When skin-deep is heartfelt

Glam shots of this power couple have appeared on the cover of virtually all fashion glossies and on the lifestyle pages of top broadsheets. Dermatologist Aivee and cosmetic surgeon Z Teo cut a striking tandem wherever they go, from black-tie balls to society galas. But though they enjoy glamming up, they also like getting into their jeans, T-shirts and sneakers for a trek down a different catwalk — one that usually leads to a basketball court converted into a skin clinic for a day.

Last Thursday, Aivee, in jeans and T-shirt and with her hair in a ponytail, arrived mid-afternoon in her modern French-inspired Alabang clinic sweetly apologizing for the slight change in her schedule. No, she had not overslept. She and her team of dermatologists and cosmetic surgeons had started seeing patients at 8 a.m., she explained, in a depressed area in nearby Las Piñas. At the end of the day, they had served 500 people, and dispensed free medicines.

Looking energized despite the busy day she has had so far, Aivee says she always makes time to do medical missions because, “I really see the difference I can make in their lives.”

The cases she attends to in her clinic, and which she has gained national fame and international recognition for, are mostly cosmetic. In her medical missions, her cases are, “all pathological.”

“For many of them, treatment for skin problems is a luxury. They don’t go to health centers for skin problems, because there are other pressing health problems that have to be attended to there. There are usually no dermatologists in health centers, so many people who cannot afford to go to private hospitals just suffer for years with contagious scabies, warts, even severe acne. Severe acne can be debilitating because it can rob you of your confidence.”

Aivee and Z feel they have been given a unique gift that only a few can share with the less fortunate — the skill of a dermatologist. Several people can write out a check for charity, but only few can help a cash-strapped fish vendor be relieved of psoriasis. Treatment may be skin deep (though Aivee’s team brings a mobile operating room during medical missions), but the effects touch the core of a patient’s heart, especially if she has been relieved of the stigma of having blotchy, scabby, itchy skin.

“Having healthy skin is so transformational,” says Aivee. “It empowers a lot of people, rich and poor. And it relieves a lot of children of discomfort.”

Aivee started her missions with a few beneficiaries but with the help of her supportive husband Z, she is able to reach out to more people now. And though her mother Las Piñas City Mayor Imelda Aguilar has been very supportive of her missions, Aivee also plans to visit other depressed areas in Metro Manila in the future.

Z, Aivee’s Singaporean husband, is totally supportive of her outreach program.

“That is Aivee’s way to actively show love and profess her faith in the most practical way. To go down and help with her hands, and with her God-given skills,” he believes.

Having grown up in a First World country, Z, “is constantly challenged by the sight of so many skin conditions that have no proper care.”

“This opened my eyes to the fact that we can make a difference with our skill sets. These conditions may not be life or death, but they pose a stigma to those who have them. When we help treat these skin conditions, we see their confidence lift and their lives change,” he adds.

The couple recently formed a foundation, Beauty Beyond Borders, to help sustain their medical missions. The foundation has mounted an art exhibit (in collaboration with J Studio and Provenance Art Gallery) and part of the proceeds from the sale of the paintings went to the medical mission.

According to Z, they are now also doing plastic surgery and orthopedic services in their missions. After all, how does one help a badly burned poor child live a normal life after his wounds have healed? By helping him look “normal” again through plastic surgery.

Aivee and Z not only lead the medical missions, they also bring their three young children with them.

“They need to see others in need — or they will be in a bubble that is unreal,” explains Z on the early exposure to reality that he and his wife are giving their children.

At the end of the day, Aivee says that she sees herself as a healer. Whether to patients within a modern French-themed clinic with gleaming marble floors and duvet-covered beds, or in an open-air basketball court. She hopes to continue making a difference in their lives by making them feel good about themselves. Whoever they may be.

(You may e-mail me at [email protected].)