Even with diet and exercise certain areas can be very resistant to weight loss.  Liposuction can free you from those stubborn extra pounds, today.  Contact Dr. Maklouf for more information.

I was being interviewed the other day and was asked: What makes you valuable to your patients that they may not get in another practice?

Let us define Value as a ratio between what one gets over what one pays for it.

My patients are getting (numerator):

*Substantial qualifications

*Extensive experience

*A dedicated work ethic

*Solid outcomes

*A sincere patient doctor relationship

*A commitment to deliver the best possible outcome

*The most up to date scientific knowledge available in Plastic Surgery

What is their cost (denominator)?

*Financial

*Emotional

*Time to heal

*Delay in the reward

I am going to explore how I maximize the numerator and minimize the denominator.

I am a board certified Plastic Surgeon that has a teaching appointment at the university of Illinois. I take the residents through difficult surgeries, and attend conferences locally and nationally to maintain proficiency and compare my results to others.

I have been in practice since 1987, I have a lot of experience seen procedures in their infancy and development over time, I have seen the learning curve, the mistakes, and the procedures that survived and those that did not. So this gives me a unique appreciation of new technologies, their benefits and shortfalls, their place in the armamentarium of a good plastic surgeon and how to use them best.

I work hard for every patient and I never approach a surgical operation as a routine procedure, I constantly strive to prepare for every procedure ahead of time. Moreover, I perform the surgery in my head at least once before I perform it on the patient. My work ethics combined with a multitude of procedures performed over the years gives me an edge on the other practitioners.

I wish I could say that all my procedures come out perfect every time, but I am only human. However I am constantly comparing my results with those published in the literature, and many times I come ahead or equal. If on occasion I am not getting the results I like to see, I will research why and how I can make my outcomes better. If I am not successful at getting quality results I simply will not offer that particular procedure. This way I concentrate on a panel of successful procedures and make them available to my patients.

I understand that the patient is looking for more than just a transaction; they are looking for a relationship- a comfortable and trusting interaction with the practitioner. Knowing this fact I strive to provide it. I will not manipulate patients and remain genuine so they will have only the procedure they need, I will not encourage them to have more procedures than they want unless it is medically or esthetically beneficial. I will explain my reasoning and recommendation. Whenever possible I will give them the least costly alternative, rather than the more expensive one. My price structure is set up to reinforce this commitment. I do not look at my patients as customers that I want to make the most money from, but rather as patients, human beings asking the help of another human being.

I am a perfectionist meaning I am never easily satisfied. I am always striving to improve my outcomes, and if I feel I could give a patient a better result than what was achieved, or if in my mind the outcome should have been nicer, I will try to fix it with the least possible cost. My results and “batting” average speak in my favor.

I always want to be up to date with the scientific knowledge. I attend meetings every year, I stay up to familiar with the medical literature, and try to publish if whenever I find something that could be of help to other practitioners. I do not publish to show off but only if I have something relevant to say. The process of publishing entails a thorough knowledge of other publications which forces me to become an expert in the subject.

Physicians are required to maintain up to date knowledge by obtaining yearly education credits through exams, reading of the literature or other medical education activity. I have always more Continuing Medical Education credits than required, and because I pay for that from my own pocket, those credits have always been relevant to my practice and to the knowledge I feel I need to have to remain an up to date physician.

I have always been keenly aware that if one stops this process of self-education one becomes irrelevant quickly. Plastic surgery has been changing and developing very fast during my 25 years of practice, and this is how it has been able to grow in spite of the economic challenges and encroachment by other specialties and untrained practitioners. (There are in the Chicago area radiologists performing liposuction, otolaryngologist performing breast augmentation and abdominoplasty, ER physicians performing facelifts etc…)

As to what the cost is:

My fees are average or just below the mean compared to other qualified physicians in my field. I try to maintain a small overhead, and the office provides financing ability. The facility fee I have negotiated on behalf of my patients with the hospital is very reasonable, and less expensive than many surgi-centers. It has an invaluable safety and resources needed in term of supply and equipment. The setup is very private and comfortable, all, of this offers an added value too.

Another unaccounted for cost is the emotional input. It is inherent to the specialty and people come with varied emotional baggage. I try to identify and understand it, and over the years of experience have developed ways to address their needs. What I have found of utmost use to help mitigate this emotional cost  is to provide  the detailed education as to the procedure, the possible complications and what we would do the prevent them from occurring. I also make sure we have a good rapport with the patient before the surgical procedure. I insist on a preoperative visit during which we address all the questions that might have arisen after the first consultation, I go over what is the procedure that is going to be performed, how it is going to be done, if implants are involved we try the sizes again and prepare the garments that are going to be needed post operatively. I will also review the medical history and safety issues review the lab work, give last minute instructions about how to prepare for the procedure, give the prescriptions and explain the reasons for them and how to take them.   I have found this visit invaluable and take away a significant part of the emotional load that comes with the surgery.

