Finding a good plastic surgeon in Los Angeles, California - Any references

[steve6161]

Hi.
I've been doing research on good plastic surgeons in Los Angeles and I thought I would share it with others in case anyone is interested. Also, if anyone else has information to share, please post it.

Here are some doctors I met with so far:

- Dr. Sean Younai (Encino).
This guy has some very good photos on his site.
http://www.beautifulself.com/ & http://www.beautifulfigure.com/
He quoted me a cost of $5,300. And he offers a free consultation. He seemed like a nice guy.
The comments I found for him online are good:
http://ratemds.com/filecache/doctor-ratings.jsp?did=87356&country=0
http://losangeles.citysearch.com/review/45223330
I found no problems with him at the California State Medical Board
http://www2.dca.ca.gov/pls/wllpub/WLLQRYNA$LCEV2.QueryView?P_LICENSE_NUMBER=69368&P_LTE_ID=790

- Dr. Vishal Kapoor.
He has only one set of photos on his website, but he has others to show if you go in for a consultation.
http://www.drkapoormd.com/beforeandafter9.html
He quoted me a cost of $5,500 – seemed negotiable. And he offers a free consultation. He and his staff were very nice and he spent a lot of time.
I couldn’t find any online reviews of this doctor.
I found no problems with him at the California State Medical Board:
http://www2.dca.ca.gov/pls/wllpub/WLLQRYNA$LCEV2.QueryView?P_LICENSE_NUMBER=82791&P_LTE_ID=782

- Dr. Tarick Smaili (Beverly Hills).
He has some excellent photos on his website:
http://www.californiasurgicalinstitute.com/photos-male.html
He quoted me a cost of $6,200. And he offers a free consultation (which was short). He seemed competent, though his office is somewhat chaotic.
I found some mixed reviews of him here:
http://ratemds.com/filecache/doctor-ratings.jsp?did=48803&country=0
I found no problems with him at the California State Medical Board:
http://www2.dca.ca.gov/pls/wllpub/WLLQRYNA$LCEV2.QueryView?P_LICENSE_NUMBER=75774&P_LTE_ID=782

- Dr. Gary Takowsky
He has some very good photos on his website:
http://www.garytakowskymd.com/gallery_gyno.htm#1
And he has many more to show if you go in for a consultation.
He quoted me a cost of $3,000-$3,500. And he offers a free consultation. (I waited quite a while in his office to get the consultation.)
I found a malpractice judgment against him for $261,015 (March 1, 2001) at the California State Medical Board:
http://www2.dca.ca.gov/pls/wllpub/WLLQRYNA$LCEV2.QueryView?P_LICENSE_NUMBER=34305&P_LTE_ID=782
(For me this means he’s off my list.)
I found some mixed reviews for him here:
http://losangeles.citysearch.com/review/32715916
He also is not a board certified plastic surgeon (though he’s apparently been doing this for over 20 years) and he got his medical degree at the University of Guadalajara.

- Dr. Alan Bittner (formerly Craig Alan Bittner)
http://www.dralanbittner.com/resources.asp
His site lists the price as $3,400. And he offers a free consultation (which was very short). He does lipo only, no excision, under local anesthesia which sounded interesting. After doing some research I found out he is board certified as a radiologist, not a plastic surgeon.  He used the name Craig Alan Bittner and ran a chain of full body scan radiology centers called Ameriscan (or was it Ameriscam) which were shut down.(see below)
http://www.diagnosticimaging.com/dinews/2003102701.shtml
http://oracknows.blogspot.com/2005/01/battling-quackery-in-conventional.html
I found mixed reviews for him here:
http://ratemds.com/filecache/doctor-ratings.jsp?did=50017&country=0
I found a fraud citation issued against him (April 18, 2007) at the California State Medical Board:
http://www2.dca.ca.gov/pls/wllpub/WLLQRYNA$LCEV2.QueryView?P_LICENSE_NUMBER=53795&P_LTE_ID=782
(This guy is a definite no.)

