J. Timothy Katzen Plastic Surgeon MD, FACS

What a Godsend!!!!

After having LapBand surgery and losing over a hundred pounds I had a lot of excess skin and fat that no amount of exercise was going to get rid of. The doctor who performed my LapBand recommended that I consult Dr. Timothy Katzen about dealing with the excess. That recommendation turned out to be the best recommendation I’ve ever received. Prior to my consultation with Dr. Katzen I had already done some research on the procedures I was interested in, a Tummy Tuck, Cheek and Neck Lift. At that first appointment, Dr. Katzen spent all the time I needed going over the details, explaining exactly how the procedures would be done and what the recovery would entail. His answers to my questions were very straight-forward and easy to understand. My wife wasn’t able to attend the consultation with me so at the pre-op appointment Dr. Katzen took the time to go over the procedures again and answer all of her questions in addition to explaining what she could do to help me through the recovery process. She immediately felt at ease and confident that I’d found a great Doctor.
Although my surgery took a couple of hours longer than anticipated everything went very well. I spent two nights at the Healing Center and to my surprise before I left on Saturday morning Dr. Katzen was there to ensure everything was as it should be before I was released.
Prior to my surgery, I’d scheduled vacation to begin the day after Labor Day. Since I’d had the tummy tuck, I left the Healing Center with two drains to handle any excess fluid. I thought they would be ready to remove before my vacation. Unfortunately the drains weren’t ready to be removed before Labor Day and I was faced with having to travel with them in, although inconvenient, wouldn’t prevent me from traveling. However, Martha, Dr. Kazten’s PA volunteered to come to my home on Labor Day to remove the drains, which she did. What amazing patient care - I don’t know of many Dr.’s PA’s that would do that! To me, it is just typical of the way Dr. Kazten and his entire staff treat his patients.
The whole process, however, was about improving my appearance and my feelings about how I look. The results are just amazing! As I told Dr. Katzen I no longer have to use two hands to shave – one to hold the razor while the other stretches the skin.
Although I’d lost the weight I didn’t feel “skinny” until after my surgery. For the first time in my adult life I truly feel great about the way I look. Dr. Katzen made that happen for me.

I had bilateral ear reduction surgery on September 29, 2009 performed by Dr. Timothy Katzen. It was one of the best choices in my life knowing I am in good hands with Dr. Katzen. During and after surgery he calms me and felt more relaxed. I went home that day without any pain as well as the week ahead. Within three days the bandage came off and so happy with the result. I now could tie my hair back and not have to worry about my ears sticking out. Dr. Katzen and his staff are just wonderful to work with I highly recommend them.

Dr. Katzen is an amazing, talented, experienced and compassionate surgeon; I trust him implicitly and would highly recommend him to friends and/or family. :-)

In my early 20s I weighed nearly 100 pounds more than I do now.

Though I work out at the gym an average of four times a week (an hour and a half of weight training; an hour of cardio), mountain bike regularly and dance regularly (salsa, swing, etc...), it (finally!) dawned on me that no matter how much I work out I would always have extra skin on my stomach, flanks and thighs; it would never go away no matter what I did. I found this to be incredibly discouraging.

Thus my research began....

....I spent a lot of time educating myself with regards to Circumferential Lower Body Lifts (I began researching several years ago, though it wasn't until almost a year ago that I was ready to do it emotionally, physically and financially). I interviewed with several surgeons both in and out of the area, and when I met Dr. Katzen I knew he was the man for me. :-)

He truly has it all: He's incredibly kind, patient and compassionate, and he has a LOT of experience in this specific field; he's an expert at what he does. He's meticulous about his surgeries; he pays attention to detail and it makes all the difference in the world.

It's a major surgery -- I knew this going into it -- and I encourage anyone who chooses to do this to give themselves plenty of time to recover. I also strongly encourage anyone who chooses to do this to follow Dr. Katzen's instructions and directions explicitly. It's not an inexpensive surgery, and to get this far with it and then not follow the path he knows so well would only serve to potentially jeopardize and minimize the results you so dearly desire.

A LBL is a big decision to make, but if you're seriously considering it I highly recommend Dr. Katzen. From the very beginning he will answer any and all of your questions (I still have a lot of questions each time I see him!), and take his time in doing so. Additionally you'll find that the time and patience he has with you before the surgery does not lesson once the surgery is done; he's just as kind and attentive afterwards with each follow-up visit. When you combine this with his vast knowledge, experience and surgical expertise you have a rare and winning combination.

