Beauty from Within

Leif Rogers, MD, FACS

As a plastic surgeon to film stars, pop singers, and pro-athletes, Leif Rogers, MD, FACS, does far more than enhance the looks of some of the world’s most beautiful people. Indeed, Dr. Rogers fortifies as well as beautifies his patients from within by prescribing medically proven safe and effective vitamin, mineral, and free-radical scavenging supplements.

With offices in Beverly Hills and Pasadena, California, Dr. Rogers is differentiated from other plastic surgeons by his singular aesthetic vision, surgical skills, and pioneering use of oral phytoceramides and intravenous vitamin supplements. These supplements, which help patients feel, look, and function at their best, are part of Dr. Rogers’s commitment to upholding “the highest quality standards in reconstructive surgery, cosmetic plastic surgery and nonsurgical treatments that include an optimal balance of artistry with the most sophisticated medical advances.”

Dr. Rogers and his staff are highly focused on helping to strengthen a client’s skin from within. They are in the vanguard of plastic surgery in that they realize the importance of vitamins in relation to the promotion of skin health as well as the importance of vitamins to the healing process after surgery.

“Vitamins are essential in our daily metabolic functions,” he explains. One supplement that Dr. Rogers is particularly keen on is phytoceramides, mainly because there is so much medical evidence supporting their potential for promoting the development of healthy skin cells.

Phytoceramides for Natural Beauty

 

As Dr. Rogers explains, “Phyto-ceramides are plant-derived ceramides, which are substances that our healthy skin cells produce to communicate with one another as well as to create a waterproof seal from the outside world.”

Ceramides are waxy lipid molecules, composed of a fatty acid and a substance called sphingosine. Ceramides are found in high concentrations within the membranes of human cells.

Ceramides play a vital role in types of cellular signaling such as regulating the differentiation, proliferation, and programmed death of cells (apoptosis). Intriguingly, ceramide is a component of vernix, the waxy white substance that coats and protects the skin of newborn human infants.

As we age, Dr. Rogers continues, “Our cells produce fewer ceramides, leading to drier and thinner skin. Plus, the weakness caused by lack of ceramides also allows more toxins to enter through our skin.” When ingested orally, however, “phytoceramides will be taken up by our cells and used to rebuild the intercellular connections restoring the moisture and barrier functions of our skin.” Thus, according to Dr. Rogers, “Ceramides improve the function, and also the appearance of skin, giving us a more youthful look.”

Dr. Rogers has presented the evidence-based medical research about phytoceramides and their anti-aging benefits on the Dr. Oz television show, “Secrets to Cheat Your Age.” While phytoceramides have been touted by some physicians as “a facelift in a bottle,” Dr. Rogers is much more circumspect. “Those of us over 40 often experience a noticeable improvement in skin tone and texture with regular oral consumption of phytoceramides,” he notes. While he takes oral phytoceramide supplements every day, Dr. Rogers also takes multivitamins and NAD on a daily basis. (NAD is the biologically active coenzyme form of vitamin B3, or niacinamide.)

His Background

Even before Dr. Rogers became a physician, he was fascinated by biology and the workings of human consciousness. “I have a bachelor’s of science degree in cell and developmental biology and a minor in psychology,” he says. Given that his undergraduate areas of concentration were in realms that relate strongly to the medical practice and art of plastic surgery, it’s arguable that Dr. Rogers was destined to become a plastic surgeon in Beverly Hills with A-list entertainment industry professionals as patients.

Dr. Rogers has been interested in the potential for healing provided by intravenous vitamin therapy ever since he was a medical resident. Back in those days, he witnessed nutritionally deficient patients experience significant health improvements after receiving intravenous vitamin and mineral infusions—and came away suitably impressed.

After he became a physician and attended an anti-aging medicine-related conference where research was presented on the use of intravenous vitamin infusions to help improve various health conditions, a light bulb switched on in his mind. He realized that intravenous vitamins could be assets to his medical practice.

As Dr. Rogers continues, “Intravenous vitamin therapy causes a mild euphoric feeling in most while also supporting the healing process, a time during which the body uses more than the usual amount of its resources. Many of my patients attribute their accelerated recoveries from different surgeries to these therapies.” Naturally, Dr. Rogers does his due medical diligence before making vitamin recommendations to prevent potentially negative interactions between any prescription medications the patient may be taking.

Dr. Rogers says he has always been interested in building, drawing, and sculpting. “My interest in the idea of surgically changing a person’s appearance dawned when I was 7 years old,” he says. “I was watching a television documentary called The Making of Cleopatra. This show documented, in fascinating detail, the surgical transformation of a female patient to make her resemble renderings of the ancient Egyptian queen Cleopatra. Completely fascinated, I blurted out to my parents, ‘I’m going to do that one day!’ When they looked at me with eyebrows raised, I explained, ‘I’ll be performing that kind of surgery, not receiving it,’” he says with a laugh.