There are many more docs in the area who have before and after photos. You can find them by googling "gynecomastia surgery, los angeles" or going to one of the many plastic surgery and doctor referral websites such as http://www.plasticsurgery.org/ which allows you to search for board certified plastic surgeons.

Here are some other ones that I've found on the web (I've called and emailed many of them, but haven't met any):

There is the list shown on this site:
http://www.gynecomastia.org/content/surg_listing/surgeons.cgi?filter=USA&filter_state=CA

- Dr. John Gross
http://www.johngrossmd.com/gallery/malebreast1.html (Only a couple of photos.)

- Dr. Sanjay Grover
http://www.drgrover.com/gynecomastia-photo-gallery.htm  (only 2 sets of photos)

- Dr. Sanders (Encino)
Dr. Sanders.com/before_after_men/tthmbpicmlbrst.html'); return false;" class="underlinelink" href="https://www.gynecomastia.org/doctors/gyne/profile-3">Dr. Sanders.com/before_after_men/tthmbpicmlbrst.html" rel="nofollow" onClick="recordOutboundLink(this, 'Outbound Links', 'http://www.Dr. Sanders.com/before_after_men/tthmbpicmlbrst.html'); return false;" class="bbc_link" target="_blank" rel="noopener" target="_blank">http://www.Dr. Sanders.com/before_after_men/tthmbpicmlbrst.html
I emailed him. The cost is approximately $6,200. Consultations cost $100.
This doctor says he does many of these procedures, and he has a lot of photos on his site, but the problem is I don't think the photos look that great.

- Dr. Steven Teitelbaum
http://www.drteitelbaum.com/before_after_photos_men5.html
This doctor is listed on this site, but he has photos of only 1 person who had only low grade gynecomastia.

- Dr. Peter Fodor (Los Angeles)
http://www.fodormd.com/gallery/gallery.php?page=Gynecomastia&num=1#procedure-subhead
($100 consultation. I think this guy does lipo only, but his photos are pretty good considering they show lipo only and no excision. Most people on this board have written that lipo only is not enough and that you need glandular excision as well.)

Dr. Grant Stevens & Dr. David Stoker
http://www.marinaplasticsurgery.com/photo-gallery/results.cfm?Category=20

-Dr. Daniel Yamini, Dr. Steven Svehlak
http://sunsetcosmeticsurger.reachlocal.com/
Consultations are $150.

- Dr. David Hopp
http://drdavidhopp.com/gallery.htm

http://www.rodeodriveplasticsurgery.com/gynecomastia.html
(They charge $200 for a consultation. They say they treat everyone like a celebrity and I guess that is what they mean.)

http://beverlyhillsbody.com/
(I contacted them by email and they never got back to me.)
Some mixed reviews here:
http://losangeles.citysearch.com/review/41891294

- Dr. Aaron Stone
http://www.aaronstonemd.com/gynecomastia.shtm  (photos of only 1 person)

- Dr. Frederic Corbin
http://gynecomastiaexpert.com  & http://www.drcorbin.com/gynecomastia.htm
I was interested in him and then I checked the medical board site where I found out that this guy has a litany of problems (including probation, public reprimand, malpractice arbitration award, and hospital discipline).
http://www2.dca.ca.gov/pls/wllpub/WLLQRYNA$LCEV2.QueryView?P_LICENSE_NUMBER=41325&P_LTE_ID=790
From this list I would recommend avoiding this doctor at all costs.

If you’re willing to travel:

Some people on this board rave about Dr. Delgado in San Francisco.
http://www.sanfranciscocosmetic-surgery.com/

And others have posted about doctors in the San Diego area (e.g. Dr. Wallace, one guy on this board loves her):
http://www.gynecomastia.org/smf/index.php/topic,7271.0.html
http://drwallace.ucsd.edu/default.aspx

If you search through the forums you'll find other postings.

