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About
Dr. Bárbara
Machado
Dr. Bárbara Helena Barcaro Machado has wanted to pursue a career in medicine since she was 3 years old. However, her choice of Plastic Surgery only occurred at the end of her medical degree. She first gained experience in emergency care and completed internships in specialties such as Cardiology, Pediatrics, Emergency Medicine, and Dermatology.
While attending a lecture on burns during her studies at the School of Medicine of the Federal University of Juiz de Fora, in Minas Gerais, she witnessed people in dramatic situations. It was at that moment that she identified with the breadth of the specialty and the opportunity to alleviate suffering and contribute to the patient’s well-being.
Dr. Bárbara completed her training in General Surgery at Hospital da Lagoa, in Rio de Janeiro. She then finished her postgraduate degree in Reconstructive Microsurgery at the National Cancer Institute (INCa), through the Fluminense Federal University, in 1991.
In 1992, she was ranked first in the admission process for the Postgraduate Course in Plastic Surgery at the Pontifical Catholic University of Rio de Janeiro (PUC-Rio), under the service of Professor Ivo Pitanguy, with whom she worked from the beginning of her residency in 1992 until 2016.
Working with Professor Pitanguy was a learning experience that went far beyond medicine. It was a unique opportunity to be by the side of someone who had accumulated more than sixty years of knowledge in the medical field and in general culture. Professor Pitanguy was an extraordinary human being — a role model who combined ethics, solidarity with patients, dedication, and a deep love for his work. He encouraged me to learn other languages and to broaden my horizons beyond the medical field.
Dealing for so long with such a demanding mentor did not limit me. On the contrary, it contributed significantly to both my professional and personal growth. I learned to better understand human nature and to have greater compassion for the suffering of others.
Dr. Bárbara has an extensive resume of demonstration surgeries and lectures delivered throughout Brazil and in several countries around the world. Her main topics include facial plastic surgery, liposuction, mammoplasty, as well as facial surgery refinement and scar treatment with laser.
In April 2013, together with Professor Ivo Pitanguy, she received an award in New York during the ASAPS Congress (American Society for Aesthetic Plastic Surgery) for the article “Facial Rejuvenation Surgery: A Retrospective Study of 8788 Cases,” considered the best international article published in the Aesthetic Surgery Journal in 2012. This study presented the experience of the Ivo Pitanguy Clinic, which in 2012 surpassed the mark of more than nine thousand facelifts performed. Dr. Bárbara participated in over 3,000 of these procedures.
Registered with the Regional Council of Medicine of the State of Rio de Janeiro in the specialties of Plastic Surgery and General Surgery, she is a Titular Member of the Brazilian Society of Plastic Surgery (SBCP), a member of the International Society of Aesthetic Plastic Surgery (ISAPS), the Brazilian Society of Laser in Medicine and Surgery, and the British Association of Plastic, Reconstructive and Aesthetic Surgeons (BAPRAS).
She also stands out for her active role in several medical associations. In 2018–2019, she was elected President of the Association of Former Students of Professor Pitanguy.
With great ease in learning languages, Dr. Bárbara is fluent in English, Spanish, and French, and has basic knowledge of Italian. Demonstrating her constant dedication to studies and her determination to embrace new challenges, she pursued a PhD in Medical Sciences in England. Her research focuses on laser skin treatment combined with the topical application of medications for those seeking rejuvenation and scar improvement — a technique known as “drug delivery.”
Dr. Bárbara has given interviews and provided information to several major media outlets, including portals Terra and UOL, and magazines EGO, Criativa, and Marie Claire. She has been featured twice on the cover of Veja magazine — once in the article “The Heirs of Pitanguy” and again in “A Project for the Future,” in which Pitanguy discussed his retirement plans and his intention to leave his clinic in the hands of his team, under Dr. Bárbara’s leadership. She has also appeared on several television programs on Rede Globo, GNT, and Sem Censura, addressing topics such as facial rejuvenation, neck aging treatment, laser efficiency and complications, breast implant indications and changes, as well as the effectiveness of botulinum toxin and fillers in facial rejuvenation.
Among the qualities that make Dr. Bárbara sought after and recognized by patients from all over the world are her empathy toward her patients and her commitment to achieving natural and effective results that reduce the signs of facial aging. Her deep understanding of the changes that occur in the body, especially during menopause, leads her to perform extended liposuction in areas rarely addressed by other professionals, such as arms and legs. Her ability to combine aesthetic procedures with complex facial and body reconstructive surgeries sets her apart, as does her expertise in outpatient treatments involving lasers, fillers, fat grafting, thread lifts, and botulinum toxin.
