Breast Enlargement, Reduction and Reconstruction
A Wide Range of Advanced Surgical Solutions for Reconstructive and Aesthetic Treatments
Good Form is Always a Pleasure™
Breast surgery represents one of the major areas of Dr. Cook’s interest and expertise. All of Dr. Cook’s work with breast surgery is built on the foundation of his extensive work in the challenging area of reconstructive breast surgery. “One challenge is the creation of a new breast after mastectomy or a congenital problem, but an equally challenging situation is where we must then take the remaining natural breast and shape it to balance the breast that we have created.” says Dr. Cook. In his work at Rush University Medical Center, one of the leading hospitals in the Midwest for breast surgery, Dr. Cook has helped literally hundreds of women rebuild their lives after the challenge of breast absence or deformity. Dr. Cook’s extensive breast reconstruction experience benefits patients seeking elective surgery as well.
For two decades, Dr. Cook has helped his patients enhance their self-image by improving their form through breast enlargement, lift, reduction, or reconstruction procedures at his Chicago centers.
DR. COOK'S ARTISTIC VISION
Patients who come to the office of Chicago plastic surgeon John Q. Cook for breast enlargement, breast lift (mastopexy), and breast reduction are well-served by Dr. Cook’s extensive experience in breast reconstruction surgery. Breast reconstruction forces the plastic surgeon to ever broaden his array of techniques to meet the specific challenges of breast shape and form. “It also deepens the surgeon’s vision,” says Dr. Cook. “You become aware of the many varieties of breast shape and develop specific techniques to account for these.”
Dr. Cook was selected as a clinical investigator for the national studies involving saline implants that were designed by the FDA. He also has served as the principal investigator for the studies involving saline implants and silicone gel implants for breast reconstruction at Rush Presbyterian-St. Luke’s Medical Center.
The fundamental challenge in breast surgery is similar to that faced in other areas where Dr. Cook works – how to obtain as natural a result as possible. “The best surgery,” says Dr. Cook, “should not look surgical.” This is particularly true for the patient considering breast augmentation. “I often use the term breast enhancement when I describe this type of surgery,” says Dr. Cook. “Although volume may be an important consideration, the surgery is really about so much more than just making breasts larger. It is often a more complex and subtle question of shape and visual balance. The key is to avoid having the implant overwhelm the breast. If this occurs, the surgical result will disappoint the more sophisticated patient and surgeon alike.”
Dr. Cook’s detailed study of this field has led to his development of several operations which address specific breast shapes and configurations. Patients interested in breast reconstruction, breast reduction, or breast enlargement or lift procedures at our Chicago centers will meet with Dr. Cook for a thorough evaluation. During this time, Dr. Cook will review potential surgical options with you to determine the best treatment plan to meet your needs. (read more / hide)
“It is truly gratifying to see how patients benefit from breast reduction surgery,” says Dr. Cook. Often these individuals suffer in silence. They develop habits of dress and posture to hide their breast size. They may also feel self-conscious in social situations and feel limited in the way that they can exercise. Unfortunately, ‘well-meaning’ family members and even doctors will frequently discourage patients from seeking surgical help due to a lack of understanding of the fundamental mechanics.”
“When the breasts reach a certain size, a number of undesirable things will occur,” says Dr. Cook. “The patients often suffer from a band of pain arching across the back, neck and shoulders. Some patients have told me they even have gained weight to try to hide the size of their breasts by bringing the proportions of the rest of the body up to their scale. One of the most frequent comments we hear from patients who undergo this surgery is that their only regret is that they did not carry it out years ago.”
“This is an exciting time to be involved in breast reduction surgery,” says Dr. Cook. “I am much happier with the results that I can obtain with my patients now than what I obtained five or ten years ago.” Several years ago Dr. Cook modified his technique so that it departed in significant ways from the most common technique of breast reduction. “I did this because I was unsatisfied with the lack of control that the standard technique was giving me, especially in patients whose breasts were asymmetric or which had complex shapes.” Dr. Cook has also worked extensively with the newer techniques which, in select patients, allow for shorter scars than in traditional breast reduction surgery. Examples of these techniques include vertical and periareolar breast reduction.
Breast lift, or mastopexy, is performed to counteract the effects of gravity or pregnancy on breast shape and volume distribution. Sometimes individuals go through cycles of weight gain and weight loss which will also stretch out the breasts. As the skin is stretched, the breasts will settle into an abnormally low configuration. This can produce an undesirable hollowing, or lack of fullness, in the upper portion of the breast, where there may be very little breast tissue left.