I would be willing to travel if I thought it would make a big difference, but from what I'm seeing you should be able to get a good doctor in the LA area (with at least as good a result as you would get somewhere else).

Things that I think are important:
- Board certified plastic surgeon
- Completely clean record (no citations, judgments or reprimands of any kind).
- Experience doing many gynecomastia surgeries (at least 100).
- Good medical school and residency at a good hospital
- Many good photographs to show.  My feeling is that doctors are showing you their best work (either in person and/or on their websites) and if their best work doesn't look like the kind of results I want to get, I don't want to use that doctor.
- Doctor should be attentive, patient and willing to answer all your questions prior to surgery.
- Provides references to patients who have had the same procedure.
- I think the doctor should offer a free consultation. I would be willing to pay for a consultation if the doctor came highly recommended, but it seems that there are many highly qualified, well educated and experienced doctors who offer free consultations.
- Good reviews are a plus if you can find them (but be wary of phony reviews). Bad reviews are a big minus if you find them.

With all doctors I would do as much research as possible. For starters check out:

California State Medical Board
http://www2.dca.ca.gov/pls/wllpub/wllqryna$lcev2.startup?p_qte_code=MDX&p_qte_pgm_code=6301
http://www.medbd.ca.gov/
And this is the site for public document search:
http://publicdocs.medbd.ca.gov/pdl/mbc.aspx

Rate MDs:
http://ratemds.com/filecache/SelectDoctor.jsp?sid=5

And you can also check LA doctor reviews (if there are any) here:
http://losangeles.citysearch.com/

I don't know how reliable these ratings sites are (and it seems like some of the doctors have people posting phony testimonials), but you can see if there are any people who are really pissed off at a doctor. Also, sometimes people post useful information.

I'm still looking and hoping to get some references from this board, so if anyone out there is reading this and has any doctors to refer, please post your information.

[steve6161]

Got an email update from Dr. Aaron Stone:
http://www.aaronstonemd.com/gynecomastia.shtm
The cost of surgery excluding operating room and anesthesia is $6000. The cost of a consultation is $120.
This makes him one of the more expensive people I have gotten a price from (since the operating room and anesthesia will probably cost somewhere around $2,000).
Found nothing about him at the state medical board:
http://www2.dca.ca.gov/pls/wllpub/WLLQRYNA$LCEV2.QueryView?P_LICENSE_NUMBER=68802&P_LTE_ID=790
And I found no user ratings for him online.

Also, someone emailed me and asked whether I had heard of
Dr. Dr. Cruise
He's in Newport Beach.
http://www.orangecountycosmeticsurgery.com/procedure-images/breast-reduction-male.htm
The person who emailed wrote that 'I saw him on Discovery Health Channel on a before and after plastic surgery episode early June on a procedure for gynecomastia.'
I haven't heard of him, but his photos are ok (I think other doctors I've posted have better ones).
I found nothing on him at the California medical board site:
http://www2.dca.ca.gov/pls/wllpub/WLLQRYNA$LCEV2.QueryView?P_LICENSE_NUMBER=86540&P_LTE_ID=790
And I found no user ratings for him online.

[steve6161]

I've contacted many more docs in the area and this is what I have found.
Note that some docs provide an actual price and some provide a range of prices. My experience is that when you go in for the consultation the price will always be on the high side of the range. If the doctor has a lot of experience in the area, they should be able to quote you a price (or at most 2 possible prices depending on what they have to do).

Dr. Dr. Cruise (Newport Beach)
http://www.orangecountycosmeticsurgery.com/procedure-images/breast-reduction-male.htm
Consultation is $75. The person answering his email would not quote me a price.
His photos look pretty good.
Email I received from his office: "Dr. Cruise has performed way over 150 gynecomastia procedures...Consultations with Dr. Cruise are $75 , however we do take a Credit Card number to eliminate no shows. If you don't reschedule or cancel within 24 hours and fail to show there will be a $50 charge."

