Blazing a trail

Editorial assistant Erin Leybourne visited Ailesbury Clinic’s Dublin location to talk to Dr Patrick Treacy about his pioneering career

Dr Patrick Treacy is one of the founders of aesthetic medicine as we know it today, using his medical knowledge to develop techniques that are now used worldwide. His award-winning clinics in Dublin and Cork have been frequented by a celebrity clientele from their inception.

Ailesbury Clinic Dublin is nestled inside David Lloyd Riverview, spread across two floors to create a separation between the medical and aesthetic work they do.

As you come through David Lloyd’s main entrance, you find yourself immediately greeted by the doors of Ailesbury Clinic’s lower floor, which facilitates its retail offering, alongside two treatment rooms that are mainly used for non-invasive aesthetic treatments. The cool lighting and general brightness of the room create a clean energy, without feeling cold.

A TRANQUIL SPACE

The reception room for the medical clinic upstairs holds much of the same ambience with warm blue recessed lighting around the welcome desk.

“It’s a colour associated with kindness and tranquillity,” explains Dr Treacy. “When you’re on the psychiatry wards, you carry a blue torch to calm down patients, not a red one. For 20 years, our branding was blue, but recently we’ve switched over to black. Our uniforms are now black also, as it’s just more in fashion.”

The hallway walls are adorned with the history of Dr Treacy’s career, told through pictures and certificates, and a cabinet holds an abundance of trophies and awards. Most recently, he won the titles of Aesthetic Practitioner and Aesthetic Clinic of the Year at the Beauty, Hair and Spa Awards Ireland 2023. He explains some of his career progress as we walk down, pointing to relevant pictures.

STAR-STUDDED CAREER

Dr Treacy began his medical career in Dublin, but since then, it has taken him all over the world. When he started, aesthetic medicine was in its earliest stages, and he is largely credited as being a driving force for the profession. In the early 2000s, as botulinum toxin rose in public interest, he advocated for its medical and dermatological uses and became a spokesperson for Allergan as a result.

Although Ailesbury opened as a dermatology clinic, it quickly developed to house the new aesthetic treatments that were being developed, starting with botulinum toxin and filler, and moving on to fibroblast transplanting, lipolysis injections, radiofrequency, and more over the decade.

In 2006, the clinic opened a hair transplant unit, the first clinic in Ireland to use follicular unit extraction. It was incredibly successful and became one of the staple treatments Ailesbury was known for. Dr Treacy went on to open more hair transplant clinics in London and the Middle East, making the business worldwide, much like his career has been.

Today, most of the clinic’s patients come in for skin cancer treatment, but the premises facilitate many other procedures, both medical and aesthetic, housing 17 laser devices alone.

Asking him about his plans, he says that his busy schedule keeps him away from clinic, but he knows he can trust his team.

“We have a lovely team, some of our staff have been here for nearly 20 years,” Dr Treacy shared, “Two of our most recent hires told us that they manifested to work here!

“I’ve had a lot of clinics in the past and currently, I’m quite happy with what we’ve got. I’m invited overseas a lot now. I’m pulling back a bit, and we’re hiring more doctors, but we’re quite selective.”

REGULATION IN IRELAND

In August of 2023, a group of 30 Irish aesthetic medicine experts called on their government to respond to the unregulated use of botulinum toxin and other cosmetic treatments. Dr Treacy was among those who expressed concern.

“The inability of the British government to regulate the industry, unfortunately, has spread here. We’ve got a big problem with it. They come down heavier in Ireland on that sort of thing, and regulation is tighter here.

“Because Britain ruled Ireland for so long, you have a situation where the government here would look towards Britain for advice, rather than Europe per se, where regulations are much heavier. It’s almost because we’re so culturally inseparable, and so close together, both as people and in our laws, there is still that hangover.”

The clinic’s commitment to excellence, reflected in its warm ambience and comprehensive array of services, stands as a testament to Dr Treacy’s unwavering dedication. As the clinic adapts to changing landscapes and challenges, including the urgent need for industry regulation, Dr Treacy’s enduring impact persists, casting a transformative influence on the field of aesthetic medicine.