Dr. Scott Mosser

Each month, LuxeSF profiles a member of The Luxury Marketing Council. This month we talked with prominent Bay Area cosmetic surgeon Dr. Scott Mosser. With cosmetic surgery now accepted and common practice with the mainstream community, Dr. Mosser takes us inside the OR to explain what’s being done, to whom, and why.

LUXESF: Let’s start with training and certification. How did you acquire your credentials?

MOSSER: A lot of people don’t know what Board Certification is, or that there really is only one true board of plastic surgery. I’m a Board-certified plastic surgeon from the American Board of Plastic Surgery, the only board within cosmetic surgery that is recognized by the ACGME, the governing body for medical education in the United States . The training necessary to gain the credential is extensive. Not counting the four years of science work that I did in college, the amount of time that I’ve spent in training is approximately 11 years. After medical school one does a residency in plastic surgery, which involves six years of intense reconstructive and cosmetic rotations. In addition to that basic training, I decided to do a single year of dedicated cosmetic surgery in a fellowship, which is above and beyond what is required for Board certification.

LUXESF: The scope of your services, where does it start, where does it end?

MOSSER: These days I’m actually doing cosmetic surgery procedures exclusively.

LUXESF: And those include?

MOSSER: That’s head to toe. Face rejuvenation procedures like eyelid surgery, forehead lift, brow lift, face and neck rejuvenation surgeries. Then breast and body, with breast augmentation, breast lift and breast reduction. In body surgery, body contouring with liposuction and tummy tucks. I actually happen to be world famous for a procedure which is commonly called the “Brazilian Butt Lift” which is a procedure in which we perform fairly aggressive liposuction of the trunk to get the waistline as thin as possible and then in that same surgery, on that same day, we use that fat as a graft in order to provide more volume, roundness and projection of the buttocks and give the backside an aesthetic curvature.

LUXESF: Do you have a primary specialty?

MOSSER: That’s tough for me to answer because I really love all kinds of cosmetic surgery and because I am heavily trained in rejuvenation of the face but also have a very busy practice in all areas, face, breast and body. I would say that in the San Francisco Bay Area our numbers basically replicate the rest of the country with breast augmentations being the most common, followed closely by liposuction, and then after that by facial aesthetic procedures. And my practice iterates that as well.

LUXESF: Breast augmentation is normally enhancement rather than reduction?

MOSSER: One could say that enhancement means anything you can do to the breast to make it look better, whether it’s a lift, augmentation or reduction. Within the realm of enhancement, i.e. improvement, augmentation is one thing, lifting is another, and reduction is a third.

LUXESF: The Doc Hollywood celebrity image. To what extent does that image exist in the Bay Area, and if it does exist, do you like it?

MOSSER: In a way I guess I like it because I wanted to become one of the top plastic surgeons in one of the most difficult cities in the entire country. And believe it or not San Francisco is the most competitive area for plastic surgery in the country based on numbers.

LUXESF: Why?

MOSSER: Because the ratio of plastic surgeons to the general population of San Francisco is higher than anywhere in the entire United States. New York, Miami Beach, and Beverly Hills included. If you can be one of the top players and one of the most respected plastic surgeons in this town, then you are absolutely practicing on a world-class level. That was what I set out to accomplish when I entered practice.

LUXESF: In cosmetic surgery, what separates the artist from the technician?

MOSSER: I think a lot of it ends up being common sense. Having seen hundreds of plastic surgeons and known their techniques and their approaches, by and large the plastic surgeon who comes off as very honest, very down-to-earth, and very conscientious and detail-oriented as a person, and is a good communicator and a good listener as well, is going to exhibit those same sorts of intelligent and conscientious qualities when they’re in the operating room making decisions.

LUXESF: Scott, let me give you the end result. _____, the prominent TV broadcaster, his eyes are wrong for his body. He probably went to somebody very expensive, but they didn’t get it right. They were off a notch. How do you prevent that from happening?

MOSSER: I’m with you, and it breaks my heart to see poorly performed plastic surgery because I know it’s preventable …

LUXESF: Is it preventable?

MOSSER: It is, absolutely. Going to a plastic surgeon who is conservative and down-to-earth, who is not a cowboy and who listens to the patient and understands their priorities, is of extreme importance. I think that a lot of people don’t do the proper homework and don’t find the right doctor.

LUXESF: But when you’re in there and you’ve got the patient on the operating table, in a sense it’s like being Michelangelo in there, is it not?

MOSSER: It absolutely is … being incredibly conscientious and down-to-earth and listening to the patient … like Michelangelo having an appreciation for reality and for life and for the aesthetics of the true human body in order to produce something which is natural and normal. Yes, you have to have an appreciation for technique, but at the end of the day there is absolutely an artistic element which cannot be put into words or on paper which has to come from the gut of the surgeon and is nothing more than pure creative artistry or meticulous attention to artistic detail. The only advice I can give to a patient is, “Many of those traits will manifest themselves in the personality of the doctor, and if you feel uncomfortable with him/her in the office don’t automatically assume that they will get it right in the operating room.” Remember, there is a lot of information out there regarding individual plastic surgeons, so be willing to trust the opinions of others. Do a lot of investigation about a surgeon’s level of board-certification and perhaps try to find out online what other patients have said about their experiences with the surgeon.

LUXESF: Is there a profile of the prototypical patient?

MOSSER: Yes. Young levelheaded professionals who have thought about the procedure for awhile, and have a specific area of concern. They’re not just making a decision on a whim. These are successful, career people who have thought about these changes sometimes for a long time. They’re responsible and they’re wanting to make a specific change to their face or body …

LUXESF: Because …?

