Q: What originally made you interested in surgery?
A: Dr. Marcus is a Southern California native who grew up in Palos Verdes, a small suburb of Los Angeles. He embarked upon his undergraduate career at U.C. Berkeley and graduated with Honors. He furthered his medical interests by spending time in Division of Cardiothoracic Surgery at the USC School of Medicine and conducted clinical research at USC Children’s Hospital in Los Angeles. After publishing clinical papers on his research, he pursued another academic degree at Georgetown University. He received a Master of Science in Physiology after intensive studies on the human body and its physiologic function.
Dr. Marcus subsequently attended medical school at the USC Keck School of Medicine and upon receiving his MD, was accepted into a highly competitive five year residency in Otolaryngology – Head and Neck Surgery. He completed his residency at the University of Michigan, a head and neck surgery program consistently regarded as one of the top few in the nation. Subsequently, Dr. Marcus was accepted into one of the most coveted facial plastic surgery fellowships in the world.
Q: What were your concerns prior to surgery?
A: Oh gosh, probably all the usual because I didn’t really meet a surgeon that instilled incredible confidence so all those concerns just kept going…until I met Dr. Marcus. I know some people who have got things that were just too tight and that it’s kind of obvious and I didn’t want that. I just wanted things looking really natural and you know, of course you hear horror stories on the internet about nerve damage and that kind of thing and you can’t help but worry about those kinds of things. But again…I just felt so confident with Dr. Marcus that I was like, “okay”. I know how meticulous he is and how much of a perfectionist he is by the way he spoke about the whole procedure and outlined everything that was going to happen. So all my fears were gone after I met him.
Q: What advice do you have for others interested in this surgery?
A: 1) Give yourself time. Dr. Marcus even told me that. He said, “Don’t make an instant decision. Go home and think about this and make sure you’re really comfortable having this done.” Even though I was totally comfortable with him, I really appreciated that.
2) When you think about it, is it something that is really important to you and if it is, then find a surgeon like Dr. Marcus…or better yet, go to Dr. Marcus. Find somebody that you’re totally comfortable with and you have total confidence in.
3) It’s really important for them [your surgeon] to be Board Certified because there are probably many people who practice plastic surgery and maybe shouldn’t be practicing plastic surgery.
4) The staff also makes a huge difference. The minute I walked into Dr. Marcus’ office, my gosh, they just make you feel so welcome…it’s almost like family. And then when you walk back in and they greet you, it’s like “Oh my god you look fantastic” and you’re already feeling fantastic. I couldn’t stop touching my neck because everything I wanted gone was all gone so I couldn’t stop touching it…but they reinforce all that every time you come in and they’re just absolutely wonderful. So find a great doctor you love, like Dr. Marcus.
Q: Are you pleased with your results?
A: I am so pleased with the results of the surgery. I was pleased with the results even a few days after the surgery. I couldn’t stop looking in the mirror and realize, “oh my gosh, it’s gone even though I had some bandages.” I’m a teacher so I had my surgery over Thanksgiving break and I took one more week off and then I was back to teaching. I actually thought that everybody was going to notice some dramatic change, but it’s kind of funny how people are not as observant as you think they are going to be. Everybody commented, “Oh my gosh, you look fantastic, did you lose some weight or oh my gosh, I like your hair. Everybody commented that they liked my hair when really I didn’t even change my hairdo. So I kind of get comments like that all the time and I usually just say, “Yeah, thank you very much but actually what I’m really saying is “Thank you Dr. Marcus, thank you”” |
