A life-changing solution

New to UT Health RGV is a Cosmetic Surgery clinic in Edinburg, which offers surgical and non-surgical aesthetic procedures to the UTRGV and Rio Grande Valley communities.

“So we are sort of a comprehensive plastic surgery clinic and I think most of the community knows about our reconstructive efforts and we do great reconstructive surgery in terms of breast reconstruction, skin cancer reconstruction,” said Dr. Paul Berry, a board-certified plastic surgeon at UT Health RGV, vice chairman of the Division of Plastic Surgery and an assistant professor in the Department of Surgery.

Some of the cosmetic and reconstruction services the clinic offers include tummy tucks, tumor removal, hernia repair, buttock augmentation with fat grafting and much more. 

The clinic, which opened on Aug. 22, also offers minimally invasive procedures such as Botox, chemical peel, sclerotherapy and soft tissue fillers. 

“A lot of the cosmetic operations and procedures that we do involve, essentially, correcting the mistakes of other surgeons in the community,” Berry said. “So, one of the things we realize is that, you know, we have to make more of an effort so that we will be the primary people to help avoid some of the complications and problems that we are seeing.”

He said the clinic will soon have energy devices for hair removal, hair reduction and some non-invasive anti-aging procedures.

Reconstructive surgery is done to rebuild a part of the body malformed by a disease or medical condition.

“So as plastic surgeons, we are trained and we have clinical experience in reconstructive surgery, which most plastic surgeons will define as taking something that is abnormal and making it more normal,” Berry said. “Let’s say a lady gets breast cancer and she has to have a mastectomy where she has to lose her breasts. Well, we are the ones that would come by and, essentially, give her [breasts] back.”

In cosmetic surgery, a person chooses to have a procedure to change their physical appearance for cosmetic rather than medical reasons.

“We take something that is pretty normal and we make it, sort of, enhanced in some way,” Berry said. “There is a wide range of what is considered normal when it comes to noses. They can breathe through it, they sound reasonably normal when they speak, but they don’t like the shape of it for whatever reason. … We take that and we reshape it to make it more in line with how they see themselves.

“When we meet a patient and we are trying to decide on a treatment plan, it has to
be a plan that is for that
specific patient. Rhinoplasty is a great example. I can make the perfect rhinoplasty for your nose and if I put it on somebody else’s face, it looks bizarre. So all the plans have to be directed towards the individual patients.”

Berry said UT Health accepts insurance on some surgeries.

“Most of our reconstructive surgeries are covered by insurance because they are considered medically necessary,” he said. “Now, of course, cosmetic surgery is generally not considered medically necessary. So insurance becomes non-relevant.”

UT Health accepts some insurance plans, such as Aetna, Ambetter, Molina and WellMed. Visit its website for more information about insurance coverage.

“Our injectable procedures, our minimally invasive procedures and our minor surgeries are performed at our clinic location for our major operation,” Berry said. “The things that require sort of a general anesthetic and things like that, we operate [at the] Edinburg Regional Medical Center, McAllen Medical Center, sometimes
Cornerstone and Harlingen Medical Center.”

The UT Health RGV Surgical Specialty clinic is located at 3115 Center Pointe Drive in Edinburg. To schedule an appointment, fill out the online appointment request form on its website or call 1-833-887-4863.

The clinic on the Edinburg campus is open from 8 a.m. to noon and 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday. 

Computer science junior Laisha Garcia Dominguez said the reconstructive surgeries that the clinic offers will change the lives of many people.

“I think that is a pretty good thing and it is pretty important because there is a lot of people that will get into accidents,” Dominguez said.

English senior Kimberly Gonzalez has a relative who needed plastic surgery and said there is a local demand for the service.

“My cousin broke her nose really bad and she had to get it fixed,” Gonzalez said. “So, I think, in cases like that, it’s super necessary but in other cases, it’s really just our societal standards towards it. That’s the problem.”

She said more reconstruction surgery facilities will benefit the Valley.

“I haven’t seen a lot of cosmetic and reconstruction surgery places around,” Gonzalez said. “ I know we have a few, but it’s always good to have more if people need it.”