{"id":442796,"date":"2026-05-11T06:38:07","date_gmt":"2026-05-11T06:38:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/442796\/"},"modified":"2026-05-11T06:38:07","modified_gmt":"2026-05-11T06:38:07","slug":"weight-loss-drugs-have-changed-our-plastic-surgery-business-the-irish-times","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/442796\/","title":{"rendered":"Weight-loss drugs have changed our plastic surgery business \u2013 The Irish Times"},"content":{"rendered":"

Miami<\/a> has a reputation as a city for beautiful people, and Co Louth sisters Sidhbh and Neasa Gallagher are working in at the core of this idea with their plastic surgery business. <\/p>\n

Sidhbh has lived in the US<\/a> for almost two decades. She trained as a plastic surgeon in the midwest, a speciality unavailable to her after medical school graduation in Dublin. <\/p>\n

When she moved to Miami in 2020 to set up her own private practice, she was joined by her younger sister. Neasa, a trained primary schoolteacher, had been working in Dubai and moved across the Atlantic to become the business office manager. <\/p>\n

Sidhbh loves the work\u2019s ever-evolving variety: \u201cI am very lucky there is always something new.\u201d The explosion in GLP-1 use is one of those new factors, with an estimated one in eight people in the US having taken the drugs for weight loss. <\/p>\n

\u201cWeight-loss drugs have changed the face of the practice a lot. People with loose skin have become a huge part of the practice, getting a tummy tuck or an arm lift.\u201d <\/p>\n

Lifts and tucks had a standout year in 2024, a trend accelerated by the use of GLP-1s, according to the annual report of the American Society of Plastic Surgeons. <\/p>\n

Rib-remodelling is another big growth area in the business, the Irish doctor says. The procedure involves repositioning a person\u2019s ribs to give them a slimmer waistline. But the demand is growing even among \u201ccis-gender patients\u201d (women assigned their sex at birth), who \u201care never going to have a waist because of where their ribs are\u201d, says Sidhbh. <\/p>\n

With about half of Sidhbh\u2019s surgeries related to gender reassignment<\/a>, having her own centre is particularly important. \u201cYou are able to hand-pick the crew; we work with people we have known for years,\u201d she says. <\/p>\n

Clients travel from all over the United States for these procedures. But how has this aspect of their work been impacted by a raft of Trump<\/a> administration policies reversing protections for transgender people? \u201cFor all the stuff in the media, we are still able to offer the same services. So it hasn\u2019t affected us day-to-day. But it\u2019s unfortunate how polarised things are,\u201d says Sidhbh.<\/p>\n

[\u00a0How weight-loss drugs are reshaping modern life: \u2018I\u2019m paying \u20ac250 a month not to eat\u2019Opens in new window<\/a>\u00a0]<\/p>\n

Miami is a big hub for cosmetic surgery thanks to its strong flight connectivity. However, Sidhbh has noticed a decline in international patients, including from Ireland, in recent years: \u201cPeople are afraid to travel and seeing that is sad.\u201d <\/p>\n

The use and availability of Botox and fillers has exploded. Sidhbh welcomes such cosmetic procedures becoming more mainstream, describing them as the \u201cgateway\u201d to surgery. <\/p>\n

\u201cI believe in the product, it makes people happy. There is a stereotype that it\u2019s for deeply miserable people.\u201d But in her experience, patients just want to fix something that has bothered them and get on with their lives, she says. <\/p>\n

Life in Miami, with its subtropical weather and white sandy beaches, stands in sharp contrast to her former life in agricultural Indiana: \u201cIt was all work, no fun allowed,\u201d she says, telling of how she has just got her boating licence for her paramotoring hobby. <\/p>\n

The diversity in Miami is something she finds particularly appealing. More than half of Miami\u2019s population were born outside the US, and in 2024, 71 per cent of residents were Hispanic, mainly from Cuba, Haiti and Colombia. \u201cIt doesn\u2019t feel like a lot of America,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n

Younger sister Neasa has embraced the good life on offer in Miami and seems to have had a positive influence on the doctor\u2019s work-life balance.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe have a pretty easy life. There was a lot of drudgery in my training,\u201d Sidhbh says. Typically they work four days a week, with operations on two (long) days.<\/p>\n

Neasa says she prefers to schedule their appointments on office days for a 10am start \u201cafter pilates\u201d. And when the former primary schoolteacher \u201cblocked off the month of August … it gave me chest pain\u201d, jokes Sidhbh.<\/p>\n

Miami Beach is \u201ca little bit different\u201d and \u201cthe hustle culture here is not very strong\u201d. When they are up at 7am many others in the neighbourhood are still in bed, but the gym is packed at 1pm on a Tuesday, says Neasa. <\/p>\n

Neasa has quickly adapted to the Miami Beach way of life, with her two dogs. \u201cI\u2019ve two Pomeranians, Angel Baby and Baby Love.\u201d She laughs as she explains that she brings them to the supermarket in their stroller. \u201cWhen I got here I thought that was crazy (dogs in strollers), but then Angel Baby broke his hip,\u201d she says. <\/p>\n

While they gush about their life in Miami Beach, there is one missing ingredient (and that is not just the Irish food and bread, for which they long): their family and friends in Ireland. But the sisters are hopeful this will soon be partially resolved, with plans afoot for their parents to move over and embrace the Miami lifestyle. <\/p>\n

Sidhbh and Neasa Gallagher\u2019s story will air on Escape to Florida, Channel 4 on Monday May 11th and Tuesday May 12th at 4pm.channel4.com\/programmes\/escape-to-florida.<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Miami has a reputation as a city for beautiful people, and Co Louth sisters Sidhbh and Neasa Gallagher…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":442797,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[72,2195,631,61,60,10970,4829,90],"class_list":["post-442796","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-business","tag-business","tag-florida","tag-for-you","tag-ie","tag-ireland","tag-irish-abroad","tag-lgbtq","tag-us"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/442796","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=442796"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/442796\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/442797"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=442796"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=442796"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=442796"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}