I'm now about four months post-op (my surgery was 09/22/09) and I couldn't be happier. Though the final results aren't even in yet, I feel transformed. I have a flat tummy -- I can now bend over and not have handfuls of skin dangling -- and a beautiful firm behind. All the work I've done and do at the gym can now be seen; all of that camouflage flesh is gone!

The truth is, it still seems surreal to me; the reality of it all hasn't quite sunk in yet. But what is real to me is that I'm extremely pleased with my decision to have the surgery, and to have chosen Dr. Katzen as the surgeon to perform it.

I wish you, the reader of this review, all the best with whatever decision you make. And if reading this helps at all, I will consider my mission to have been accomplished. :-)

I met with a dear friend the other day. He had gone through the bypass surgery and has lost a lot of weight. He is ready to have the extra skin removed but is scared about the surgery. Two years after my bypass surgery I wanted to get rid of the extra skin left hanging all over my body. I was ashamed and embarrassed with my body.

I had reached my goal weight and I interviewed several plastic surgeons. Bariatric patients are a special branch of plastic surgery and not all plastic surgeons have dealt with our special needs. My husband and I came to the same conclusion. Dr. Katzen impressed us both with his quite professional voice and manner.

Doctor talked with me, not “down” to me. He treated my husband and I like “family” and truly listened to all my questions. We never felt rushed. He explained the whole process. He was honest and made me feel safe.

I told my friend Dr. Katzen would be his best surgical choice. This is a big decision. I had gone to the internet, talked to people who already had plastic surgery. I wrote down some questions and concerns I wanted answered. Dr. Katzen took the time to answer all my questions.

Dr. Katzen is dedicated to people who have had bypass surgery. Even though he has dealt with thousands of bypass patients he is caring, patient, intelligent and professional with each and every one of us. He was available when I called him with post op questions. I can’t say enough about him. He is kind, sensitive, good, genuine and has a beautiful bedside manner. He cares beyond any normal doctor. His integrity rates the highest on any scale. He is one of the most ethical people I have ever met. He made me feel as if I was his only priority.

I had a lower body lift that took off 14 pounds of excess skin. I never thought I would have a flat tummy again. I love it. I also had my upper arms done. I can now wear tank tops and feel normal. When we went to Hawaii I did not need to ask the steward for a seat belt extension. I wore a bathing suit for the first time in thirty years. To say Dr. Katzen is an excellent surgeon is not strong enough of a statement.

Plastic surgery has changed my life. I highly recommend that you call him and you too will pick the right surgeon. I could not be more pleased with my results and the way I was treated by Dr. Katzen and his staff.

My name is Mike. A couple of years ago I weighed 430 lbs. I was wearing size 6XL. My life was a mess. I had diabetes, depression, sleep apnea and no social life among things, because of my weight I was treated different than people of normal size. It was not pleasant. I tried to not let it get to me but it did. I decided to lose the weight (again). I ate salads, chicken and fish. No fast foods. In little over a year I lost 180 lbs. Now I was faced with a different problem, one that was just as bad or worse than being heavy. I had skin hanging all over me. It hung below my shirt and people again were making remarks about me. I had to do something. A friend of my parents said he knew a doctor I could call to do surgery to remove the skin. I called but could not reach that doctor but someone there gave me the name of Dr. Katzen. I gave his office a call, made an appointment to see him. This appointment was the BEST THING that ever happened to me. Dr. Katzen was so understanding. He knew exactly what I had been going through and told me how he would help me become the person I have always wanted to be. He covered everything I could possibly want to know. He would listen to what I had to say even if I asked him ten times over. He never rushed me or failed to answer any of my questions. I have never met a doctor as gentle, understanding and caring as Dr. Katzen. I did not research the internet or see other doctors. You just know when you have the BEST and I did. Dr. Katzen’s experience and knowledge is second to none. I am so grateful to him and his staff especially Jane who was always there for me.

Dr. Katzen performed a circumferential body lift on me this past July I am now wearing size L shirts and my pants size dropped from size 52 to 40. I cannot tell you how happy I am with my life now. I no longer have diabetes and people treat me so much better. I do not get smug looks and smirks any longer. I am so glad that I found Dr. Katzen. He has been a life saver.

