The surgeon's skill, judgment and artistic vision are critical to the success of facial rejuvenation surgery.  Dr. Cook expresses our commitment to these high standards when he states, “My goal is to be the leading practice for facial rejuvenation in the Midwest.”

We express our subtleties of mood and attitude through minute changes in brow position, eyelid tone, and the tone of the lips and corner of the mouth. Unless a surgeon is aware of these subtleties, and the patient’s goals and attitudes, the surgery will fail in what should be its fundamental purpose: bringing the face in harmony with your spirit.

It was Dr. Cook’s study of the inadequacies of many of the techniques of facial aesthetic surgery that motivated him to seek techniques that would produce a more natural result.  “I subsume my ego in this process.  I will gladly follow anyone’s good idea, add some nuances of my own, in an attempt to make the result better.  It is always with the same goal in mind – to capture the soft look and subtle curves of youth.”

What we hope you will never find in this practice is faces pulled tight into stiff masks, eyes that have lost their ability to express, or mouths pulled out like some sort of prehistoric fish.  What you will find is a highly personal individualized approach.  “It is important to preserve a face’s fundamental character,” says Dr. Cook.  “Let’s not make all faces look the same!”  It is Dr. Cook’s opinion that facial rejuvenation surgery is in the middle of the same sort of transformation that affected nasal surgery 1-2 decades ago.  Prior to that time, many surgeons employed rigidly standardized techniques that led to one nose being a copy of the other.  Certain pioneers produced a more subtle approach to the operation, with an emphasis on fitting the nose to the individual’s facial structure and ancestry.

There is no one operation for facial rejuvenation but a multitude of operations based upon clear and careful communication between the surgeon and the patient.  The different techniques of facial rejuvenation surgery are designed to address issues of brow position, eyelid tone, cheek tone, the attitude of the mouth and lips, and tone of the neck.  Another important emerging area is the replacement of lost facial volume due to a thinning out of the facial fat with the aging process.  There are also a number of issues regarding the surface texture of the skin and quality of the skin which can be addressed through the technologies of our sister practice, Facade, The Medical Center for Skin Enhancement.

“The facial aging process is about so much more than loose skin,” says Dr. Cook.  “Unless you really understand what is going on from a structural standpoint, you will make the wrong diagnosis.”  As we age, structures deep to the skin settle out of position.  The proper answer to this is to bring them back where they belong.  Aging also leads to a thinning out in key facial zones.  This leads to a fragmentation of the facial architecture.  Fat transfer techniques can help to restore a soft facial look.”

“I know I have achieved my goal,” says Dr. Cook “when a patient says to me, ‘now my face matches my mood.’”