Scottsdale/Phoenix Arizona
Why Choose Dr. Nachbar?
One of the reasons you are here is to choose a plastic surgeon. I know you are about to make a very important decision. Choose wrong, and you may regret it for a very long time. I value your time, so here are some bullet points as to why I think you should pick me. These are brief -- this is the "No Spin" version. Please feel free to ask me or my staff to elaborate on any of these points. "I'm not bragging, I'm applying for a job."
I'm experienced, but not too experienced. I am at the peak of my career, at the age of 53 and having done plastic surgery for almost 25 years. For myself, I would not want a surgeon who had only been in practice for just five or ten years, nor someone about ready to retire.
I didn't take short-cuts with my training. I completed a full five-year general surgery residency, and then a full three-year plastic surgery residency, and am board certified by both the American Board of Surgery and the American Board of Plastic Surgery. That was eight years of residency. After completing medical school.
Plastic surgery was my focus from the beginning of my entire eight years of residency. When I interviewed for my general surgery residency in 1980, I told the Chairman of Surgery that I was going to be a plastic surgeon. If your surgeon trained in something else and then started doing plastic surgery, ask them when and why they decided to change, and why they didn't start out in plastic surgery.
I didn't rush into private practice right out of residency. Instead, I started my practice by training other plastic surgeons, as a full time faculty member at the University of New Mexico, and I was subsequently appointed Chief of Plastic Surgery and Program Director of the ACGME accredited plastic surgery residency at UNM, a position that I held from 1990 until 1995. I earned tenure at UNM. Arizona does not have its own plastic surgery residency, and I believe I am the only practicing plastic surgeon in Arizona who has ever been the Program Director of any accredited plastic surgery residency, especially one at a major university. (If you know of another one, I hope you will tell me.)
I have been practicing plastic surgery in Scottsdale since 1995, after I had already been practicing plastic surgery at UNM for seven years.
I will take the time to listen to you, to understand what you are trying to accomplish, and to help you decide what to do. If your surgeon doesn't have enough time for you before surgery, how likely are they to have enough time for you after?
I care deeply and personally about my patients. I know, everyone says that on their website, but I really mean it.
If I don't think surgery is your best option, I will tell you. Really. Because I'd much rather you found out before surgery than after.
In all the years I have been in medicine and surgery, I have never lost or settled a lawsuit. The only two lawsuits in which I was named were at a university, were emergency room patients, not cosmetic surgery patients, and I believe I was just one of many participants who were named. It may be rude to talk about this, but you want a careful surgeon. Of course, anyone can be sued -- it's what happens next that matters. If you don't feel you can talk to your surgeon about this, perhaps you should find another surgeon.
I drive a nine year old car. It runs great.
I don't drink, smoke or use drugs, and have never had a DUI. I've never been arrested, or even had a traffic ticket. If you need me after surgery, I will not be impaired.
I don't take emergency room call, so I won't have been up all night doing emergency surgery.
I will give you a direct line to my cell phone, so you won't have to wait to talk to me if you need me.
I have a great website that is at the top of Google, and I built it myself. You won't find some slick marketing firm's name at the bottom of the page on my website.
I do your tummy tuck without a drain. I didn't invent that -- the only way you can invent surgery is to experiment on your patients, which I do not do. However, once it was proven, I started doing abdominoplasty without a drain in May 2008, and have been doing it that way ever since.
I regularly go to the major plastic surgery meetings, generally twice a year. And I actually go to the meetings and pay attention.
I am on the committee that runs the Hot Topics courses for the meetings of the American Society of Plastic Surgeons and the American Society for Aesthetic Plastic Surgery. Those popular, evidence-based courses introduce plastic surgeons to what is new, what is worthwhile, what has not been proven, and what should be avoided.
I have received the Plastic Surgery Educational Foundation's highest honor, its Distinguished Service Award for 2004. It was awarded on October 7, 2004 in Philadelphia. The Plastic Surgery Educational Foundation is the educational sister society of the American Society of Plastic Surgeons.
My office is quiet, and private, with parking right outside the door.
My favorite color is purple. Admit it, you like purple, too.
I write commercial computer software as a hobby. In C++ and C#. It helps keep me sharp, and it's great fun.
I aim for a natural result. Of course, not everyone wants a natural result, so I listen to you and try to give you what you want.
