Q. Tell us about yourself and your practice.
A. I\'m a board certified plastic surgeon practicing in Baton Rouge, LA. I did my plastic surgery fellowship at Cleveland Clinic, in Cleveland, OH. Our practice provides an array of services including: breast reconstruction after mastectomy with the most up to date technique, the DIEP flap that uses abdominal skin and fat to reconstruct the breast without sacrificing the abdominal muscles as was done with the older techniques (TRAM flap breast reconstruction); breast lifts and augmentation; tummy tucks; facelifts; brow lifts; eyelid lifts (blepharoplasty); body contouring after massive weight loss (arm lifts, breast lifts, circumferential abdominoplasty, thigh lifts, body lifts, liposuction, breast reduction); rhinoplasty; cosmetic medicine such as Botox, Latisse, Juvederm, Evolence, and laser treatments. We have an in-office aesthetician, the LaRoche Posay skin care line and a well equipped procedure room for cosmetic procedures.
Q. Please explain the primary procedures performed by your practice.
A. Facial cosmetics including face, brow and eyelid lifts. Breast augmenation in combination with a breast lift is a specialty of ours which is a procedure most commonly needed in women after pregnancy and breast feeding. We also specialize in the DIEP flap for breast reconstruction
Q. What payment options do you offer?
A. Installment plans or payment in full via cash, check, Visa, Mastercard, American Express or Discover.
Q. Are you certified by the American Board of Plastic Surgery?
A. Yes. I\'m also board certified in General Surgery by the American Board of Surgery.
Q. Do you have hospital privileges to perform this surgery?
A. I have privileges at 4 facilities and so does my full-time registered nurse first assist who assists me in surgery. Our Lady of the Lake Hospital is the facility I use for most general reconstructive procedures. I perform my breast reconstruction at Woman\'s Hospital. Outpatient cosmetic procedures are performed either 1) in my office under local and oral anesthesia or 2) at the Lake Surgery Center. If I\'m performing a body contouring procedure (circumferential abdominoplasty, body lift, arm lift, etc) on a massive weight loss patient, I do this procedure at the Surgical Specialty Hospital because they are the only facility in the area with competitive rates for patients AND allows inpatient beds for an overnight stay.
Q. What is reconstructive surgery?
A. Surgery that is performed on abnormal structures of the body caused by congenital defects, developmental abnormalities, trauma, infection, tumors or disease and general covered by insurance.
Q. What is the difference between Cosmetic and Reconstructive surgery?
A. Cosmetic surgery is performed to return normal anatomic structures to a position reminiscent of youth or enhance features of a patient\'s body that improves their body image. The major distinction between cosmetic and reconstructive surgery is that cosmetic surgery is not correcting pathological conditions, whereas reconstructive surgery is correcting pathological conditions brought on by disease, tumors, trauma, etc.
Q. What benefits does Reconstructive surgery provide?
A. Reconstructive surgery recreates bodily structures that have been affected by trauma, infection, tumors, disease and the major benefit is make the body "whole" again.
Q. Who is a good candidate for Reconstructive surgery?
A. Any patient that is compliant with postoperative care and has reasonable expectations of what their reconstructive procedure can accomplish is an excellent candidate, if they are in need of reconstructive surgery.
Q. Does Reconstructive surgery have possible risks and complications?
A. All surgery has risks and complications.
Q. How long does it take to recover from Reconstructive surgery?
A. Recovery is based on the procedure involved. Recovery from the actual operation (healing of the incision) takes 6 weeks but typically patients can return to work and a regular routine within 2 weeks. In general, patients can do anything after surgery that doesn\'t cause pain. If it hurts, then that activity should be avoided for a little longer until it can be done comfortably.
Q. Is Reconstructive surgery covered by insurance?
A. In general reconstructive surgery is covered by insurance. In the past, some procedures related to breast reconstruction after mastectomy were not covered by insurance. This was corrected in 1998 by the Women\'s Health & Cancer Rights Act of 1998.
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