Under the leadership of board-certified plastic surgeon Dr. Tom Gallaher, Gallaher Plastic Surgery and MedSpa serves patients in Powell, Bearden, Tellico Village, Maryville and Florence, Alabama. Considered one of the Southeast’s premier plastic surgery and medical spa practices, his team provides a comprehensive breadth of surgical, non-surgical and medical spa services for women and men.
Common surgical procedures men seek include facelifts to restore definition while preserving character, liposuction to create more defined body contours and procedures addressing heaviness or fatigue around the eyes. On the medical spa side, men seek treatments that offer meaningful improvement with minimal downtime, and a tailored, understated approach to rejuvenation. The goal is not transformation, but alignment—helping patients look as energized and confident as they feel.
With decades of experience and a commitment to excellence, Dr. Gallaher combines medical precision with artistry to deliver natural, confidence-boosting results tailored to patients’ unique goals. Dr. Gallaher shares his expertise to address anti-aging issues that prioritize authenticity and an elevated level of care.
Q. Give us an overview of the field of plastic surgery today.
“It is an exciting time in the world of plastic surgery. Never before have we had so many different options available. Technology has advanced as well as surgical techniques to provide natural-looking results and improvements for almost any patient goal. Information is also readily available to patients and allows for better expectations and education. In addition, plastic surgery no longer has the stigma of being only for those with great wealth or celebrity.”
Q. When you first meet a patient, what are you really evaluating?
“When I evaluate a patient, my goal is to listen carefully to their goals and then provide as many options as possible to address their concerns. When meeting with a patient, it is very important to put them at ease and to make sure that they are being heard. It is also very important to provide them with information that will help them make the appropriate decisions.”
Q. What does “natural” mean to you in aesthetic medicine?
“Results need to be natural. The goal of plastic surgery is to enhance the patient’s underlying beauty and, therefore, not to make them appear unlike themselves. The patient should not have visible signs of plastic surgery that draw attention to the fact that something has been done or altered. This includes not only looking natural at rest but also with movement such as smiling, etc.”
Q. Where do you see patients getting it wrong today?
“I do believe that, while social media, the internet and most recently artificial intelligence have opened up a great deal of information to patients. It also has in some cases, created unrealistic expectations and also propagated misinformation at times. It is always my goal to listen to the patient carefully about what they have researched and what their goals are, and then try to precisely educate them.”
Q. How do you think about aging? What actually matters long-term? Structure, skin quality, consistency, timing?
“Skin care, noninvasive treatments and invasive treatments, including surgery, all need to be timed optimally with the patient’s life situation and goals. When I see a new patient, it is my goal to form a long-term relationship with them so that they can be guided through the process of aging gracefully.”
Q. How do you decide between surgical and nonsurgical?
“This is a difficult question to answer as options are provided to the patient and a treatment plan is formed to match their goals, but the key is educating the patient, not only on what the process will be, but also what the risks are, as well as the potential outcome.”
Q. What role does skin health play in overall results?
“The skin is the body’s largest organ, and skin care beginning at an early age is extraordinarily important. This includes not only protection from the sun but also treatments that can slow down the aging process.”
Q. What advice would you give someone who wants to age well?
“Be fit, take care of yourself, including your nutrition and health, and enjoy life, but smartly. We are all going to age. We are going to have changes that we are not happy with through the process. We all need to educate ourselves and avail ourselves of options, and I am very lucky to be able to advise and help people and bring happiness and self-confidence with the area of medicine I have chosen.”
Learn more at GallaherPlasticSurgery.com.