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Santa Monica, CA Double Board Certified Plastic Surgeon American Board of Plastic Surgery American Board of Surgery Plastic Surgeon Recommended by Site Visitors Member Surgeon Since 2002

Plastic Cosmetic Surgery ~ Santa Monica, California

Plastic Surgeon was Recommended by Site Visitors

These are not testimonials submitted by the plastic surgeon or the plastic surgeon's office; these were sent to us directly by the patient through our surgeon survey.

"Dr. Teitelbaum was the most caring, professional doctor I met with. He was so knowledgeable and was more than happy to answer all my questions. He listened to my wants then educated me on trying to meet my wants while doing what my body, breast tissues would allow and why this is the important factor in breast augmentation! He is big on a 24 hr recovery - which I thought was too good to be true but it wasn’t - I took only Advil and was at dinner the night of surgery - for real!! He is amazing!" ~Rebecca, Breast augmentation patient from Los Angeles, CA, May 05, 2008

"Truly the most skilled, personable, caring and ethical doctor I have ever met. From the moment I met him I knew I was in the best of hands. He has always taken the time to talk with me and to make sure all of my questions were answered. He made sure that I knew exactly what I could expect from my surgery. From the lengthy initial consult to the flowers he sent me after surgery to his willingness to come to the office on Saturday or Sunday to remove my drains he has gone above and beyond. I recommend Dr. Teitelbaum to anyone that not only wants a skilled doctor but a truly wonderful person taking care of them."~Lisa (Breast Augmentation & Site Visitor from Los Angeles, CA)

"AMAZING job. He was so caring, and they turned out extremely natural. He even took care of my wrist (a 3rd degree burn incurred 2 days before my surgery from a terrible car accident.) He has been the sweetest and has been on top of every little request I've made and I think he's just awesome!!!!"~Cat (Breast Augmentation Patient & Site Visitor from Pasadena, CA)

"AWESOME. Very patient, Great Bedside Manners. He is very honest about what he feels best suits your body. Great office staff too."~Cameo (Breast Augmentation Patient & Site Visitor from Central Valley , CA)

"Absolutely the most professional and capable doctor ever. Detail oriented, personable. An artist! Great post surgery care with honest concern. I have no reservations about recommending Dr. Teitelbaum to anyone. I am a very enthusiastic and happy patient!"~Laurie Jo (Breast Augmentation Patient & Site Visitor from San Clemente, CA)

"Dr. Teitelbaum and his staff are truly wonderful! His care and attention to detail made me feel secure with my decision to have plastic surgery. The results I achieved with Dr. Teitelbaum exceeded my expectations and I highly recommend him."~Unique (Breast Augmentation Patient & Site Visitor from Los Angeles, CA)

"Dr. Teitelbaum is extremely skilled and very patient - perfect combination. My experience could not have been better! And my results are fantastic! Dr. Teitelbaum and his entire staff are wonderful! He is a true artist. He has continually been honest about all options and outcomes. I would highly recommend him to anyone wanting breast enhancement surgery! Email me to hear all about him and his wonderful staff! :-)" ~Melissa (Breast Augmentation Patient & Site Visitor from Santa Monica, CA - Los Angeles, CA)

"Dr. Teitelbaum is very smart and has a keen aesthetic [skill]. He truly wants to make you beautiful and not look disproportional. He's very personable and informative and there for you at any time. He called after the surgery and the next two days to find out how I was doing. He is a very genuine person and during my follow-up visit showed true emotion and gave me a hug--because it's pretty unbelievable how good I look now from how bad I looked before with my semi-deformed old breast implants--he knew how happy I was. The clincher as to why I chose him was because he also volunteers for "Doctors Without Borders" a group, which helps people in poor countries who have physical deformities that can be surgically treated (i.e. cleft lips). He has a terrific staff and I truly felt at ease and knew I was in good hands.

I highly recommend Dr. Teitelbaum. I had a breast revision surgery and an upper/lower eyelid surgery with him. He does excellent work and his staff is wonderful. His surgical center is like going to a spa. In fact, I encouraged Dr. T to contact you guys and become part of your web site. I told him how helpful and informative it was for me. All the best to everyone at Implant Forum." ~Lisa (Breast Augmentation Patient & Site Visitor from Los Angeles, CA)

Also Recommended by ~Gina (Breast Augmentation Patient & Site Visitor)

Cosmetic Plastic Surgery Before and After Photos
(Click links to view Before and After Photos)

5'4" - 110 pounds - Mentor implants, smooth, saline, overs, areola 34B-34C/D

Cosmetic Plastic Surgery Procedures
(Click link to read more from this Plastic Surgeon)

This is a partial list of cosmetic procedures offered by this plastic surgeon. Other cosmetic procedures may be available by this plastic surgeon, please ask when contacting the plastic surgeon's office.