Preparing for my first major surgery, I was a little nervous about getting a tummy tuck, to say the least. It always bothered me that, after giving birth 4 times to my terrific sons, I had excess loose flesh left over in my abdominal area. I have always been an exercise fiend and yet 200 daily crunches and frequent Boot Camp sessions could not rid me of that extra skin. I decided to take care of it in the only way my ob-gyn told me would work. A tummy tuck! A dear friend of mine had told me that she had had a tummy tuck done by an incredible doctor named Dr. Katzen. I made a decision to meet with him for a consultation, though I was not completely convinced about having a tummy tuck. I also had a hernia that needed repairing so I met with him to discuss that first and foremost.

I am not the kind of person to ‘beat around the bush’ about any issue and I sincerely appreciated Dr. Katzen’s honesty and details. He was very straight-forward about what was involved in having a hernia repair. I asked about the tummy tuck and he was very open about what will happen on the morning of the surgery, what I can expect to experience immediately after as well as a few days after. I agreed to having both procedures done simultaneously.

On the morning of the surgery, he greeted me in the hospital and immediately asked how I was doing and if I had any questions. I recall that I was nervous and asked for a delicate butterfly needle for the anesthetic. He and the anesthesiologist, Dr. Robert Marshall, both put me at ease as to what pain I might experience. At every step of the process, Dr. Katzen was considerate of my fears and even got me laughing. His bedside manner is just one of his special qualities. After the surgery, he told me, again, what to expect since he knew I expected myself to be up and exercising in no time. He said I would feel uncomfortable walking as I did before just initially since I probably would not be standing upright for a few days. He was right. I was afraid that I would never stand up straight again. He smiled and said that I had nothing to worry about. He said it would be uncomfortable for a while as my body adjusts and heals itself, but that I will be standing upright, going to work and back in the gym as usual. Again, he was right. I put all my trust in him.

I must have called his office and spoke to him 5 or 6 times during that first week and a half just to hear his reassuring words that what I was feeling was normal. He recommended a special diet high in protein which I adhered to and found that it really maximized the results. At the 3-week post-surgery check-up I discovered that I was allowed to go back to the gym! I have since been to see him twice for follow-up check-ups and he is deeply pleased with how I am healing. I know what he sees is truly good work since all of my family and friends have commented on my ‘rock-hard abs’. I am so pleased with the results and equally delighted that I chose Dr. Katzen to handle this surgery. I cannot imagine having any other professional do it. Thank you, Dr. Katzen!

Many of us have been fighting our weight for most of our lives. If we were extremely obese (as I was at 397 pounds) we knew all too well what it was like to, everyday, experience life as an unwelcome member of society. At best, we saw the smirks on people’s faces; at worst, teenagers yelling out jeers across a public parking lot. And those were only the obvious signs of our ill-favored status. Did our coworkers listen to our opinions? Did they consider us when they spontaneously arranged a quick lunch outing? Did store employees offer additional information or possible alternatives to help us find what we were looking for? Only after we emerged from our dark cocoons did we become aware of so many things we had been missing.

I was responsible for spinning the cocoon with my weight loss, after which, Dr. Katzen skillfully, meticulously, and devotedly extricated me from that cocoon, completing for me an unimaginable metamorphosis.

Working in the medical field myself (I am not an M.D.) I had consulted with several plastic surgeons as my 210 pound weight loss was nearing its completion. The price was so high! The opinions about what could be accomplished were somewhat varied. The examination and manipulation of my “folds” during the consults felt varying degrees of “awkward.”

I was attending an OH (Obesity Help) conference when I heard Dr. Katzen speak during one of the sessions. This young-looking guy in front of us was so friendly, so knowledgeable, as he showed amazing “before-and-after” photos of his work, and he clearly enjoyed what he does for a living…. what he could do for us. I signed up for a private consultation later in the day.

Unlike what is usually seen in his regular office waiting room, the hallway outside of the convention center hotel room where Dr. Katzen was performing his individual consultations was full of scores of people waiting their turn to be seen by him. “Oh, no!” I thought. “This is going to be a cattle call!” Was I ever wrong! When it came my turn, his assistant politely asked me if I wanted to show the doctor just certain areas, and wish to remain fully clothed, or did I “feel comfortable” changing into the terry robe she offered? I was shown to a private area to change, and came into the larger private area where the doctor and his assistant were patiently waiting for me. Dr. Katzen greeted me with a friendly smile and warm handshake, asked me how I was enjoying the convention, and easily engaged me in natural conversation. The fact that almost a hundred people were waiting in the hallway to see him was never a thought, as he asked me what kinds of improvements I was thinking of. We discussed the pros and cons of different types of procedures and methods. He was as interested as I was in the outcome which would most please me. I had finally found the architect of my final transformation.

