Breast revision surgery is as unique as the woman who seeks it. Your procedure must be planned carefully and be tailored to your needs and any problems you’d like to correct. That’s why you should seek a breast revision doctor with top plastic surgery credentials. When you concentrate on choosing the best breast revision expert and the one who is right for you personally, you’re likely to get an excellent result.

Credentials and Communication: Keys to Breast Revision Success

Credentials and communication are the two broad categories upon which you should focus your research when you’re looking for the best breast surgeon for your revision procedure. Because of the many variables in breast implant revision surgery, expert knowledge, surgical skill and clear communication are crucial.

About your plastic surgeon’s credentials: Putting in your due diligence is researching your breast revision doctor’s background, education and the amount of experience that he or she has with complex breast surgery. (It’s wise to seek a surgeon skilled in breast reconstruction, if possible, to ensure the deepest understanding of breast anatomy and function.)

You can think of all of these crucial surgical skills, background, training and licensure details about your breast surgeon as objective qualifications. Any surgeon you are considering must meet a high bar in experience, education, advanced skills like reconstruction, and more. These are typically facts that you can research—then which you can ask for more details from your surgeon personally when you meet with him or her.

About communication with your breast specialist: Good communication skills and true dedication to patient welfare are both vital in your chosen breast surgeon. These are subjective qualities to a certain extent, in that, a surgeon who your friend finds superior with regard to these qualities may not be the one who you feel is the right surgeon for you.

It’s more difficult to research subjective qualities in advance since these qualities create that feeling of rapport that you get with a given surgeon. This is a personal, (and in-person), decision on your part. You must select the surgeon in whom you have the most confidence and trust. Choose the surgeon you are most comfortable with. You’ll get a sense of this after meeting with surgeons whose objective credentials you’ve checked out in advance.

Your Consultation: Getting the Most from Your Meeting with Your Breast Revision Doctor

Use your surgical consultation to verify any important objective details that research hasn’t illuminated completely. Ask your breast surgeon how many revision procedures s/he does per week or month. You want a surgeon who spends most of his or her time on breast surgery.

Your advance research can tell you how many years your surgeon has been in the field, but not how they spend their time on a day-to-day basis. When you meet, you can ask questions to make this clear—to give you more details about those years of experience.

For example, if you meet with two breast revision doctors who both have 7 years of experience, one may (in reality) have a lot more experience doing the surgery than the other, depending on how they spend their time and how they focus their practice.

Ask questions based on your factual, objective research to give you a true picture of your NYC breast revision surgeon. Your ideal plastic surgeon for breast revision should have a very strong interest in (and be very passionate about) breast surgery. Surgeons show their interest in the procedure by spending most of their career concentrating on breast surgery.

Assessing Communication and Related Qualities

When you find the NYC or NJ breast doctor with whom you communicate well, you should also get a sense of personal dedication. Dedication boils down to the desire to do the very best work in breast revision. You should get the sense that the surgeon is “on your side” and wants the best for you.

You don’t want someone who seems to be phoning it in. Although it’s true that a superior surgeon could just be having an “off” day when you meet them, but you need to make your decision based on all of the evidence you have. You want the surgeon who examines you thoroughly and learns about your medical and surgical history. You want the surgeon who asks questions about your needs and goals for breast revision. (This shows that he or she is truly interested.)

You also want an NYC breast revision plastic surgeon who can explain the surgical plan that he or she recommends. The surgical plan should match your goal. When the plan that your surgeon explains clearly to you matches the goals you have discussed with him or her, this shows that he or she was listening.

It shows that your plastic surgeon understood the problems that you want to correct or the type of implants you want. It also tells you that your goals are realistically achievable, so you understand what to expect from your breast surgery result. When you and your NYC plastic surgeon are working toward the same goals, you should have an excellent breast revision outcome.

If you don’t understand your surgeon’s strategy for your breast revision surgery, ask questions until it is clear. If you can’t communicate clearly with one another, if you get vague answers (or overly technical ones), or if you feel rushed, this may not be the surgeon for you.

Checklist for Choosing Your Breast Revision Surgeon

Here are the specific indicators of an excellent NYC breast revision surgeon. If your surgeon has all of these attributes, you should go forward to an amazing result from your corrective breast surgery:

  • Board certification: Specifically certified in plastic surgery by the American Board of Plastic Surgery.
  • Breast surgery specialization: Performs breast surgery often and currently.
  • Experience: At least 8 years as a breast surgeon.
  • Recommendations and referrals: Ideally, get a referral from a friend or family member who has had successful breast surgery. Another reliable method is arranging to speak to a past patient. Ask her about her experience with your surgeon. When you check for current licensure with the state of NJ Consumer Affairs website (for surgeons practicing in NJ), you will also see if the surgeon has any medical board actions or sanctions on their record.
  • Artistic sensibility: Understands the elements of beauty and proportionality. Has an impressive book of before-and-after photos showing good results in a variety of breast surgeries.
  • Surgical privileges: Is qualified and authorized to perform breast implant surgery or breast reconstruction at a well-regarded local hospital. This indicates that the hospital has confidence in your surgeon’s technical skill and patient safety record.
  • Performs thorough examination: Assesses your starting point and learns about your history.
  • Interested in learning your goals: Asks you questions and listens well.
  • Answers your questions clearly.
  • Explains risks of breast revision: Informs you of risks like bleeding and infection and how often they occur. (Ask your surgeon how such complications will be handled–an experienced surgeon will be prepared to deal successfully with complications.)
  • Provides expert advice: Lets you know how your goals can be reached and how related physical problems can be solved, if any.
  • Seems like the obvious choice! Choose the breast doctor who, after all of your research and your meeting, has earned your trust and confidence.

At Cohen/Winters Aesthetic & Reconstructive Surgery in Bergen County, NJ, we’re focused on helping you achieve your goals. If you’d like to learn about your options for breast revision in a low-pressure environment–please give us a call. Our offices are in easy driving distance from anywhere in New York, including NYC. Contact us today.


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Dr. Cohen

About Dr. Cohen

Dr. Cohen specializes in breast lifts, augmentations, revisions and reductions as well as breast cancer reconstructions. A long time dream of Dr. Cohen’s was to travel to developing countries and provide expert surgical care to those who have no other possible access to medical care. This became a reality in 2007 when she became a founding member and Vice President of ISMS Operation Kids.