It was the challenge of balancing the shape and contour of the reconstructed breast that led Dr. Cook to search for better techniques of breast lift surgery. “Many patients would gladly undergo breast lift were it not for the scars that accompany the traditional operation,” says Dr. Cook. The traditional operation places a scar around the border of the areola as well as in the fold under the breast and a vertical scar connecting the lower border of the areola. Newer techniques of short scar mastopexy and reduction are appropriate for many patients. In the periareolar variant, the scar can be confined just to the border around the areola. In another variant there will be an extension from the lower border of the areola to the fold under the breast, but no scar running around the lower border of the breast. These newer operations, although highly beneficial, are not for all patients. When the classical operation is the appropriate choice, you will benefit from Dr. Cook’s extensive experience and meticulous attention to detail. Experience and judgment are critical in order for the right technique to be matched with the right patient. “I have seen a number of patients who have had surgery that perhaps resulted in more extensive scarring than necessary,” says Dr. Cook. “But even worse than this is the situation where an inexperienced surgeon tries to push the technique of short scar surgery on a person who can really not benefit from it. In that case, the result will either be inadequate correction or significant distortions of breast shape.”
The operation known as augmentation/mastopexy can be a good choice for patients where the issue is a combination of settling of the breast and volume loss. “I view this as restorative, or rejuvenative, surgery,” says Dr. Cook. “In this sense, the goals that I set for myself are similar to what I do with a facelift. That is to restore the beautiful contours of youth but do so in a way that minimizes artificiality.” This surgery is designed to counterbalance certain natural forces which act upon the breasts including pregnancy, weight fluctuation and gravitational settling.
“I am able to offer my patients a nice variety of choices when it comes to the augmentation/mastopexy operation,” says Dr. Cook. As part of the detailed evaluation he performs on each patient Dr. Cook discusses the advantages and disadvantages of different types of silicone gel and saline-filled implants. Patients who undergo the augmentation/mastopexy procedure are particularly well suited to the shorter scar techniques of breast lift. This includes such variants as the periareolar mastopexy, in which the scar is confined to the border around the areola.
Dr. Cook performs breast lift, breast enlargement, breast reduction, and selected techniques of breast reconstruction on an outpatient basis. Dr. Cook offers his patients at his Chicaco centers a variety of quality outpatient settings including Rush University Medical Center and a fully-accredited private surgery center near his office in the Gold Coast.
We invite you to visit specific sections of this website to obtain specific information about the procedure that interests you.
BREAST ENLARGEMENT
Breast enlargement, also known as breast augmentation and breast enhancement, is one of the most popular cosmetic enhancement procedures available. Dr. Cook’s extensive experience in breast surgery allows him to address subtleties of breast form, shape and balance. Dr. Cook has worked for over two decades with a wide range of silicone gel and saline-filled breast implants, so he is able to provide each breast enlargement patient at his Chicago centers with in-depth knowledge about her range of choices. For most patients there is a significant variety of options in terms of implant volume and projection that will allow varying degrees of breast fullness but maintain a natural appearing breast form. From Dr. Cook’s perspective the key to success in breast enhancement surgery is a careful study of proportion and aesthetics coupled with a range of advanced techniques that can be brought to the service of each patient in an individualized manner.
Learn more about breast enlargement.
BREAST LIFT
As a result of pregnancy, weight loss, or simply the passage of time, many women find that their breast settle to a low position and lose their natural fullness. Often the upper portion of the breast looks hollow or emptied out. Dr. Cook has in-depth experience with a wide range of techniques of breast lift (mastopexy) which restore the breasts to a pleasing balance and position. For some patients who have lost significant breast volume the breast lift procedure is combined with the placement of a breast implant. Patients who have experienced a loss of tone in the abdomen and breasts often opt for a combined procedure in which the breast lift and abdominoplasty (tummy tuck) are carried out together.
Learn more about breast lift.
BREAST REDUCTION
Patients with disproportionately large breasts often experience pain, discomfort, and embarrassment. Over time the physical mechanics of the back, neck, and shoulders are compromised. Deep furrows may develop in the shoulders and the patient may assume a hunched posture. For some women, the effects are so severe that comfort during day-to-day activity and the ability to exercise are compromised. Breast reduction surgery offers the patient a double benefit- the improvement of body mechanics and the restoration of a pleasing and harmonious shape. In our practice hundreds of patients have experience improvement in comfort, posture and self-confidence that accompany breast reduction surgery. At his Chicago centers, Dr. Cook also offers breast reduction for men who suffer from gynecomastia.
Learn more about breast reduction.
BREAST RECONSTRUCTION
In his twenty years on the staff of Rush University Medical Center, Dr. Cook has restored a pleasing form to hundreds of patients seeking breast reconstruction. Dr. Cook ‘s extensive experience with tissue expansion, breast implants and the emerging technique of fat transfer allows him to help patients with congenital breast deformities such as Poland’s syndrome as well as patients who have undergone mastectomy or lumpectomy. Rush University Medical Center is one of the Midwest’s leading academic medical centers. Dr. Cook can work in team with one of the oncologic surgeons at Rush to provide immediate reconstruction at the time of mastectomy.
Learn more about breast reconstruction.
Contact John Q. Cook, M.D. at Whole Beauty™ Institute
Dr. Cook is recognized for the depth of his experience, innovative techniques, and naturalistic approach. At his Gold Coast and North Shore centers, he approaches each patient with a respect for the individual's unique natural identity. For more information on any of our procedures, or to schedule a consultation with our plastic surgeon, please contact Whole Beauty™ Institute.