Dr. Tom Pousti (Temecula)
http://www.poustiplasticsurgery.com/photo-gallery/results.cfm
$6500-8000. Consultation is free.
His photos look pretty good.
Email I received from his office: "Thank you for your e-mail. Gynecomastia surgery can range in price from $6500-8000.  Dr. Pousti performs this procedure routinely and we would be happy to show you more photos at your consultation. There is no fee for this visit IF you haven't already had surgery."

Dr. Stuart A. Linder (Beverly Hills)
http://www.drlinder.com/DrL_list.asp?type=Proc&data=Gynecomastia_
$6,000.00 to 9,000.00. Consultation is free.
(Be aware that his site has a very loud and annoying voice talking about the procedure - so if you are in an office and your computer has speakers be careful.)
His photos look pretty good.
Email I received from his office: "Dr.Linder is one of the best at gynecomastia; we do do plenty of them. We do have more pictures in the office in his photo albums and in patient files. If you are interested in getting more information I can offer you a complimentary consultation with Dr Linder this month. Please give me a call at the office at 310.275.4513 and I would be more than happy to set you up. The procedure runs anywhere from $6,000.00 to 9,000.00 depending on size and amount of tissue being removed."

Dr. Dennis P Thompson, MD (Santa Monica)
$5,000. Consultation is $150
http://www.anewlook.com/pages/gynecomastia.html
I could not find any photos on his site and you have to pay $150 for a consultation to meet him and see the photos which just seems ridiculous to me.
Email I received from his office: "Dr. Thompson has been in practice for over thirty years and has done many gynecomastia procedures with excellent results.  The exact number I do not have.  I do have pre and post operative photos regarding this procedure.  The fee for this procedure is $5000.  This includes the doctors fee, the operating room fee and anesthesia fee.  Dr. Thompson charges $150. for a consultation where he would exam and evaluate you and at that time he would go over any risks and/or complications and you would speak to
me regarding finances and I would present to you the pre and post operative photos."

Dr. David Edwin Kim
http://www.plasticsurgerybh.com/new_page_46.htm
$7200. Consultation is free.
This guy advertises gynecomastia surgery on his site, so I figured he did a lot of them. But I met with him and he doesn't. He's only done 30 max (according to him). He didn't seem knowledgable about the procedure at all, nor was he confident that he could give me a good result, and the consultation was extremely short. I would not use this doctor.
He quoted me a price of $7,200 and the consultation is free. But again I would recommend NOT to use this doctor.

Dr. Steven Teitelbaum MD
(This is one of the doctors listed on this site.)
He only has one set of photos:
http://www.drteitelbaum.com/before_after_photos_men5.html
$4,000-$6,000. Consultation is $200 (very high).
Email I received from his office: "Dr. Teitelbaum  is a board certified plastic surgeon and has over 15 years of experience.  I encourage you to visit his website which is very informative.  You can view before and after photos that I am sure you will find very interesting.  There are more photos in the office. The consultation fee is $200.00 and is applied to the surgery.  The fee range for the procedures you mentioned is $4000.00 to $6000.00."

Dr. Amy T. Bandy
She has only 2 sets of photos:
http://drbandy.com/gynecomastia-1.html
$8500-12,000. Consultation is $75. (She quoted me the highest price so far.)
Email I received from her office: "Dr. Bandy does have more photos in the office of the procedure for you to
review at the time of your consultation appointment. The price range for the procedure is $8500-12,000, which includes Dr. Bandy's fees, facility fees and the anesthesiologist. Dr. Bandy does charge a $75.00 consultation fee, which is applied towards surgery if you schedule the surgery. I asked the office manager to give me an idea how many procedures Dr. Bandy has performed.  She did not know exactly, but said it is in the 100s. Most gentlemen who see Dr. Bandy for the consultation, do schedule the surgery with her and they are extremely happy with the results."

[steve6161]

In case anyone is interested I thought I would follow up and let people know that I ended up having the procedure done last week with Dr. Vishal Kapoor (www.drkapoormd.com). His office is in Beverly Hills and the procedure was done at an out patient surgery center in Long Beach.

