Dr Preema Vig - Dr Preema London Clinic, London
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Dr. Preema Vig, London based Physician recounts her journey to aesthetic medicine and shares her experiences in managing her own practice in our interview with her.
Name: Dr. Preema Vig
Clinic: Dr Preema London Clinic
Location: Devonshire Place, London
Website: http://drpreema.com/
Brief Bio:
Dr Preema Vig is an Advanced Aesthetic Doctor and former General Practitioner specialising in Non-Surgical Facial Rejuvenation. Her accolades in the industry include being featured in Tatler’s Finest, Tatler Beauty & Cosmetic Surgery Guide 2014 as well as Conde Nast’s Brides Cosmetic Beauty Guide 2016. As a result of such high profile exposure, Dr Preema is in demand with a wide-ranging clientele including models and professional athletes, to TV personalities and actors. Her private practice, Dr Preema London Clinic, at 35 Devonshire Place, London, is a mecca for those seeking the very best in non-surgical aesthetics.
What influenced you to practice aesthetic medicine?
My parents purchased their first care home when I was 4 months old. My mother was registered nurse and my father a chartered accountant so together they were a great team building their own business from scratch, and I was basically brought up in a medical environment as the care homes were my 2nd home when I was growing up in the 70's!
I decided I wanted to be a doctor and trained at the Royal Free Hospital School of Medicine in London and qualified in 1997. Originally I wanted to specialise in surgery and thoroughly enjoyed A&E but realised that I didn't really want to continue the night shifts. The next best thing for me with regards to variety of medical conditions was General Practice and so I qualified as a GP in 2003.
It was then that after a change in my personal circumstances that I decided to train up in Aesthetics as a little side line. I threw myself into general practice for 8 years whilst building up my private practice specialising in injectables. At this time, although non-surgical injectable practices existed, there were a handful of practitioners with an ‘artistic’ eye. As my non-surgical client base continued to grown from recommendations, I realised I loved ‘tweakments’ – especially as these microenhancements really made a difference to self esteem and confidence. I also realised that my role carried responsibility and patients respected my forthright and honest feedback if I felt that they didn’t require additional or any injectable treatments.
In 2006, I noticed a tiny advertisement in the British Medical Journal for a central London clinic doing injectables. I had no idea where the job was but I was interviewed by renowned plastic surgeon Dr Barry Cohen from Washington, USA, who was setting up his aesthetic clinic called Beyond MediSpa in Harvey Nichols! He gave me the job on the spot and within 4 months I was promoted to Medical Director (and 10 years later I am still there!).
During my 13 years of Aesthetics I continued to build my own private practice starting out in Kensington and then on Harley Street for 7 years. 2 years ago I acquired my own clinic which is at 35 Devonshire Place, London W1J 6JP.
Mind giving us a background of your aesthetic clinic?
I love space, light, texture and positive energy – especially in this day and age when we all have such demanding lifestyles. The Dr Preema London clinic has been created to emanate a lovely positive energy and we like it to feel uplifting and restful instead of clinical and sterile.
The clinic is boutique and I have 2 aethesticians that work alongside me and we run a very tight ship and I like to oversee everything closely and have the final sign off to maintain the ‘Dr Preema’ touch.
We offer a portfolio of treatments ranging from wrinkle relaxing treatments, dermal fillers alongside the latest aesthetic procedures such as: Coolsculpting®, Venus Legacy Radio Frequency Skin Tightening, Cutera Laser GenesisTM, Cutera Laser Titan® Infra Red Laser treatment, Cutera LimeLight and medical grade iS Clinical Fire & Ice treatments.
The clinic is located at 35 Devonshire Place north of Harley Street, and we treat a wide range of patients both male and female from all walks of life.
What can you tell us about your staffing experience?
Successful staff management comes from experience and intuition. You have to take the time to really identify what your clinic business needs are and combine these with the traits that you need your support staff to have.
Over the years you become aware of your own strengths and challenges and also the interpersonal skills required to ensure your team work together happily and productively. A bit like a broken spoke of a wheel or a missing cog – if one person is out of sync with the rest of your team – the business will reflect it.
What technologies do you employ in your practice?
We have recently launched the Cutera Laser and myself and the team did a lot of research and evaluation before taking on the device. We were particularly drawn to the device due to the research, data and edication supplied by the company. In addition to presenting the technology, the company came in and supporting my team with demo’s, cases studies and training before we officially launched it.
It is important to evaluate any technology that is being considered to ensure it is not a ‘copycat’ device and that it has all relevant approval, data, etc supporting any treatment claims. You also have to ensure the medical aethestician that is administering the treatment is comfortable with it and confident with the treatment outcomes.
What marketing strategies work for your practice?
To this day we find that patient satisfaction and word of mouth is the strongest lead generator. We do keep the patient database updated with new launches and events at the clinic and due to the strength of our direct relationship with our client base, we find that as the patients trial new products and treatments and begin to experience the benefits that they tend to rebook and share their treatment success stories.
We do use our website and the media as a method of communicating new campaigns and launches too.
What insights can you tell us as you practice cosmetic medicine?
Although I have been practicing for over 20 years, it never ceases to provide me with an immense sense of privilege each time I receive a message of gratitude from a patient when they share their stories of increased self-confidence or when something amazing has happened to them after visiting me. Often I advise my patients to take the ‘less is more’ approach and these tiny ‘tweakments’ can exceed their expectations.
Any advice to fellow physicians?
Our industry is no longer limited to fillers and wrinkle relaxing injectibles. It has evolved and now encompasses advanced cosmeceutical formulations and new technologies ranging from radio-frequency, no downtime laser treatments and CoolSculpting® cryolipolysis. Some of the devices I have selected to offer in the clinic are continuously evolving and it is amazing to see how these treatments combine and offer superior results.
As our industry is changing so much, that it is really important to continuously invest in learning and keep abreast of the latest advancements. So ensure you keep up to date with training and education.
In addition;
- Be honest, trust your intuition.
- It's not about money!
- Grow organically.
- Trust the right thing to happen.
- Word of mouth is the most powerful tool that I have experienced
About Dr. Vig
After graduating in 1997 from the Royal Free Hospital School of Medicine in London, Dr Preema Vig went on to gain extensive medical and surgical experience at a number of London hospitals. She completed her postgraduate training and qualified as a General Practitioner in 2003, gaining membership to the prestigious Royal College of General Practitioners. Alongside this, in 2003 Dr Preema also trained in facial aesthetics, giving her over 13 years of experience in the specialist aesthetic field.
With a natural aptitude for leadership, Dr Preema was the first doctor to be medically responsible for the first CoolSculpting® machine in the UK in 2010 and today continues to oversee CoolSculpting® treatments.
As well as practicing results based aesthetic treatments, Dr Preema regularly attends conferences and advanced training seminars to keep her skills at the forefront of the Aesthetic field. This knowledge allows her to continue developing exciting new and bespoke treatments such as her latest laser led Fusion Facial. This commitment also means that her patients can be reassured that they receive the highest level of both medical and professional care.
Dr Preema Vig is a member of the:British College of Aesthetic Medicine (MBCAM), International Academy of Advanced Facial Aesthetics (IAAFA), International Institute of Anti Aging (IIAA)
General Medical Council (GMC), British Medical Association (BMA), Royal College of General Practitioners (RCGP), Royal Society of Medicine (RSM).
