„GP clinic“ surgeon Gintaras Papečkys: „From the very beginning, facial plastic surgery operations attracted me the most“

We can increasingly notice a changing societal attitude towards plastic surgery. This topic is no longer taboo, and patients who feel dissatisfaction with one or another feature of their appearance do not try to come to terms with it and instead turn to specialists. Facial surgeries remain popular, but at the same time, patients are apprehensive. „I see many artificial faces in our environment. They are made tastelessly. If the work is done professionally, those around should not understand that something has been corrected,“ says Gintaras Papečkys, owner and plastic surgeon at „GP klinika.“ More about facial plastic surgeries and all their nuances in an interview with G. Papečkys.

It is believed that facial plastic surgery is riskier than body surgery. Do you agree with this opinion?

Aesthetic surgery has another well-established name – beauty surgery. The main place of human beauty is occupied by the face, as it is the most visible and quite capricious – not forgiving deviations. This area of the body is the most complex.

Is performing facial corrections harder than body corrections?

No, I wouldn't say it's harder. It's just a significantly greater responsibility. From the very beginning, facial plastic surgery operations have attracted me the most. Although, as I mentioned, it requires a lot of responsibility, I enjoy it; I have been working in this field for a very long time. I love to present all beauty and its understanding precisely through the face.

You claim that operating on the face is a great responsibility. Why?

There are special requirements for that. You have to be focused from start to finish. Every element is very important. Here, not only surgical and technical knowledge is required, but also knowing and being sure how to make it beautiful. Therefore, it is a significant challenge for the surgeon.

But operating on the entire human body is also very responsible. Do you think the face stands out?

The face is visible, which means greater responsibility and many variations. For example, in the chest, there are more or less standard plastic surgery techniques, while on the face, there are various variations and procedures.

Often, plastic surgeons even refuse to perform facial corrections due to the extremely high responsibility. Does this not scare you?

The process is ongoing all the time, understanding changes, and it seems that you know everything, but after a few years, you understand beauty more deeply, which is why you want to convey that. I always invite patients to talk, trying to show my vision.

Are there situations when your and the patients' expectations and views do not align?

Such situations do occur, and I admit that I do not always compromise. I want to create beauty that is considered a goal for many years. I do not support short-term trends, such as the era of tasteless fillers known as the cat eyes technique, or similar.

Could we call the so-called „cat eyes“ and tasteless lip plumping fillers a fashion trend of our time?

Yes, it is the fashion of the moment. After some time, we will depict this stage of our lives with such eyes and lips. However, true beauty created by nature is eternal and unchanging. It is also worth distinguishing between two aspects: facial features and a person's style. A person may not be very stylish, but with beautiful facial features, I will call them beautiful, while a stylishly groomed person with facial feature deviations cannot be called beautiful, but the words likable or attractive will fit. A beautiful person is beautiful through the ages, but clothing trends, hairstyles, degrees of obesity, etc., differ in certain eras. The understanding of beautiful facial features has been, is, and will remain the same.

What other trends in facial plastic surgery could you name?

There are trends we talked about, but for one surgery to be more popular than another – that is not the case. Everything is done comprehensively. Sometimes, patients come wanting to correct just one area of the face. My years of experience allow me to explain that that one area can be corrected, but it will have a minimal result. Therefore, I recommend performing a comprehensive surgery, but the final decision, of course, is made by the patient. There is no coercion.

How would you then describe tastefully and professionally performed facial plastic surgery?

In our environment, I see many artificial faces. They are made tastelessly. If the work is done professionally, those around should not understand that something has been corrected. One can only compare by looking at before and after photos.

Do all results after facial plastic surgeries last a lifetime?

Some do, but certainly not all. There are procedures, operations that drastically change facial features, so sometimes there is no way back. It's good that they are decreasing and I avoid them.

You started working in cosmetic surgery thirty years ago. Still, perhaps you remember your first facial plastic surgery?

My entire journey as a plastic surgeon is divided into stages. It is not allowed to operate on faces right away. But I remember one of my first surgeries perfectly. The patient decided a week before her birthday that she wanted to have surgery. After seeing the post-operative result, she postponed the birthday celebration by a month and told the guests that she had been in an accident (this is a normal healing process with bruises, etc.). When the celebration came, all the guests said that the birthday girl had become much more beautiful after the accident (laughs).