The Harmon Method: A Philosophy of Facial Plastic Surgery
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It is difficult to explain a personal surgical philosophy. The reality is that any well-trained, ethical facial plastic surgeon should want to make their patients look better and to do their best towards that end. A surgical philosophy influences a practice’s mission and values. Therefore, a surgical practice ultimately reflects the personal values of a surgeon as well as their training and experience.
The Harmon method is a philosophy grounded in being:
- Honest
- Effective
- Refined
As a result, Dr. Harmon focuses on treating a patient’s anatomy, not necessarily their age. He also feels strongly that, while surgical or non-surgical procedures can often be effective for the face, there are times when delaying treatment or avoiding treatment altogether is the right thing to do. His background as a fellowship trained, double board-certified facial plastic surgeon, a husband, and a father inform this philosophy, to the benefit of his patients.
Honest
Dr. Harmon begins each consultation focused on what specifically concerns the patient. He makes an honest effort to avoid telling people that they “need” something. Instead, he allows an organic conversation to unfold. This applies to any procedure a patient is interested in, even non-surgical procedures such as Botox® and fillers. After all, telling an individual what they “need” may lead to recommended procedures in areas that do not bother them. This can lead to a disconnect between the expected and actual results. Instead, Dr. Harmon feels a positive, targeted conversation best aligns treatment with aesthetic goals. The foundation of an effective treatment approach is an excellent patient-physician relationship. It is not based on a template.
Furthermore, Dr. Harmon’s treatment plans are intended to directly reflect each patient’s unique anatomy and aesthetic goals, not a trend. This is because he feels trends – as promoted in the beauty, health, and wellness media – usually do not reflect individual desires or actual facial anatomy. Dr. Harmon does not chase trends but does not hesitate to adopt new techniques and treatments based on a thorough review of the evidence available for their safety and effectiveness. Nowhere is this more evident in the deep plane facelift and deep neck lift surgery technique Dr. Harmon was fellowship trained in, which is widely considered a gold-standard approach and was developed by the surgeon who trained him, Dr. Andrew Jacono.
Effective
Dr. Harmon’s surgical focus is on “bringing the clock back” appropriately and in line with natural anatomic limits. This focus can return more natural appearing results that, while effective and rejuvenating, remain appropriate to the individual’s life stage and anatomy. Results that make people feel good and confident and elicit an excited response that they look great but are unsure quite why are Dr. Harmon’s focus. After all, it is often quite easy to identify someone who has undergone unnatural-appearing facial plastic surgery. Our attention is captured, negatively, in these instances. This capture reflects cognitive shortcuts our brain takes to manage the massive amount of multi-sensory information we are constantly processing in our environment. Features that are obviously abnormal or appear unnatural on the face can trigger a closer examination. Less obviously altered or abnormal facial features often do not. Therefore, changes that immediately elicit a second, negative, look to a specific area of the face are more likely to look distorted and unnatural than refreshed, revitalized, and natural. Dr. Harmon feels that accounting for that distinction is key to achieving elegantly effective results. He feels the best way to work towards achieving these results is by performing facial plastic surgery procedures that target as many tissue planes that have changed with age as possible, as safely as possible, and in line with the specific aesthetic goals and anatomic limitations of each patient.
Refined
An important quality of a good facial plastic surgeon is an understanding of when restraint looks best. For example, Dr. Harmon emphasizes balancing fat preservation, repositioning, and adding conservative volumes over fat removal followed by, often excessive, fat grafting. He preserves most of the natural fat in the lower eyelid during lower blepharoplasty surgery. He moves this fat away from the lower eyelid and into the cheek to restore more youthful proportions to the region. Dr. Harmon lifts the patient’s natural cheek fat during a deep plane facelift rather than compensating for no lift by adding a large volume of fat transferred from another part of the body. An emphasis on preserving and repositioning fat in the face allows Dr. Harmon to be more conservative and selective when additional volume is added to the face using fat. This can reduce the risk of a pillow-faced appearance and can create more natural-appearing results.
More broadly, a patient’s anatomy, background, and aesthetics may suggest a non-surgical procedure is more appropriate than a surgical procedure. Dr. Harmon is well-trained and experienced in both the surgical and non-surgical care of the face and neck. As a result, he can consider a wider range of options for patients than a non-surgeon would. Those options do include avoiding or postponing treatment. After all, one mark of a good facial plastic surgeon is knowing when to say “no” and recommending against a specific procedure, or even any procedure at all.
Honest, Effective, Refined Results Reflect Dr. Jeffrey Harmon’s Surgical Philosophy and Focus
Dr. Harmon is focused on delivering effective, refined, natural-appearing results that honestly reflect patients’ aesthetic concerns, anatomy, and life stage. He feels honored to have the opportunity to sit down with patients and identify a path towards feeling good about their face that feels right for them.