*Breast Augmentation Surgery Information*

Cohesive Breast Implant Expert

By now you’re sure to have heard about the latest advance in breast implants – the cohesive or so-called “gummy-bear implant,” which are all the rage in Europe.  Thousands of European women are thrilled with their natural looking and feeling breasts and now select American patients can enjoy these phenomenal implants as well!  

These implants offer a soft and supple feel with the added benefit of being relatively leak free due to the cohesion of the siliocne. It is this consistency that allows the implants to maintain the commonly requested tear drop shape.  While the edges of the implant blend gradually into the surrounding tissue, the thinner top of the implant slopes gently down to a fuller bottom half, creating the gorgeous contour of a natural breast. 

Although these implants are so new in the states that they have not yet been approved by the FDA, Dr. Teitelbaum has been using them in studies since 2000 and is one of the most experienced providers in the country!  So experienced, in fact, that the manufacturers of these implants have asked him to help develop the curriculum to teach other surgeons how to use these implants. He has traveled to places as far away as Europe, Asia, and Africa to teach surgeons how to use them. 

Website devoted to Cohesive “Gummy Bear” Implants

24 Hour Recovery

Does a virtually pain-free breast augmentation sound too good to be true?

Many of Dr. Teitelbaum’s patients think it is - until they understand what he does differently and speak to actual patients who are pain-free just a day or two after surgery.

Recent developments really have allowed breast augmentation patients to return to normal activities within 24 hours, without the need for narcotics, pain pumps, special bandages, or bras. 

Dr. Teitelbaum’s patients routinely go out to dinner the night of surgery, go to Lakers games, or just enjoy the evening with their family.  Most drive within several days, and need no more than a few days off of work.

Bruising is minimal or non-existent, and pain is controlled with just regular Advil and Motrin.

When some surgeons hear this, they don’t believe it!  That’s one reason why Dr. Teitelbaum teaches a course at the largest plastic surgery meeting in the world in which he describes how to do this.

How is it done? Meticulous preop planning assures not just that you will get the result that you want, but that time won’t be wasted during surgery making decisions that could better have been made with the doctor and you beforehand. 

Very careful surgical techniques coordinated with excellent anesthesia and a detailed understanding of fine points of anatomy, allow the operation to proceed smoothly and with a minimum of trauma. With our current anesthesia technique, it has been years since a breast augmentation patient had significant nausea.

Because of rough or imprecise technique, some surgeons tightly bandage patients or make them wear a special bra.  But Dr. Teitelbaum’s precise and gentle surgical technique allows his patients to move their arms in the recovery room right after surgery!  That way, your arms never get stiff and frozen. We hear stories that some doctors tell patients to keep their elbows at their sides “as if you had a broken arm” for a week after surgery.  In contrast, we encourage our patients to shampoo and blow dry their own hair the night of surgery.

The result is less pain, a shortened recovery, and a lower chance of hardening of your breasts.  
 

Beautiful Breasts

Patients come to Dr. Teitelbaum from around the world for breast augmentation. Some come because of a satisfied friend, a magazine article, his reputation, or perhaps interest in a pain-free recovery. 

But they all say the same thing: Dr. Teitelbaum’s photo book shows the best results they have seen anywhere.  When you come in for your personalized consultation, you will be able to peruse literally hundreds of photos of women at all different stages of their recovery, and with literally every possible body type and implant choice. You will be stunned by the diversity of beautiful results!

Why does Dr. Teitelbaum have this reputation?While all surgeons give lip-service to creating natural results, Dr. Teitelbaum really means it. Many factors contribute to creating the beautiful and natural result.

The single most important factor is the size and shape of the implant: too big looks bulgy and round and too small looks empty and bottom-heavy. Many surgeons determine implant size by having patients put rice or water in a bra.  But doing so totally ignores the shape of your breasts!  Dr. Teitelbaum takes multiple meticulous measurements that enable him to tell you the ideal size and shape for your breasts. 

In fact, he even is patenting a device to help other surgeons make the proper implant selection based upon each woman’s breast.

He then discusses with you whether the ideal implant for your breast creates a breast of the size that you want.  He has a beautiful aesthetic eye, and he will discuss with you how well the ideal implant for your breast will fit in proportion to your body.

For a result to be beautiful, the breast implant must not sit too high or too low, and both sides must be even. Symmetry is a very important property of beauty.  No matter what incision he uses, Dr. Teitelbaum always operates “under direct vision,” so that he is precise and accurate in the placement of breast implants.  Believe it or not, many surgeons still perform this operation “blindly,” slipping a finger or an instrument through an incision to blindly create the pocket for the implant. This method is inaccurate, painful, and results in a longer recovery and an imperfect result.