MOSSER: Mainly because of a minor distraction, for example the eyelids. Others may frequently tell them that they look tired, but they’re feeling vibrant and energetic. Or in the case of breast augmentation they realize that American fashion is really built for a different body shape and they would love to look great in the current fashions that just don’t work for them. If these little annoying reminders continue to interfere with the human experience, eventually someone may say to themselves, “You know what? There’s a way to take care of this. It’s effective and reliable, and I’m going to go for it and make that change.” And those are the very satisfied patients, the ones that have been responsible about it, have thought about it, and know specifically what they want to do. We help them through the process, and at the other end they’re thrilled that they have undergone that journey.

LUXESF: Primarily male or female?

MOSSER: More female than male, probably 85% to 15%.

LUXESF: What are men seeking?

MOSSER: Men are going for body contouring most frequently. Usually it’s for the center of the abdomen and the love handles because, though they may be fit and work out all the time, the maturing body seems to favor storing fat in those troublesome spots.

LUXESF: In terms of procedures, what do you see as the next major trend?

MOSSER: There are two ways to respond. One is, “What’s hot non-surgically?” because a lot of patients are trying to get away with as much as they possibly can without surgery, and I wholeheartedly support that decision if it’s right for the patient. There are miracles being performed now with injectable fillers to restore facial volume and roll back the years without picking up a scalpel. The other hot issue is more of a change in attitude regarding plastic surgery, considering it to be a rational choice, not driven by vanity and not an indication of character weakness. Instead, it’s viewed as yet another tool that we have available to us to live our lives as fully as possible. There is a common misconception that many patients who go through plastic surgery are simply unhappy, and that they’re sublimating discontent in their life through plastic surgery. Those patients are certainly out there, but they’re probably only about two percent of the people who walk in the door, and they can be spotted very quickly.

LUXESF: Benefits versus risks of plastic surgery?

MOSSER: It’s a competitive work environment out there, and first impressions do count. People had not in the past seen plastic surgery as an investment, as something that actually delivers a tangible reward in terms of personal or professional lifestyle. But repeatedly I have seen patients, either directly because they look less tired and more refreshed (and in sales position that is worth a great deal), or indirectly because they just feel so much better about themselves, who are more confident and comfortable. They carry themselves better, and in many professional environments that’s all that it takes to get ahead.

LUXESF: And the risks?

MOSSER: Part of it is the surgical risk that goes along with any procedure that every doctor will discuss with the patients, things like scarring, bleeding and infection. A responsible physician will do everything possible to reduce those risks. There are other risks, such as a patient going into surgery without doing their homework, not making sure that the surgeon is board-certified, or that surgeon works in a certified surgery center with a board-certified anesthesiologist. However, if you do everything that you can to ask the right questions, take the right precautions and make sensible decisions, the risk is very limited.

LUXESF: What about psychological risk?

MOSSER: In my world, there is fortunately very little psychological risk. I am experienced at identifying if someone is not a good psychological candidate for plastic surgery. I am very thankful to have an overwhelming majority of patients whose expectations are well-matched to what we can do with their faces and bodies.

LUXESF: How about the cost of procedures?

MOSSER: Costs are very broad because of specific patient needs and the amount of work that needs to be done is very personalized. But if somebody wants broad price range, that data is listed on my website at www.drmosser.com/financing.

LUXESF: A lot of people talk about going offshore to get work done less expensively. Any thoughts?

MOSSER: Two things to think about that. At the end of the day, it probably isn’t that much less expensive. Airfare is considerable. The actual cost of hotel and other travel-related expenses can be very high. But more importantly, it’s probable that you’re dealing with somebody who is not a fully-credentialed physician in anything close to American standards. Foreign practitioners don’t have anywhere near the standards for certification that we have in the U.S. In many other countries there is no way to know how those standards compare to ours. And, if you have a complication, even if the surgeon is perfectly qualified and you just are one of the unlucky few who get a complication, one of two things is going to happen. Either you’re going to be in another country and you’ll be terribly distressed to be far away from home and from the American healthcare system, or you’ll have the problem when you get back home and you’ll be alone and worried because you’re far away from your surgeon, and no one in America knows you or your medical history as it relates to that specific surgery. I’ve dealt with a lot of clean-up situations where a patient went abroad and then came home and I had to manage a complication. It’s very hard for those patients to deal with that psychologically.

LUXESF: Interestingly, the one area where it is OK for medical practitioners to promote themselves is in cosmetic surgery. The bulk of your patients, where do they come from?

MOSSER: The bulk comes from word-of-mouth. Other sources include the internet and news articles or press releases about my practice. Generally patients will look at you through multiple lenses in order to get as comfortable as possible with their choice in a plastic surgeon. So even if they hear about you from word-of-mouth, they will go to the internet to check up on you, which is wise thing to do.

LUXESF: In terms of your overall marketing effort, it’s all about the reputation. What is the reputation that you seek?

MOSSER: I want the world to know me as a gifted world-class surgeon who is honest and down-to-earth, and at the end of the day the exact sort of compassionate person that you would want holding your hand through an experience of this sort.

LUXESF: The perfect patient walks in tomorrow. Describe that patient for me.

MOSSER: That patient knows a bit about the procedure that they’re interested in. They’re down-to-earth and can clearly describe why they want from this surgery and the result that they are hoping to achieve. And then when I perform a physical exam, I look at their body and I say, “This is a great candidate for an excellent result.” I have something great to work with. We’re really talking about hitting a home run, and this person has very realistic expectations. That’s somebody who I can always, always make happy.