“I like taking care of people,” said Dr. Jeff Popp.
He’s board certified in facial plastic surgery and general cosmetic surgery. His office includes a certified surgery center. Dr. Popp trained back in the late ’70s/early ’80s as an eye surgeon first. After he completed his training, he attended the University of Arizona in Tucson and did his training in oculo-facial plastic surgery.
Dr. Popp started practicing in 1983 in Omaha in a group with two other doctors. He left two years later and spent a year at another group practice in Atlanta. After this experience, he decided to move back to Omaha and open his own office. Dr. Popp explained he liked the idea of being the one in control of the decisions.
A nice balance
“My practice is a nice balance with about half of my patients coming in for cosmetic surgery and the other half for reconstructive surgery,” explained Dr. Popp.
Both types of surgeries have their positives. It’s rewarding to him to help patients with reconstruction. These are individuals who didn’t choose to have surgery but need reconstruction for a variety of reasons from cancer to car accidents. Dr. Popp enjoys working with cosmetic surgery patients because those procedures are between him and the patient. There is no third party, such as an insurance company, involved.
“One of the hardest things to do as a surgeon is to not be a surgeon. I mean, saying ‘We are not going to do this. I am not going to make you better because the amount of improvement you will get is miniscule compared to the potential risks and cost you will go through,’” said Dr. Popp.
Consultation
What can you expect when you schedule a consult with Dr. Popp? Well, if you walk in and ask him what he thinks you need to have done, he will say ‘absolutely nothing.’
For him, beauty is in the eye of the beholder and he said the only person that matters is you, the patient. Ask yourself what you want before you go.
But if you don’t, Dr. Popp will give you a mirror and tell you to pretend he’s your fairy godmother and will grant you one wish. He will then ask you what one thing you would fix on your face or body if you could.
He said this process helps patients refine a list of specific things that bother them.
“Once we have the list of one, two or five things, we go through each one and I tell them the options, the risks/complications, the cost and how much it will improve their appearance,” Dr. Popp explained.
Knowledge is key
He said the more people know about what they are about to do, the better the outcome will be for them. Dr. Popp thinks it’s important that patients know the good, the bad and the ugly. He is impressed when people bring a notebook to their consult because he said you cannot be overeducated about something like cosmetic surgery.
Dr. Popp prides himself on being able to take scientific medical terminology and explain it in lay person’s terms. He encourages his patients to ask questions and tells patients to call him directly if they have any concerns.
In fact, that’s one of the primary reasons Dr. Popp wanted to start a blog in the first place, to explain procedures and products in a simpler way and to dispel myths and misconceptions.
He encourages people to ask questions via the comment section below the blog. Ask the Doctor will be a regular feature where Dr. Popp will answer questions received through this blog. If there’s something you’ve been dying to ask, now is the time.