The appearance of a breast can be marred by a conspicuous scar. For that reason, Dr. Teitelbaum uses incisions that are well-hidden and inconspicuous, but that still allow for the creation of an accurate pocket and an easy recovery. 

Revision of Breast Implant Problems 

If you are considering breast augmentation for the first time, you want to be sure that you do it right. You obviously want to avoid the emotional distress, inconvenience, and expense of having to have an early revision.  And doing it right the first time is the best chance to set you up for having a result that will be as long lasting and beautiful as possible.  

There are many women with serious and even permanent problems because of errors made with their first breast augmentation.  Dr. Teitelbaum has learned from these women which choices in the first surgery can set a patient up for problems later.  Using these principles, he was asked by an implant manufacturer to create an educational curriculum to teach other surgeons how to reduce their revision rates. And he is coauthor on a landmark paper that sets guidelines for surgeons to reduce the number of operations a patient will have in her lifetime. 

Many surgeons approach this surgery with a very short-sighted view of their outcomes. Dr Teitelbaum recognizes the importance of achieving beautiful results not just for a year or two after the surgery, but for a patient’s entire life. While a surgeon that operates on a patient today is not technically responsible for a patient five years from now, Dr. Teitelbaum nonetheless recognizes that decisions made today will have effects years from now, and therefore counsels patients to make decisions that take this into account. He will always discuss with patients not just the short term effects of their choices, but what will happen to their breasts over time. 

Other plastic surgeons refer Dr. Teitelbaum the most challenging cases that need revision.  Having done so many of these revisions, Dr. Teitelbaum was asked to write a textbook chapter for an upcoming plastic surgery textbook entitled “Revision of Breast Augmentation.” 

As complex as first-time breast augmentation is, revision is substantially more difficult.  Patients’ anatomy may have been distorted with the past surgery, old records may have been lost, and tissues may have been thinned, stretched, or in other ways damaged.  Worst, patients are frustrated, angry, and fearful after having spent a large sum of money and undergone one or more operations for a result that is totally unacceptable. 

Dr. Teitelbaum understands these issues, and is aware of the spectrum of options to handle these problems, both “tried and true” and the new or experimental.  For instance, he has a large experience using the cohesive or gummy bear implants, which can be helpful in many types of revisions because of their low likelihood of developing any visible folds or ripples.  He is on the advisory board of a company named Lifecell which makes a special material derived from human or pig skin, working to find the optimal way to solve the most difficult augmentation problems.  He is one of the pioneers of a new technique called the “neo retropectoral pocket,” which is a powerful and very effective technique that can be frequently applied in breast augmentation revision.  He has coauthored a paper on using it to correct symmastia (the so-called “uni-boob,”) one of the most difficult problems to correct. 

Capsular Contracture

This remains the most frequent cause for secondary reoperation. The best way to treat it is to avoid it in the first place.  But if it occurs, it is important to take all the steps necessary to reduce its chance of recurrence. Complete removal of scar tissue, using a “low-bleed” implant, considering textured or cohesive implants, bloodless and gentle surgery, early post-op motion, and antibiotic irrigations are the cornerstones of treatment. Similarly, there are a few patients for whom recurrent contracture is unavoidable, and recognizing these situations and discussing whether or not to proceed is important as well. 

Implant Malposition

 The most beautiful women in the world all have asymmetry of their breasts. But sometimes an implant ends up so misplaced that it makes the asymmetry unacceptable and even causes deformities. The most common asymmetry is when one implant is too low. But they can be too close together, essentially joining in the center.  This is known as symmastia (aka the uniboob deformity.) Or the implants can lay to far to the sides, widening cleavage and distressing patients by how far they fall out when they lay down. Treatment for all of these problems can be done by creating a new pocket.  For instance, if an implant is in front of the muscle, a more even new pocket can be made behind the muscle, and vice versa.  But if the pocket is already behind the muscle and there is good reason to stay behind the muscle, for instance to maintain good coverage over the implant, then one either closes off the lowered pocket with a technique called capsulorraphy or with something called a capsular flap. The newest way to handle this is with a technique called the neosubpectoral pocket, which creates a new pocket between the scar tissue and the muscle, using the strength of the scar tissue to correct the pocket malposition.   

Droopiness

Sometimes an implant stays fixed in place and the breast can slide off it, drooping as a result of gravity. At other times, the implant itself falls down, stretching out the lower skin of the breast, which is known as “bottoming out.” These problems most frequently occur in women who had large implants and/or pre-existing stretched skin and perhaps droopy breasts before they even had their implants. That could have been the result of their own development, weight fluctuations, or pregnancies.  Very often, these patients will recall being told that they needed a lift when they first had their augmentation, but decided against it because they didn’t want the scar. Each of these cases is very different, and care needs to be individualized. 

