About Us Chicago

Name: D. Katsaros M.D.

Title: Director, ShapeMed4u.com

Address: 7863 Broadway, Suite 135, Merrillville, IN

Biography: Dr. Katsaros went to medical school at the Chicago Medical School and completed his general surgery training at the world famous Cleveland Clinic Foundation and its affiliated hospitals. He also received cardiovascular training at the Baylor College of Medicine and MD Anderson Cancer Center, were he performed complex reconstructive surgery. Dr. Katsaros is also a member of the De Bakey International Vascular Society and various medical societies in Illinois and Indiana.

Dr. Katsaros has published original research in Peer Reviewed medical journals including the Annals of Thoracic Surgery and won the prestigeous Cleveland Clinic Research Recognition Award. Dr. Katsaros is also widely published in popular magazines. His most recent publications were featured in Bride, Wedding Essentials, Shore, Children’s Essentials and others.

Cosmetic surgery is not the same as plastic /reconstructive surgery. Cosmetic surgery procedures are designed for the enhancement of appearance-not to repair pathology or perform reconstruction after cancer or trauma. Purely cosmetic surgery procedures are not usually covered by insurance. Examples of cosmetic surgery procedures developed by cosmetic surgeons for purely cosmetic surgical purposes include: Liposuction, chemical peels, laser resurfacing, laser hair removal, microdermabrasion, hair transplantation and laser tightening.

On the other hand there are many cosmetic procedures that MAY be covered by insurance –IF they are used to repair pathology and IF certain diagnostic and procedure guidelines are met. Examples of potentially insured cosmetic surgeries include abdominoplasties, breast lifts ,and blepharoplasties-however insured procedures have strict limitations. For example if a breast reduction procedure is going to be covered by insurance, there needs to be a documented history of upper back pain and a large volume of breast tissue (typically 900 cc or more) needs to be removed to qualify-regardless of final breast size. For insured breast reduction cases the outcome is not appearance but volume of tissue removed-this is not a cosmetic procedure. On the other hand, if a breast reduction procedure is performed for cosmetic surgery purposes, there is no minimal requirement for breast excision. In a cosmetic breast reduction case the goal is achieving a certain final appearance (C- cup, D-cup, etc.) –NOT the removal of whatever amount of breast tissue is mandated by insurance coverage.

Plastic/reconstructive procedures are designed to repair pathology . Cosmetic procedures are designed to optimize appearance. However optimizing appearance also optimizes his wellness. Consequently our philosophy is that “beauty is the ultimate manifestation of fitness”. This means that in its purest form, cosmetic surgery improves appearance by improving fitness and welness. In other words, a body looks aesthetically more pleasing because it is healthier.

Examples of how improved aesthetic appearance improves fitness include:

Removing unwanted fat from the abdomen and extremities has profound positive physiologic benefits, such as improving survival, reversing hypertension and diabetes, reducing back strain and improving survival.

Some fat storage is essential for optimal survival. The best place to store fat is in the buttock-not the abdomen or extremities. A Brazilian buttock transfer removes toxic fat from the abdomen and back, and places it in the buttock. Fat in the buttock does not cause back strain and does not increase the risk of hypertension or diabetes.

Laser resurfacing of the skin not only improves its appearance, but is the treatment of choice for premalignant skin conditions. In this case, the skin is being resurfaced by healthier basal stem cells.