Being a doctor – Page 2 – Modesto Botox, Dr. Calvin Lee

Modesto Nature Photography last weekend in May

Same as what I wrote in my last blog. I believe that my Botox Artistry and Filler Artistry is enhanced by looking at nature. Studying the patterns, the colors, the geometry, and even the natural aging process of young plants to old plants. Here are pictures which I took on the last weekend in May 2015 around my home in Modesto, California.

Sunflowers and Bees

a sunflower facking the sun clearer center IMG_5763 - Copy - Copy — The sun plays a role in how we see our subjects. The shadows create an appearance of deeper depth. In my Modesto Dermal Filler practice, we use fillers to lesson some of the shadows and thus create an appearance of a smoother surface.

a sunflower sky — In this picture, the lighting comes from the back. The subject looks completely different. This is why I have an operating room light in my procedure room where I do most of my Botox and Filler work. The operating room light can be adjusted to come from above, from below, from behind and from the sides. I also like to be in the same room most of the time when I inject – this way I can get a feel of the fixed lighting and have control over a movable light.

a single bee IMG_5542 - Copy - Copy - Copy — A blurry background helps us take out distractions from our best features. This is what I like to achieve with Botox in my Modesto practice. I like to use Botox to help blur out the wrinkles which detract from beautiful features on or face – especially eyelashes and the eyes themselves. Botox works especially great around the sides of the eyes and between the eyes. So this picture to me is very much like performing a Botox treatment around the eyes. With fewer “distractions” the eyes really shine!

a bee colony IMG_5526 - Copy - Copy — Beauty attracts company. Three bees on this beautiful sunflower.

And this is where I took the above photos. At first glance – it doesn’t seem beautiful. But it’s my job with Botox and Fillers to bring out the beauty that is already there. And that’s what I tried to do with the camera.

The next few pictures depict my study of young leaves of a sago palm

a sago twin — This picture shows the “older” but magnificent leaves of our Sago Palm

Beauty up-close is different from beauty from beyond

I have to look at a patient closely for one form of artistry but I have to keep in mind what a patients face looks like from a distance. This concept that I have to keep in my mind while injecting Botox and Fillers is represented by these two pictures which are near and further away:

The next two pictures show two different colored agapanthus blooms in different stages of bloom

Thank you for taking the time to visit my web page.

Botox Blooms 2 - Calvin Lee — Out of a Bottle of Botox, comes a Bloom of Beauty.

Visit my other webpages

January 2015 Modesto Nature Pictures – owls, goats, lady bug

New Zealand January 2015 Pictures – a chance to get away from Modesto for a Modesto Botox injector.

Calvin Lee, MD

Modesto Botox Artistry

About Me, About My Botox practice

I thought I needed to try to write something recent about myself at Surgical Artistry. This is what I came up with:

Botox, Juvederm, Voluma, Belotero injections – my goal is to provide cosmetic injections at the highest level. I value quality surgical level outcomes, patient safety, comfort & communication.

My Modesto Botox Page

I am a Board Certified General Surgeon with a past trauma career who assists in plastic surgeries and spinal cord stimulator / spinal pain pump surgeries. I am also an Acupuncturist who injects Botox as an extension of Acupuncture. Many of my Botox point selections are related Acupuncture points for migraine headaches and wrinkle prevention. 40% of my clinical time is spent at work is spent on Acupuncture, and 50% of my time is spent with cosmetic injections for Botox, Fillers, and Veins, and 10% of my time is spent assisting in surgeries. In a clinic day, it is common for me to use 200 units of Botox, 4 syringes of dermal fillers, and see about 6 acupuncture patients.

Outside of my clinical time, I also spend a great deal of time as an administrator of Surgical Artistry – the combined medical office for myself and my wife, Dr. Tammy Wu, Board Certified Plastic Surgeon. We have been surgeons in Modesto since 2003. My wife and I met while we were students at Brown University.

I am an author for MedicalSpaMD a resource for plastic surgeons, dermatologists, and aesthetic physicians. I’m also a member of the marketing department of the Cooperative of American Physicians based in Los Angeles. My hobbies include piano, violin, marathon running, being vegan, creating websites and social media.

32 years of full time work to START my Botox – Acupuncture – Surgeon career

How long does it take to become a doctor?

Quick answer: For me it took me about 32 years of full time work to become a Surgeon / Acupuncturist / Cosmetic Physician.

I am a Board Certified General Surgeon with a past trauma career who assists in plastic surgeries and spinal cord stimulator / spinal pain pump surgeries. I am also an Acupuncturist who injects Botox as an extension of Acupuncture. Many of my Botox point selections are related Acupuncture points for migraine headaches and wrinkle prevention. 40% of my clinical time is spent at work is spent on Acupuncture, and 50% of my time is spent with cosmetic injections for Botox, Fillers, and Veins, and 10% of my time is spent assisting in surgeries. In a usual clinic day, It is common for me to use 250 units of Botox, 7 syringes of dermal fillers, and see about 6 acupuncture patients. Outside of my clinical time, I also spend a great deal of time as an administrator of Surgical Artistry – the combined medical office for myself and my wife, Dr. Tammy Wu, Board Certified Plastic Surgeon.

While discussing “life” with another surgeon friend. I sort of wondered why a chunk of my life seemed to be missing; I never caught on with today’s technology (I don’t have a TV or smart phone – yet as of 4/26/15). We calculated how many hours went into my training to become a surgeon/acupuncturist/Botox injector after high school. We came to the conclusion that for me it was roughly 58,000 hours! That’s more than 32 years at a full time job to do what I do as a surgeon/acupuncturist. Yikes – who does stuff like that?? (I guess I did).

