Posted on May 31, 2011 at 11:27 pm
While both surgeries remove excess skin and fat, a Tummy Tuck includes tightening of the abdominal muscles for aesthetic purposes. You’re a good candidate for a Tummy Tuck if you are in relatively good shape, but your abdominal muscles have stretched out to the point where they are resistant to exercise (common after pregnancy). Panniculectomy is often the surgery of choice for people who have lost a significant amount of weight and are left with an apron of hanging skin and fat below the belly button (called a pannus).
Most patients need an abdominoplasty as they want the muscle tightening. This is called a plication of the muscles. This will give a patient the flattest most aesthetic surgical result. I have developed the “Beverly Hills Belly Button” which is a procedure to keep the incision around the belly button hidden and in the inner surface. This gives a patient the “inny” belly button and is a better result.
While panniculectomy may be covered by some insurances, the plication or muscle tightening is deemed a cosmetic procedure. We also recommend liposculpture of the sides called the flanks to help give the waistline a nicer contour.
Want more information about these procedures? Please contact Shelley, my Patient Care Coordinator at (310) 659-8771 or click here to contact her.
Posted on April 11, 2011 at 7:27 pm
Posted on April 10, 2011 at 11:04 pm
Dr. Andrew T. Cohen, M.D., F.A.C.S.
Lasky Clinic Beverly Hills
201 S. Lasky Drive
Beverly Hills, CA 90212
Dear Dr. Cohen,
I am writing to thank you from the bottom of my heart, for the amazing results and bedside manner you offered my mom, during her breast reconstruction process.
As you know, my mom has battled cancer twice, the second bout with Breast Cancer, which resulted in chemotherapy and a double mastectomy. She battled like a warrior, through it all, with strength and courage. When it came time to get her breast reconstruction done, the first time, by another surgeon, she was excited and grateful to be almost done with the nightmare she had undergone. Unfortunately, her nightmare had actually just begun. The other surgeon did a deplorable job and then refused to fix her work, or accept responsibility for the appalling outcome. After many months of believing she would look disfigured for the rest of her life, my mom was thankfully referred to you.
On our first visit, you were a true gentleman. You were reassuring, knowledgeable and informative. We felt a glimmer of hope again, for the first time in a long time. As the consultation process progressed, you remained kind and honest and it was clear to both my mom and I hat you had given much contemplation to how you would go about correcting the wrong that had been done before you.
The day of the surgery, I sat in the hospital waiting room, on pins and needles, but you made surgery your nurse called me, from the operating room, to reassure me that all was going according to plan and put my mind at ease. Afterward, you came out, once again with your bright smile beaming, to say that the result was one your were very proud of.
When I saw the results for myself, I couldn’t have been more thrilled. My mom’s horror was finally over. Thank you, Dr. Cohen. You are an amazing surgeon, and incredibly empathetic human being and a true class act. It has been my pleasure and honor to have met you and to have had my mom’s care in your capable hands.
With sincere gratitude,
E. L.
View the patient letter
Posted on April 3, 2011 at 4:49 am
March 31, 2011
Not only is Dr. Cohen a highly skilled surgeon, he is one the most caring and compassionate doctors I have ever met. I went to Dr. Cohen after enduring a breast reconstruction by another surgeon who left my totally disfigured. Surprisingly enough, the first surgeon was a female and I had mistakenly thought that a female doctor would give me the compassion and care that I needed following my bilateral mastectomy. I couldn’t have been more wrong and I paid the price for that assumption with a disfigurement that was so profound that I couldn’t bear to look at myself in the mirror. I was reluctant to go though another surgery and recovery, but decided to meet with Dr. Cohen to see if he felt there was something he could do to correct the disfigurement and make me look and feel normal.
Dr. Cohen was an absolute Godsend! He was kind and gracious, and he treated me like a member of his own family. He took the time to explain every detail of what he would do to improve the first result, answered all of my questions and I could tell that he really cared about me as a person and wanted to achieve the best result possible for me.
My surgery took place on Friday, 3/25/11, and I couldn’t be more pleased. Dr. Cohen’s skill and talent as a plastic surgeon is obvious when you look at my before and after pictures. After a very long journey, I finally feel “whole.” For those of us who have fought breast cancer and made it through, it is comforting to finally feel a sense of normalcy once again.
Dr. Cohen’s wonderful staff, Shelly and Shanna, are also to be commended for their unfailing kindess and willingness to help me through every step of the process. I appreciate the excellent care I received from of you and thank you all from the bottom of my heart.
Sincerely,
D.H.
Posted on January 20, 2011 at 3:32 pm
Dr. Cohen, Julia and Shelly,
Thank you so much for your kindness and availability. We really appreciate it. You’re the best!
S.M.
Posted on January 19, 2011 at 3:31 pm
Thank you to the entire staff as well as Dr. Cohen, for making my first surgery less terrifying. Each of you, so thoughtful and caring. I appreciate your kindness!
- A.