Every surgery is customized to your desires, your tissues, and your anatomy.
I love my job. There is nothing better than helping people achieve their goals.
I did my residency before the moratorium on silicone gel implants began in 1991, so I have lots of experience with all kinds of implants.
I have a great staff. They have worked for me for four, six, eight, and ten years, and are all very nice, very smart, very caring, and fun to work with. But please don't tell them I said so.
Actually, they already know.
I have been doing Mommy Makeovers since the 1990's, before that term was invented. I called it the Post Baby Tune-Up®, trademarked that name, and the newspaper story about my Post Baby Tune-Up® was the first recorded use of the term "Mommy Makeover" to refer to plastic surgery.
I'm not afraid to take on the tough cases. If you have a problem, I am happy to see you and give you my honest advice. But I won't operate on you unless I think I can help.
I do not charge for consultations. Your time is valuable, too.
After your consultation, I will send you a copy of your consultation note. You will see whether I listened to you.
I am on the "Top Docs" lists, too. There are lots of them. Just be careful not to make this criterion too important. Those lists sell a lot of advertising space and magazines, but they don't really mean very much. Some bad mistakes have been made by doctors on those lists, some of whom are not very experienced. You have been warned.
I'm not the most expensive, and I'm not the least expensive.
I do all of my surgery in a real operating room run by a real hospital. I know it costs a little more, but the hospital spends millions of dollars every year making sure everything is up to snuff. Nobody is going to spend that much money or time on an office or an independent surgery center. And if there is a problem, would you rather be in the care of a hospital or at someone's office?
I do all of my surgery under general anesthesia with a physician anesthesiologist. I know it costs a little more than using a nurse or nurse anesthetist. But that is what I would choose for myself or my family.
I have, and use, the first 3-D breast surgery simulator in Arizona. It's a great tool to help you visualize the effect of enlarging the breast, and is uniquely helpful for those who already have breast implants.
I take all of my before and after pictures myself, and I go over them with you myself.
If you have a treatment in my office, it will be done by me, including BOTOX®, Juvéderm®, and laser tattoo removal. These are serious medical treatments, and you will have to live with the results. You deserve to have them done by an experienced plastic surgeon.
We do not use voicemail during office hours. When the phone rings, it is answered by a person. A nice person.
We do not turn off the phones at lunchtime (unless we are having a meeting). Lunchtime is a great time for you to make your personal phone calls. My office operates for the convenience of my patients, not for my staff. To find out how important you really are, call your doctor's office at lunchtime. We will be here to answer when you call.
We do not have a waiting room, we have a reception area. I hate waiting at the doctor's office, too.
I do NOT do
LipoDissolve,
SmartLipo®, or laser assisted liposuction. I stay on top of what is new in plastic surgery, but I will not adopt a technique based on its marketing value. I adopt a new technique when I am convinced that it is safe and effective.
We do not do body wraps. Anyone who believes that "ten body wraps is the equivalent of liposuction" is probably smoking something.
We do not do skin care in my office. My office is not a spa. You can really focus on just one thing -- I focus on surgery and surgical care. If you want skin care, I am happy to give you the names of some dermatologists who focus on skin care.
I bring two of my trained employees with me to the hospital for surgery (unless someone is on vacation). They will help me care for you before, during, and after surgery. We have our routine down cold, so we can focus on your surgery. And I don't have to argue with them to get them to do things the way I think they should be done -- they know who signs their paycheck. It costs me more to do it this way rather than to just use hospital staff, but you're worth it. You might find another plastic surgeon who brings one employee to the hospital, but I don't think you will find another plastic surgeon who brings two.
I insist on a twelve inch separation between sterile and non-sterile in the operating room. Although that is supposed to be the AORN standard, since no one else seems to care about it, it is virtually impossible to achieve unless I bring my own staff, who will do what I tell them.
I have a sense of humor, even though Tammy doesn't think so.
I am a member of the two major plastic surgery societies, the American Society of Plastic Surgeons and the American Society for Aesthetic Plastic Surgery. Members of those societies voluntarily subject themselves to a stringent code of ethics, which does not apply to those who are not members.
And the best reason to pick me as your plastic surgeon: there is not just a single reason! Tell us at your first consultation that you read all the way to the bottom of the "Why Dr. Nachbar" list, and we will give you an extra 5% off your surgeon's fee for your first surgery.
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