Hours spent becoming a doctor. — Hours spent becoming a doctor in the USA. This cut-off graphic doesn’t take into account fellowships and research time. Please see the links below for more detail.

I did not make this really nice graphic above.

I just found this online which shows that most doctors spend 20 years in full-time work hours to do what they do. I was coincidentally calculating how many hours of formal training it took me to become a Surgeon/Acupuncturist/Botox injector: My conclusion is 32 years at a full time job (58,000) hours. Here’s the website source of the graphic: http://www.bestmedicaldegrees.com/salary-of-doctors/ (warning – it might depress some doctors)

The data for the info seems to come from this webpage: https://benbrownmd.wordpress.com/

Please visit my Modesto Botox home page.

Modesto Surgeons at work — My wife and I work together. Dr. Tammy Wu is wearing the splash guard over her glasses – smart!

BOTOX as part of Acupuncture?

Just realized I might be unique. I have known that I might be one of the first board certified General Surgeons to become an acupuncturist in America. And I am probably one of the first acupuncturists to inject BOTOX regularly. And I am probably one of the first acupuncturists who assists in Tummy Tuck surgeries and Face Lifts. So it is possible that I am UNIQUE as a Board Certified General Surgeon who became an Acupuncturist who injects BOTOX regularly and assists in Plastic Surgery – and lives in Modesto, California!

Many of the injection sites for Botox are the same as Acupuncture points

I am starting to see BOTOX as an extension of Acupuncture – most of the injection sites for Botox are acupuncture points – especially points for relieving stagnant/congested feelings in the head which include headaches, depression, sinus issues, allergies, etc.

Why do I love what I do?

Featured Modesto doctor of the day March 11, 2015

If you have FaceBook, you can click on this link to see it directly on Doctors Medical Center’s page on FB. And consider leaving a comment under the video for me! Thank you!

I was asked to do a brief interview for a publicity event for Doctors Medical Center. I wrote down what I was saying (hopefully not too much mumbling):

Post by Doctors Medical Center.

Here’s the transcript:

I am Dr. Calvin Lee. I am a surgeon and I focus my practice on whole body acupuncture and cosmetic injections of Botox and fillers which complement our plastic surgery practice, Surgical Artistry, with my wife Dr. Tammy Wu.

Why do I love what I do?

Beauty and health for my patients is my goal. Beauty on the outside is health on the inside. My purpose is to provide educational advice and technical procedures at the highest level possible for my patients. In addition to feeling good about helping others, it is extremely satisfying for me to be a surgeon especially since I’ve always loved technical dexterity challenges. There is certainly an abundance of surgical skills used in facial filler implantation, Botox strategy, and acupuncture needle manipulations.

It is a privilege to be here in Modesto, California. It is a privilege to have the trust of patients. And it’s a privilege to wake up each morning with a purpose.

If you have FaceBook, you can click on this link to see it directly on Doctors Medical Center’s page on FB. And consider leaving a comment under the video for me! Thank you!

Does music relax you?

“It must relax you to play music,” one of my Modesto acupuncture/Botox patients said to me today. I’ve always wondered what that means. For the most part, I think I disagree. But it’s not wrong either. I think perhaps it’s that very rare feeling when all the hard work comes together and then all of a sudden one loses themselves and becomes the music. It’s as if one takes their own sense of “self” and all of its worries and transforms that into the soul of the music and thus a sense of relaxation is achieved. But that’s a rare moment for me.

For the most part, it’s the frustration, challenges and the eventual achievement of musical understanding which attract me to the practice of piano.

Do you prefer to be addressed as Doctor Lee or by first name?

Botox office question today: How to address a doctor at the office and in real life (outside the medical setting).

Someone asked me at the Botox office today, do you prefer to be called “Dr. Lee” or “Calvin”. Well, naturally, for sure, while I’m working, I prefer to be called “Dr. Lee.” If it has anything to do with work my work as a Doctor, I prefer to be addressed as “Dr. Lee.” I’m used to it that way. In fact, I frequently refer to my wife as “Dr. Wu” rather than Tammy. I think other doctors would be used to that as well especially in a medical type setting. But what about “Dr. Calvin” – referring to my first name. That’s just “odd” to me. Perhaps this is just a personal preference.

In a medical setting – for sure it’s “Dr. Lee”, otherwise I think it’s just bizarre to be called by my first name or even “Dr. Calvin.”

So it’s “Dr. Lee” for sure as my preference when it’s in a medical office or in a medical setting.

My mother and my wife call me “Calvin” – I’m now in trouble…

Then the question comes about, what if it’s at a random setting like a bank or a party. In that case, I don’t really mind which one. But the funny thing is that I have been called “Dr. Lee” for more of my life than “Calvin” now. And I have grown somewhat more accustomed to “Dr. Lee” as my name. I think this is partly because I became a trauma/general surgeon and I didn’t have much of a life (I still don’t) outside of being a doctor. I frequently have a “guilty” type reaction when I’m called “Calvin” – because that’s what my wife and my parents call me – especially when I’ve done something wrong – I’m just slightly joking here. Thus for personal reasons, not for any stuck up type reasons, it’s my preference to be called “Dr. Lee” anywhere.

But perhaps there’s hope for me to get used to my own first name.

But as I get out more into the real world. I think there’s hope for me to get used to my given first name “Calvin.”

What does my wife, Dr. Wu think?

I know that my wife, prefers “Dr. Wu” – at least with office mail. I’ve seen her immediately trash letters that say “Dear Tammy” instead of “Dear Dr. Tammy Wu or Dr. Wu” – especially our frequent resume letters from people looking to work in our office. I think she thinks that they aren’t serious enough about getting a job at the office.

– Calvin Lee, MD – Modesto Botox Surgeon.