Bosshardt & Marzek Plastic Surgery Associates

Most insurers will cover breast reduction if medical necessity can be shown. The "Catch-22" is meeting their definition of "medical necessity". A consultation will help us to advise you in this regard. We will contact your insurance company on your behalf to request pre-authorization for the surgery. When insurance will not cover this, or patients do not have insurance, we can offer this surgery in our in-office, state licensed surgical facility at a very reasonable fee and with all the safeguards to perform this surgery safely.

Yes, they are, but even more important than that is what they are board certified in. Our surgeons are board certified as plastic surgeons by the American Board of Plastic Surgery, the only board approved by the American Board of Medical Specialties to certify surgeons in the broad specialty of plastic surgery of the entire body. No other plastic surgery certification is as comprehensive. Many so called "board certified" cosmetic surgeons are certified by boards in specialties other than plastic surgery or are certified by boards that are not members of the American Board of Medical Specialties. Both of our surgeons were also fully trained in general surgery before they became plastic surgeons.

At the present, there is no way to safely and reliably enlarge breasts without implants. Studies are looking into the option of grafting one's own fat into the breasts to enlarge them but this is not yet a mainstream procedure. There are unresolved concerns over the long term results of this and about whether this may affect breast cancer risk and/or screening for breast cancer in the future. Some patients will do very nicely with a breast lift to enhance saggy or deflated breasts and this procedure does not require implants.

Insurance only applies to reconstructive surgery and the answer is yes. We participate in a number of insurance programs which may vary from time to time. We belong to most of the plans accepted by our local hospitals. We do not participate in any HMO (Health Maintenance Organization) plans. You can check with your insurer to verify that we are on your panel of physicians.

It depends on whether it is cosmetic or reconstructive. Cosmetic surgery, that done to improve appearances, is not covered by insurance. Reconstructive surgery to repair a deformity created by an accident, cancer surgery, congenital deformity, etc. is covered by most insurance plans. Some procedures are clearly cosmetic or reconstruction. Others are not as clear cut. We can help you determine what category you fall into.

Ideally, we like our patients to be near, or at, their ideal weight for height before undergoing cosmetic procedures. In the real world, this is rarely the case. The problem with gaining or losing weight after cosmetic surgery is that these shifts can alter the results of surgery and usually not in a positive way. For example, if you have a tummy tuck and lose weight afterwards, you may lose a lot of the tightening effect of that surgery. We ask patients to try to find a weight that they can feel good at and maintain without a constant struggle. We are happy to help patients at whatever weight they are at, within reason, but patients must understand that their weight will impact the result that they can reasonably obtain. Obesity not only places patients at risk for medical problems such as diabetes, hypertension, arthritis, and more, it also raises their risks for postoperative complications.

This is impossible to answer precisely. Pain varies greatly among different procedures and patients' perception of pain varies greatly too. Face it, some of us are wimps when it comes to pain. Most cosmetic and reconstructive surgeries are not terribly painful because we are not working inside body cavities where pain sensation is much more pronounced. Patients have to be able to go home after nearly all of our procedures and be comfortable on oral pain medications. In some operations, we use a pain pump, which bathes the area of surgery with an anesthetic for several days. It is a rare patient that cannot be kept reasonably comfortable after surgery.

We combine these on occasion but we choose such patients very carefully. Breast implant surgery and breast lifts are very different procedures that do different things and they work counter to each other. Implants enlarge and stretch out the breasts while lifts tighten breasts and make them more compact. Doing two such opposite things together compromises both procedures and increases the risk of complications. Most of the time, when both are needed, or desired, we recommend doing the lift first and then the implant surgery a few months later. A consultation will determine if you are a candidate for a combined procedure.

Most of our operations and procedures have a real element of permanence to them. No matter how old you get, you will also look more youthful than if you had not undergone them. Of course, we cannot stop the aging process and you will continue to experience changes that accompany aging. Some procedures, such as injection of Botox and commercial fillers, have a limited duration of action, ranging from months to years.

Yes, we do. Our patient coordinator will explain payment options to you. While financing can seem very attractive, we caution patients against taking on more debt than they can afford for cosmetic surgery. Financing should be seen as a convenience and not as a way of having surgery you cannot afford.