“As long as I can remember,” Dr. Rogers continues, “I have been able to visualize a three-dimensional design or object in my mind and then draw it or build it so that it becomes a reality.” While he studied sculpture in college, Dr. Rogers notes that he enjoyed “planning the architectural designs of my office and home.” Indeed, visiting the Beverly Hills office of Dr. Rogers is like stepping into a private museum. Designed with input from noted modernist interior designer James Magni, the offices and hallways abound with beautiful paintings and sculptures.

The quest for perfection and a vivid aesthetic vision have served Dr. Rogers well in his career as a plastic surgeon. As he puts it, “I am grateful to have in many ways an ideal skill set for plastic surgery.”

In His Personal Life

For the past several years, Dr. Rogers has been volunteering his considerable skill set to the nonprofit organization HELPs International, which brings free medical services to rural communities in Guatemala and Mexico.

“I take part on a 10-day medical mission to Guatemala every year,” Dr. Rogers says. “I work with a large multidisciplinary group of physicians and other medical professionals that set up a temporary hospital in remote regions of Guatemala. In that time, I perform a minimum of 25 surgeries on children and adults, many of whom have never seen a doctor in their lives.” The procedures, he adds, “range from repair of cleft lips and palates, to remedying burn scars and reconstructing large defects after resection of tumors.” Dr. Rogers finds his work with HELPs International rewarding because it affords the rare chance to make profound and everlasting improvements in the physical and mental health of people, as well as their appearance.

While Dr. Rogers enjoys snowboarding, dirt bike riding, hiking, and other sports, one of the downsides of his successful, busy practice is that, “I have less time for recreation. I do, however, work out with a trainer once or twice a week, depending on my schedule. When I was a student and resident,” he recalls, “I worked out five days a week in order to keep up my energy when I was averaging four hours of sleep per night for many years.”

What Dr. Rogers Offers

Before attending the Academy Awards, Grammys, or other entertainment events, actors, singers, models, and other entertainment industry professionals come to Dr. Rogers for intravenous vitamin, mineral, and free radical scavenging “cocktails” to help amp up their energy and promote healthy glowing skin from within. These intravenous infusion cocktails are also helpful for patients who need to recharge from working full time while raising families or recovering from grueling business travel. Here’s a brief overview of what is available in the practice of Dr. Rogers:

The Competitor: A combination of intravenous fluids, dextrose, electrolytes, vitamins, minerals, and free radical scavengers to give an energy boost, hydrate, build muscle and promote healing and endurance. It can be useful before and after workouts, or when training.

The Healer: This combination of intravenous fluids, electrolytes, vitamins, minerals, and free radical scavengers may help the patient recover or prepare for surgery, or recover from illness. Studies have shown free radical scavengers and vitamins can cut healing time in half, including healing of the skin (scars).

The Immunizer: This is a combination of intravenous fluids, electrolytes, vitamins, minerals, and free radical scavengers to help the signaling and function of the body’s immune system. This cocktail can be useful for illness prevention, when starting to feel sick, already sick, or recovering.

The Traveler: A combination of intravenous fluids, electrolytes, vitamins, minerals, and free radical scavengers to help the body recover from travel. Great for those who travel for work or who have just finished a long trip. This can combat jet lag, dehydration, and stress by enhancing energy and focus, rehydrating, promoting relaxation, and nourishing tissues.

His Super Slow Workout

 

Now with the commitments of family and work, he says, “Exercise is less frequent but even more important. I workout both at a private gym and in my home gym. My preferred workout routine is SuperSlow, a very specific workout technique that maximizes results with minimal time and risk of injury.” (The 10-second lifting and 10-second lowering repetition speed of SuperSlow movement was developed by Ken Hutchins during Nautilus-funded osteoporosis research at the University of Florida in the early 1980s.)

The method relies on very slow repetition speeds as compared to traditional resistance training regimens. In SuperSlow workouts, the exerciser reduces acceleration and momentum to limit the force the body is exposed to during exercise, so as to improve muscular loading. Some research indicates that SuperSlow produces superior results compared to traditional methods in as little as 10 weeks.

In Conclusion

Dr. Rogers believes that to be an exceptional plastic surgeon, one must focus on the entire patient, which encompasses the visual, spatial and material balance of all parts, rather than just a single body part or procedure. “We are so much more than a sum of our parts,” he explains. “This is why all parts of the person must be carefully studied in detail when an aesthetic surgery is under consideration. A sculptor never sculpts noses or breasts, but entire human beings,” he says. Dr. Rogers’s holistic approach to patients, coupled with his awareness that true health and beauty come from within, account for his exceptional plastic surgery practice.

If you have any questions on the scientific content of this article, please call a Life Extension^® Wellness Specialist at 1-866-864-3027.

For more information or to contact Dr. Rogers, please visit www.leifrogersmd.com