I had power assisted lipo and excision.

I ended up choosing Dr. Kapoor for a number of reasons:
- He had good post op photos. (His site only shows one, but he has many more to show in his office.)
- He came across as very knowledgeable about plastic surgery and gynecomastia procedures based on everything I read (and I did a lot of research). He has a good resume as well (though he is on the younger side.)
- He provided good references, 2 of whom I called and spoke with. They were both very happy to get on the phone and recommend Dr. Kapoor. He was also prepared to provide more references. (With several doctors, it was not easy to get personal references - I tried with 3 other doctors, 2 of whom gave me 1 person to speak with and 1 of whom never gave me a name.)
- He had the best manner of any doctor I met with. He answered all my questions patiently. All the other doctors I met with rushed me in my meetings. While the doctor's personality was not my prime concern (I've met plenty of good doctors who were lacking in the personality department) it felt good to know that he was ready and prepared to answer all my questions completely. He also discussed all aspects of the surgery with me in depth and was eager for my input regarding how I wanted it to look in the end. He also gave me his personal number and told me I could call him any time after surgery if I had any questions. (I actually called his number by mistake a couple of days ago and didn't leave a message, and he called me back within an hour.)
- His price was reasonable. He was not the lowest price I found, and he was nowhere near the highest price either. He was in the mid range of what good plastic surgeons in LA charge.
- The people in his office were nice and professional, unlike many of the offices that appeared disorganized and/or unprofessional.

I am 5 days post surgery right now and will have some photos available soon. I am happy with the results as of now (naturally I am bruised and somewhat swollen, but my chest is flat) and I will post back as time goes on.

I am taking the time to post this (along with all the information I have posted in this thread about plastic surgeons in the LA area) because I know there are a lot of guys in LA who are looking into this, who would like a reference and information and it is very hard to get any on this site for some reason.

I looked into Delgado, Bermant, Wiener route that is recommended so frequently on this board. Delgado and Bermant certainly have very good photos on their site (though Wiener has none) and Bermant has clearly made gynecomastia a personal specialty, so I can't blame people for deciding to go with those guys. But I just felt that I wanted to be near my home to have the operation for several reasons:
- I wanted to recuperate at home with my girlfriend and not in a hotel
- I wanted to have a doctor close by that I could go see if there were any problems (I've read several people on this board who have had a problem following surgery - so far, fortunately, I have not had any but better safe than sorry. Who wants to have to find a local doctor to help you with a problem caused by a surgery you had in another state?)
- I wanted the doctor close by in case I needed a revision - which should be complementary if required (there are a number of guys on this board who have needed revisions - my surgery looks great so far at 5 days so I don't think this will be an issue, but again having the doctor close by would make this a lot easier and save on travel expenses)
- I did not want to fly just a couple of days after major surgery under general anesthesia (I don't know about some people on the board who have reported minimal pain and bruising and who seem to feel fine shortly after their operation, but major surgery and general anesthesia knock me out).

So that's my $.02.  If anyone has any questions, feel free to message me.

[ddaavviiddd]

All these guys are horrible,  if u want the best and u want to say in cail then u have to see Dr Delgado,  and for Corbin,  well   i posted he was under inditmen t for fraud last year but the owner of the site took down my post. event thought it was true because i read it in the LA times ,  L A is a great place if u want fake boobs but not for gyno

[steve6161]

I have to say that I disagree with your statement that "all these guys are horrible".

I read through your posts and see that you had a bad experience with a "Dr. Stevens" in Beverly Hills (http://www.gynecomastia.org/smf/index.php/topic,9285.msg66302.html#msg66302 by the way his office is in Marina Del Rey now). I can sympathize. That must have been terrible. And then according to your posts Dr. Delgado fixed you up nicely. So I don't blame you for thinking that Delgado is the bomb. I've looked through his photos that he posted on this site and they are excellent. I considered using him as well, but I preferred to work with a local surgeon. And judging by the number of emails I have received from people who have read my posts, there are a lot of other people in the LA area who also want to use a local surgeon and who want useful and helpful information based on personal experience.