Posted on November 22, 2010 at 7:41 pm
We have added a new peel to our practice. The Vipeel has been a hit! I had it done for myself last week and my office manager had it as well. It has given patients and myself a nice glow and fresh skin. I peeled on day 3 and day 4 and 5. Was still able to see my patients and do my daily surgeries and be out in the public. Just needed to use the sunblock and moisturizer that came with the kit for the ViPeel. Check it out on line www.vipeel.com.
This is a unique peel that has TCA, Phenol, Retin A and Vitamin C and Salicylic acid… all which is below 15%. This will definitely make you peel for several days and give your skin a refreshed glow. I speak from my own personal experience. My patients love it.
The cost is $400.00 for the Vipeel. As a Board Certified Plastic Surgeon I personally will apply the peel for my patients myself rather than a nurse or physician assistant.
Posted on October 17, 2010 at 10:24 pm
My decision to have cosmetic/reconstructive surgery in someways has evolved over a lifetime.After significant research for a qualified surgeon I am absolutely delighted to say that my decision concluded with Dr. Andrew Cohen. I have found his unbridled enthusiasm for the discipline refreshing. It is clear that his practice is his passion. His demeanor is always professional yet warm and compassionate ,even funny at times. His approach is comprehensive with an eye for restrained artistic expression and balance. He remained open to questions before and after surgery,responding in an open and upbeat manner making sure to answer at a civilian level of comprehension. Dr. Cohen is a talented well rounded surgeon and has been both a comfort and pleasure to work with to accomplish my goal of an improved refined physical self. I would gladly recommend Dr. Cohen and his staff at the Lasky Clinic to anyone interested in cosmetic surgery that knows that they deserve the best. D. P
Posted on October 11, 2010 at 12:56 am
The future is fat! Having just come back from the ASPS (American Society of Plastic Surgeons), meeting in Toronto last weekend fat is the rage. Fat grafting to the face and body helps restore your youthful appearance and has changed how I think about facelifting. Yesterday I used the waterjet which is a fantastic new machine to harvest fat more easily and gently and re-inject into a young woman’s hands. Hands are a great area for fat grafting as we all get older and the veins start to show more and this can show your age. Smooth full hands are a sign of youth. It is one of the areas I am asked frequently about. The waterjet pumps water into areas to help remove the fat in a more gentle way so that more will last or what we say “take” to the grafted areas. Usual areas of fat grafting is the face or hands or areas of liposuction that need refining. The website is www.humanmed.com if you are interested in the technology.
Posted on August 30, 2010 at 9:10 pm
Dr. Cohen….why are my breast hard?
One of the main operations that I perform in Beverly Hills at the Lasky Clinic is revision breast surgery. As we all know, breast augmentation surgery is one of the most popular surgeries that we perform. It is not without its inherent risks however.
A capsular contracture is scar tissue that builds around an implant and can happen early in the healing process, (3 months), or happen years later. Many patients come to my practice seeking information about a possible revision. Capsular contracture is the condition that causes constriction of the breast and can at times be very painful. If it is what we call a Grade 4 capsular contracture, (one that is the most extreme), the plan is to re-operate and remove the scar tissue and replace the implant with a new implant. I can never guarantee however that the scar tissue will not just reform. We try and give patients advice on massaging the implant which I do feel helps keep a pocket open and may help prevent a re-encapsulation. Medications such as Vitamin E orally, 1000mg per day have been suggested to help prevent re encapsulation. Also, an anti allergy medication Singular has been helpful per some plastic surgeons experience.
Will insurance cover my surgery?
There are times that insurance will reimburse for a capsulectomy, (removal of hard scar tissue), if the patient has pain. Anything that is deemed reconstructive would be billable to insurance. There is no guarantee they will pay anything for the surgery so we send documentation to your insurance company to see if it is covered. Anything cosmetic.…such as replacing the implant and the implants themselves is the responsibility of the patient, as the insurance companies do not pay for cosmetic procedures.
Why should I go to you Dr. Cohen rather than any other surgeon?
You should always go to a surgeon who is Board Certified by the American Board of Plastic Surgery. I have been in practice 10 years in the Beverly Hills area and strive to take very good care of all of my patients. Yours safety is our greatest concern. I have been fortunate to have been elected Chief of the Division of Plastic Surgery at Cedars Sinai. Breast surgery is my passion and I do many breast reductions, lifts and many revisions of other breast surgeries that have not been performed well.
Isn’t a breast augmentation an “easy surgery” that anyone can do?
No. Every surgery is unique. It frustrates me to see young woman who go to doctors who charge less and are trying to get a deal. Remember you get what you pay for. Once the incision is made in the wrong place I can’t make it go away. I have seen woman here in town who have had the nipple incision placed in the incorrect place!
What other breast revision surgeries have you been doing lately?
I fix breasts that have rippling, breasts that are hard with scar tissue. Breast that are made too big that need to be smaller and also lots of patients just want them out!
If I get them out what will I look like?
Hard to say how they will look. Some patients will have extra skin and extra breast tissue. Most patients when I remove them they will replace with a smaller implant. Some will need a lift and some will not. It all depends on the tissues and the quality of the skin and breast tissue.