Rippling/Visibility

Many patients complain that they can see or feel folds, ripples, or knuckles of implants. This happens mostly with saline, but it can even happen with silicone implants. If tissue is thin enough, this can even happen with the cohesive gel gummy bear implants, though that happens less frequently.  Since he is an expert with the cohesive implants, many patients with this problem seek out Dr. Teitelbaum.  While these implants do have an advantage over other implants for this situation, the underlying problem for most of these women is the thinness of their soft tissue over the implants. All of the patients with the worst rippling problems are extremely thin. The cornerstone of improving patients in this category is trying to get as much tissue coverage as possible, such as switching implants to behind the muscle if they are in front. Oftentimes, these patients have been behind the muscle, but they have stretched in the lower part of their breast, and by lifting the lower part of their breast, more of the implant can be kept under the muscle. Other techniques, such as using Strattice or Alloderm  tissue implants can be very helpful in these challenging cases. 

Size Change

This is an unfortunate reason for surgery. If there is adequate preoperative discussion and planning, this should be largely unavoidable, but it can still happen. Dr. Teitelbaum believes that implants should be sized at the first surgery according to what fits a patient’s particular breasts.  Too big will look unnatural and stretch the breast, and too small will leave the upper breast underfilled and the breast looking empty and disproportional. So, if the implant chosen for the first surgery is that which was suggested – on these objective terms – then to change the size later would be illogical.  That being said, sometimes patients go larger or smaller than was suggested to them initially, or other patients change their mind about what they want. This operation is not always as simple as just removing one and replacing with a bigger or smaller size. It can require some work to increase or decrease the size of the pocket, depending upon your tissues and the change in size. The most important thing to recognize is that if you are wanting bigger and bigger implants because your skin has a tendency to stretch, you need to stop and consider whether you should stop and have a lift, rather than progressively going larger, which inevitably will mean more stretch and emptiness later…one step forward and two steps back. 

Saline Problems

With the end of the 14 year moratorium on silicone in the United States ending in November of 2006, there are hundreds of thousands of saline patients in the United States who at one time or another will come in to have their implants replaced.  Despite evidence demonstrating that the fears that lead to the moratorium in 1992 were unfounded, some women nonetheless are suspicious of silicone. But most of the patients Dr. Teitelbaum sees want to have silicone.  Some saline patients are bothered by firmness and roundness if their saline implants were highly filled, while others are bothered by upper pole emptiness, sloshiness, and ripples if their implants were underfilled. With saline, there was no perfect fill, and switching to silicone frequently fixes these problems. Other women have a saline deflation, and come in after one breast “disappeared” over a few days, and have both implants switched, either to saline or to silicone. Many are coming in now years after their saline, asking now to either replace their saline implants or get silicone implants so that a deflation does not occur at a time that is inconvenient for them. Some women asking to switch to silicone have nothing really wrong, except perhaps wanting a little softer and more natural of a feel, and something that is less perceptible to their intimate partners.

Meet Santa Monica, California Plastic Surgeon, Dr. Teitelbaum

Dr. Teitelbaum's caring attitude and unparalleled academic training have prepared him to offer you the finest in aesthetic surgery.

After attending high school at the prestigious Harvard School, he studied anatomy and physiology at U. C. Berkeley, where he was valedictorian and graduated with high honors. He went to medical school at the UCLA School of Medicine, where he continued the basic science research projects that he had started while at Berkeley.

He then studied general surgery at Harvard Medical School's Beth Israel Hospital, where he served as Chief Resident. While credentialing in plastic surgery requires only a mere three prerequisite years of this training, Dr. Teitelbaum completed an entire training program in general surgery, and has been recognized for this by also being certified by the American Board of Surgery.

Training was completed with a plastic surgery residency at the University of Southern California.

My consultations are particularly lengthy, and that is why I charge for them. Many plastic surgeons that offer complimentary consultations actually have them done by a "cosmetic consultant" or "patient coordinator," or they may spend only a few moments with the patients. I schedule a large block of time for each patient, and take as much time as a patient needs to discuss their situation. Photos are taken and we discuss them. Many patients return to continue the consultation on a second or third visit, and I do not charge for those subsequent visits.

I take a thorough history and perform a detailed relevant physical examination. My consultations in particular have a reputation of their own; I have a unique ability to gain an understanding of what a patient wants, to assess their anatomy, to imagine what would look best for a patient given their goals, and finally to discuss this all with them in an understandable way.

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