Time to heal is an inherent biology issue that we can rarely alter, however, I see the patient very frequently after the surgery to monitor their progress make sure they are healing as they should and “hold their hand” until they start to see the expected result, I make myself available to them and call them as needed to encourage them and monitor their progress.

I hope this reading has made you appreciate what is needed in order to provide the quality my patients get.

Breast augmentation implant surgery requires careful consideration, so partner with an experienced surgeon like Dr. Makhlouf for trusted results.  Contact our office today for more information or to schedule a consultation.

Some of the issues Dr. Makhlouf can address are: breathing difficulties, a crooked nose, a nose which is overly large or disproportionate, an overly arched nose, and a nose with a bump or ridge.  For more information or to schedule a consultation contact our office today.

Una consulta exitosa tiene que tener resultados concretos que se lograrán. Pero antes de entrar a la discusión de lo que éstos deben ser, tanto para el paciente y la oficina, tienen que estar preparados para la interacción.

El paciente se prepara mediante la investigación de la oficina, investigando el médico y la comprobación de las credenciales, certificados, la reputación y la experiencia, y la preparación de la pregunta que se desea cubrir durante la visita.

La oficina debe estar listo para la consulta mediante el bloqueo de la cantidad apropiada de tiempo (a veces un verdadero desafío) y ser capaz de proporcionar al paciente las respuestas a todas las preguntas que tengan. Algunas de las preguntas de los pacientes no pueden ser conscientes de su presencia porque están en la parte posterior de su mente y no está en la vanguardia.

¿Cuáles son algunas de las preguntas que los pacientes tienen durante la consulta?

La pregunta número uno de un paciente que tiene es “¿Me puede dar lo que quiero?” Esto implica que el paciente viene con una idea clara de lo que quieren lograr. Si no está claro, entonces, al final de la consulta que la expectativa debe ser aclarada.

La siguiente cuestión que está en la mente de todos es “¿cómo se realiza el procedimiento?”

Esto se explica en detalle por el cirujano.

El siguiente es lo que se trata en términos de preparación, el tiempo de curación, regrese a trabajar, regresar a sus actividades normales de volver al ejercicio y estilo de vida activa.

La siguiente pregunta es:

• ¿Qué riesgos estoy tomando? ¿Cuáles son las posibles complicaciones, y cómo se trata?
• ¿Cuánto dolor participa en el procedimiento?
• ¿Iré a necesitar algún tipo de ayuda especializada durante mi recuperación?
• ¿Cuál es el costo, y lo podre pagar? ¿Existen opciones de financiamiento?

Y, por último, una de las cuestiones más importantes es: ¿me caí bien el doctor, confío en él, se preocupara por mí? ¿Me siento cómodo con esta configuración de la oficina? Y no creo que me pueda proporcionar lo que quiero.

En nuestra oficina entendemos sus preguntas y necesidades que vamos a hacer nuestro esfuerzo de todo lo posible para ofrecerle las respuestas que necesite.

La comunicación es fundamental en la consecución de este objetivo. Si no somos capaces de hacer eso, por favor, haga más preguntas hasta que esté satisfecho/a. Vamos a tener un debate en profundidad acerca de sus objetivos y si se puede lograr. Cuáles son los resultados esperados y los resultados. Nosotros le proveeremos con la información impresa para aclarar las cosas y para ayudar a recordar el contenido de la discusión y presentar nuevas explicaciones en cuanto a lo que está involucrado.

Después de que los pacientes de consulta regresen a casa generalmente y piensan de ello. Si y cuando están listos para mover al próximo paso que llamarían la oficina y tratarían al fonocaptor una fecha tentativa para el procedimiento quirúrgico.

Otra visita de oficina será requerida en la semana antes de la cirugía para repasar el procedimiento uno tiempo más, para clarificar un punto antes de haber sido cubierto completamente durante la consulta.

La información con respecto a la preparación para el procedimiento, las prescripciones y la re-evaluación general del proceso entero ocurrirán durante esta visita preoperatoria muy importante.

Visite nuestra oficina en Chicago o en Des Plaines para la consulta con el Dr. Makhlouf

At Enhanced Form Plastic Surgery, Dr. Makhlouf not only removes loose tissue, but also sculpts both midline and oblique abdominal wall muscles.  With this procedure, he restores a tapered waistline that even years of diligent exercise could not provide.  Contact us today form more information or to schedule a consultation.