The thing is, that I personally met with 7 of the doctors I listed (3 of them I met with twice) and I checked out many more through phone, email, their websites and the Internet in general (there is a lot of information out there). It is clear that many of these doctors are fine plastic surgeons with excellent reputations and customers who have had male breast reduction surgery with them who are happy (I know because I spoke with several of their customers personally and saw their before/after photos). Many of these surgeons also have photos that are as good as Delgado's in my opinion. I have also now had the procedure done by a very well qualified doctor who did an excellent job that I am very happy with. In addition, there is another person who has posted on this board who used a Dr. Wallace from University of San Diego (I linked to his thread above http://www.gynecomastia.org/smf/index.php/topic,7271.0.html) who is very happy with his result.

I've tried to post information that is useful to those of us who live in Southern California who want to have their surgery nearby. If you have something useful and informative to add (such as a personal warning about the doctor who did a bad job on you 10 years ago or other doctors that you know are "horrible" from personal experience), I know there are many people here who would like to read it.

But all these guys are definitely not horrible. I know from personal experience.

[As for Dr. Corbin, I don't know why you mention him again. I posted his name because he is a prominent gynecomastia surgeon and I wanted people to know about all the problems he has had. Perhaps you didn't actually read what I wrote. I posted a link to the California Medical Board site that lists some of the problems and no one has removed my post. http://www2.dca.ca.gov/pls/wllpub/WLLQRYNA$LCEV2.QueryView?P_LICENSE_NUMBER=41325&P_LTE_ID=790 I prefer to provide links to direct information so others can make their own informed decision.]

[S.D.]

I am taking the time to post this (along with all the information I have posted in this thread about plastic surgeons in the LA area) because I know there are a lot of guys in LA who are looking into this, who would like a reference and information and it is very hard to get any on this site for some reason.

You're the man Steve... I browsed this site for awhile too and felt the same way.... good info here and there but very fragmented... you did a lot of the legwork for people by posting what you did above.

The bottom line is there is always uncertainty in choosing a surgeon, and so many variables in price, technique, etc... You made your choice from that list, and then took the time to explain exactly why, and also how your experience was... Nobody on here could ask for more. So thank you.  I just had surgery yesterday and will report back when I am a little further along, but from what I can tell Im going to be a very happy man.

[steve6161]

Thanks SD. Who did you go with?

[damianz]

Thanks for posting, Steve and SD.  I'd love to hear about your results, Steve.  I'm in Los Angeles and contemplating having the surgery sometime in the next few months.  I'd be very interested in any more info you have on Dr. Kapoor, how pleased you are with his work, etc.

[steve6161]

Here are some photos 8 days post-op
http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1141/1348400396_7cab261d5e_o.jpg

I'm almost 6 weeks post-op now and look a lot better. I'll try to take some more photos this weekend and post them.

[RealDeal1000]

Steve -
this is an extremely helpful and informative thread.  however, it's over three years old now, so i'm wondering how things ultimately turned out for you after you had your procedure with Kapoor back in 2007.  i'm also in the los angeles area and trying to figure out which surgeon to go to.  thanks in advance

[90293]

I used this thread too in my research. Don't go to the LA PS's they suck. I originally, was going to use Kapoor until someone on this website privately messaged me and told me that he messed him and his brother up. I then choose another LA Doctor, Dr. Teitelbaum, but he screwed my body up.

You can read the thread I posted today. Based on this website Dr. Delgado is a good PS and he is in SF. However; I did not like his approach to my revision surgery and went with Dr. Bermant. Trust me take your time and pick one of the best. I recommend you travel and have Dr. B do it. You dont want to end up paying for 2 surgerys (especially considering the second one is a compromise surgery bc Dr. B couldnt fix everything the first surgeon screwed up).