and our Stem Cell Regenerative department (in 2012). In 2011, we put up another branch at The Bellevue Hotel in Alabang.”

The clinic in Bellevue has attracted Singaporeans who want to beautify and yet see the Philippines as well as balikbayans who want to visit relatives and hit two birds with one stone.

Although Dr. Aivee is a wonder woman who tries to oversee everything, she has had to get a little help to ensure all runs smoothly. The Hair Restoration department is headed by Dr. Jose Crisanto III, the Cosmetic/Aesthetic Surgery department by Dr. Porfirio Tica while the Stem Cell Regenerative department was set up by the clinic’s CEO, Dr. Z Teo, who oversees procedures.

Dr. Z actually brought in all the stem cell machines from Singapore. He works with a team of two orthopedic surgeons, anesthesiologists, a neurologist (for those who have Parkinson’s, Alzheimer’s and post-stroke patients), including a cardiologist, a diabetologist and a pediatrician.

He elaborates on the stem cell treatments with enthusiasm. “All the departments come together and work as a multi-disciplinary team. We hired two more associate dermatologists for Aivee. The line between beauty and regeneration of the body is blurring. It’s not just beauty on the outside. It’s moving towards a whole anti-aging process of the body. You have to treat the person as a whole. We have patients who come in for liposculpturing, and then the fat is used for stem cells. The fat is put into a fully automated machine and in a touch of a button after an hour and a half, the stem cells come out and we re-inject them back into the patient. No more culturing. No more labs. Everything is done within three to four hours. It’s an outpatient day procedure. If they have any medical problems like dodgy knees or painful shoulders or painful back, we get the orthopedic guys to inject it directly.” How wonderful is that, even fat is up-cycled!

At the rate they have expanded, it seems that they are headed to becoming a hospital. Dr. Aivee replies to the comment, “Sure, why not? We want to grow slowly but surely. We don’t want to grow too big to the point that we might compromise the quality of our service. For surgery, we have a protocol to have one or two surgeries a day.”  Dr. Z interjects, “We don’t want it to be a fast-food service (so to speak)!” 

One of the most interesting treatments the center now offers is Autologous Stem Cell-Assisted Breast Lifting. Fat is taken from an unwanted area like the tummy, put into the Stem cell extraction machine then placed into the breast for augmentation. “The ones benefiting from this are moms who’ve had kids. They’ve lost natural volume from breastfeeding. Doing this is a natural way of lifting the breast making it fuller and younger,” says Dr. Aivee with a wink as Dr. Z explains further. “There’s this new technology called Brava, a mechanical cone that you wear a few weeks before the procedure.  It does suction at night while you’re sleeping so it creates space and increases the capsular size and then we re-inject the fat.”

With no incision or scarring, this treatment has no downtime plus it’s from your own body. It’s not foreign so there’s no risk of any reaction. This new treatment ought to sell as quickly as any new donut craze!

Now they have whitening nutraceauticals. Their one-a-day crystal tomato tablet whitens, brightens and evens skin tone. The great thing about it is that it’s organic, so no more glutathione. Scientists in the States cultivate colorless white tomatoes and use three of these in one tablet, which is equivalent to having three tomatoes in your diet.

With all the clinic’s offerings, The Skin Laser and Aesthetic Center branding no longer captures the essence of what Dr. Aivee Teo does. By end of May, a new brand will be seen — The Aivee Aguilar-Teo M.D. Anti-Aging Institute. As the center evolves, one thing doesn’t change, and that’s Dr. Aivee’s unrelenting quest to provide the latest in the industry’s advancements according to international standards. With the treatments she provides, you can have your cake and eat it, too!

(For inquiries, call tel. nos. 403-3245 or 403-1982.)