My insurance company is a self-contained HMO, so anything that they approved (and they only approved one thing) had to be done by their own doctors. There was NO chance of any insurance payment for anything an outside doctor would do. They had already done a “tummy tuck” on me at their own facility, and the outcome was, in a word, “ugly.” My belly button looked like a drain hole at the bottom of a vortex which dented in the main part of my abdomen. Dr. Katzen discussed what could be done about that.

Some months later, I scheduled with Dr. Katzen to perform a revision of that poorly done “tummy tuck,” a lower body lift, and a crescent thigh lift. I truly was not at all scared the day of surgery. Everyone at the surgical center, and especially Dr. Katzen was calm, friendly and warmly professional. What seemed like five minutes later (I think it was actually 5 hours) I was in the recovery room with Dr. Katzen smiling down at me, telling me that everything had gone well, that I was doing great and that he had removed seventeen pounds of skin from me! Wow! Although I could not immediately know the final result, I could physically feel that I was lighter.

It had been quite an involved all-at-one-time procedure so, as Dr. Katzen suggested, I stayed one night in a “recovery facility” nearby. He came to visit me that evening, and again the next morning. My entire recovery was carefully orchestrated under the watchful eyes of Dr. Katzen.

The swelling subsided, and the results were dramatic! My bulbous hips were gone! My misshapen butt was smaller and contoured! My stomach looked like one belonging to a twenty-year-old! My belly button had never looked so cute! Jennifer Anniston had nothin’ on me! The miraculous metamorphosis was complete! Clothes fit me. Cute styles look great on me. I am excited to go out and dress up, or to be seen in summery outfits. I look into every mirror I pass.

The mental transformation took somewhat longer. For some time, whenever I caught my reflection in a mirror, I was shocked by how good I looked. I even had a nightmare once, that the police were about to come to take away my transformed, beautiful body! Dr. Katzen humbly smiles when I tell him about the wonders his skills have done for me, and the life changes his expertise has helped me to achieve.

In most brochures, we are cautioned to not choose our plastic surgeon based on cost, but to discern carefully, based on education, expertise, results and credentials. And that is extremely sound advice. But what I’ve not seen mentioned in testimonials on Dr. Katzen’s literature is this: I live in a distant suburb of Los Angeles—a good 70 miles away from his Beverly Hills office. Two of the plastic surgeons with whom I consulted who live in my city were going to charge me a much higher fee than Dr. Katzen. Dr. Katzen’s medical education is from institutions rated nationally as being far superior than those of my local doctors. His experience with patients after extreme weight loss is in a completely different league than any other plastic surgeon I know of. So, how could it be that this superior skill and artistry could be had for less? I venture to say that Dr. Katzen’s motivation to help improve our lives goes far beyond making a living for himself. Dr. Katzen has a heart for those of us who have traveled this particular journey. I am just one of many beneficiaries of his skill, his expertise, and that heart.

I started out my journey over 3 years ago with weight loss surgery. I was happy losing 165 pounds, but was left with so much excess skin! I was uncomfortable weighing 365+ pounds and I figured that with weight loss surgery I would finally be able to feel good and just be comfortable with my body.

After the weight loss, the excess skin caused infections and also issues with hygiene. The area under the folds of skin needed extra care because of the problems they caused. During the summer it was a nightmare, as you can imagine! Even after my big accomplishment of weight loss, I was still uncomfortable and now I had a new problem that I didn’t even have when I was obese, all that extra skin. I then decided to look into getting the skin removed.

I went to a couple of consultations with different plastic surgeons, but I felt like I was just another number. The surgeons were usually in a hurry and just wanted to get the consultation over with. It was so different when I went in for a consultation with Dr. Katzen. He is so understanding, and also listens and responds to everything you have to say or ask, regardless if he's heard it a gazillion times. He's just an overall nice guy! His office staff, Jane and Diane, have been AWESOME! They do everything they can to help you out with any question or concerns you have, even if they are busy! You guys are great, thank you!

As for my surgery, I'm just ecstatic with my results! I had brachioplasty and abdominoplasty and I never knew I could look this good. Thank you Dr. Katzen! I feel and look great because of you! You are a wonderful surgeon with great hands!! Again, thank you, thank you, thank you!

Dr. Katzen is an amazing doctor. He is very caring and compassionate. He makes you feel like you are his only patient even though his lobby is always full of people. I would highly recommend him to anyone.