From Pitanguy to Private Equity: What Are We Losing in the Corporatization of Aesthetic Surgery?

Abstract

Private equity acquisitions in aesthetic surgery have grown exponentially over the past two decades, transforming a profession built on surgical artisanship into an increasingly corporate enterprise. While the financial and operational benefits of these partnerships are well documented, their implications for clinical autonomy, professional identity, and surgical training have received insufficient critical attention. This Viewpoint examines the corporatization of aesthetic surgery from the perspective of a senior European surgeon with 25 years of clinical experience. Drawing on the legacy of Pitanguy's artisan training model and current data on private equity consolidation, the author identifies three domains at risk: the surgeon's freedom to make independent clinical decisions, the erosion of the artisan identity that has defined the specialty, and the threat to apprenticeship-based training. Concrete principles are proposed to preserve surgical values within evolving corporate structures.