DRS. MARVIN AND CANDACE SPANN: Working together, married doctors lead patients to a fountain of youth

BY KIMBERLY BAILEY-TUREAUD

Drs. Marvin Spann and Candace Thornton Spann recently opened Couture Dermatology & Plastic Surgery.

They cooperate at home as a happily-married couple, but Drs. Marvin Spann and Candace Thornton Spann also operate their Las Vegas medical practices alongside one another at the new offices of Couture Dermatology & Plastic Surgery.

The pair met while earning their undergraduate degrees at UCLA, and went on to attend and complete medical school at Meharry Medical College in Nashville, Tenn. Originally from Las Vegas, Candace Thornton Spann is a dermatologist; her husband, a San Jose native, is a plastic surgeon. As the culmination of a longtime dream, both physicians see their business collaboration as mutually beneficial.

“It has always been a dream for us to work together and go out on our own with our business,” said Thornton Spann. “Our company is called Couture Dermatology & Plastic Surgery, and all of our patients receive individual treatments tailored to their specific needs. There is not one cookbook treatment for everybody. Everyone is unique, and like couture fashion, we  ‘tailor’ dermatology or plastic surgery treatments individually to each patient. Because there is such an overlap in our services, we complement each other nicely.”

The Spanns acknowledge that they lead a hectic lifestyle that includes raising two children. Still, they embrace the challenges as partners in life and business.

Treatments and services offered at Couture include, but are not limited to, face lifts, eyelid surgery, fat transfer, liposuction, tummy tucks, thigh lifts, breast lifts, acne treatments, hair loss treatments, wrinkle treatments, chemical peels and Botox for women and men of all ethnicities. In essence, their new business could be regarded as a one-stop shop for the “fountain of youth.”

“We offer a vast array of cosmetic services, but we also practice medical dermatology and plastic surgery,” said Marvin Spann. “When patients walk into our office, we want them to feel comfortable. Many have indicated that they feel underdressed, because we really worked hard to make sure that the office environment is first-class, and when you first enter our doors you feel good and want to return. Most importantly, we provide quality care with the best possible results.”

As it relates to African-Americans, we have all heard the adage, “Black don’t crack.” But Marvin Spann cautions against putting too much stock in that old saying, saying it is “not necessarily true. Some family traits contribute to aging regardless of ethnicity. For example, I had a patient who wanted to have eyelid surgery because she felt her eyelids were saggy, just as had happened with her mother and grandmother. Except for her eyelids, she otherwise had a youthful appearance.

“However, our goal is not to try and prevent aging. We will all get older, but we want to age gracefully. In addition, it’s not always about aging. A patient may have a physical characteristic she wants to address that may not be associated with aging. It’s all about perception and what makes them look and feel better about themselves. A patient might come into my office and say, ‘I want to look better.’ I’ll ask her, ‘What bothers you the most?’ I listen to my patients, because there might be things I identify that may improve their appearance, but those things might not necessarily bother her or they may be characteristics that she wants to keep.

“In the case of keloids (excess scar tissue), they can be managed — but cosmetic surgery might not be an option.”
The beginning of the new year prompts many to re-evaluate their physical appearance and commit to changes in diet and exercise. Both doctors agree that healthy eating, along with regular physical activity, are the keys to good health.

“I think that it is really important to maintain great health with regular exercise to help make your skin receptive to any cosmetic procedures,” said  Thornton Spann. “I find that women who are in great physical shape before they have babies have fewer incidents of stretch marks in the skin.”

On the subject of stretch marks, Marvin Spann is not a believer in the effectiveness of cocoa butter and other over-the-counter remedies. “You can’t get rid of stretch marks completely,” he said, “because they are scars where the skin has stretched beyond capacity — and those lotions and creams you see advertised on television, that say they can be removed, are not true.”

One dermatological specialty of Thornton Spann’s is the health of women’s hair. “Many women deal with dry and brittle hair — especially when the hair is overprocessed, and during the colder weather,” she said. “I love the idea of a more natural hairstyle, but I also recognize that glamour for many women is diverse. So, what I try to do is to offer my patients healthier ways to deal with their hair and calm the inflammation in the scalp that can cause hair loss. When your scalp is inflamed, you are more prone to lose your hair because your body uses its resources to deal with the inflammation, instead of growing hair. I try to steer my patients toward healthier hairstyling practices. I don’t like to see the really long braids, because it puts a lot of stress on the hair follicles. I don’t like to see hair weaves or extensions glued into the hair. I would rather see extensions and weaves sewed into a hair cap. A good shampoo and conditioner is always important, and I will soon have my own product line … for women with thinning hair.”

The Spanns acknowledge that they lead a hectic lifestyle that includes raising two children. Still, they embrace the challenges as partners in life and business.

“Working together with my wife gives us the opportunity to be together every day,” said Spann. “And we are excited to offer the best that we have to give to the people of Nevada and beyond.”