20 Dec Review of the 30th GÄCD Annual Conference in Cologne
As a board member of the German Society for Aesthetic Surgery (GÄCD), its annual congress is always a special event for me. The GÄCD is the largest interdisciplinary specialist association in Germany that deals with the broad field of aesthetic operations and treatments and its members come from various medical specialties – from plastic surgery to specialists in aesthetic ENT or facial surgery to dermatologists who primarily deal with aesthetic issues. This year’s 30th annual conference, for which members and guests met in Cologne in November, accordingly offered an exciting and wide-ranging specialist program.
The new and the tried and tested in facial surgery
A total of two scientific sessions dealt with facial surgery issues, with this year’s conference focusing on eyelid surgery. The removal of drooping eyelids or the correction of bags under the eyes is one of the most common tasks performed by facial surgeons, so it makes perfect sense for us to take a close look at this topic. In addition to various lectures on eyelid correction, I also gave a lecture on the subject of brow lifts. My experience shows that in many cases the actual cause of upper eyelid problems is a drooping of the forehead and brow area. A well-executed brow lift can often ensure that an upper eyelid lift with removal of tissue from the eyelid is not necessary at all. However, the lectures that dealt with the anatomical features of the eyelid – such as the skin or eyelashes – were definitely exciting for me this year.
Aesthetic dermatology – especially non-invasive
Traditionally, the various non-surgical measures for skin optimization are widely discussed at the GÄCD conference. This year’s program even included three scientific sessions on aesthetic dermatology, which focused on injection therapies for wrinkle treatment as well as various device procedures. News about filler treatment was just as interesting for me as lectures on fat reduction or skin tightening methods using heat or cold, which I have also been getting more involved with for some time. However, the possibilities of laser medicine continue to be hotly debated, which shows that lasers now have a firm place in aesthetic medicine alongside injections.
30 years of GÄCD
At their anniversary conference, the members and guests of the GÄCD once again demonstrated how broad the field of application of aesthetic medicine is. This makes interdisciplinary exchange, for which the annual conference offers many opportunities, all the more important. It is always pleasing to see dermatology or plastic surgery specialists who are not afraid to think outside the box and learn from their experienced colleagues. This ultimately benefits the treatment results and therefore our patients.
