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Focused on providing information to patients and highlighting their natural beauty, John Q. Cook, M.D. is
a different kind of plastic surgeon.
WORDS BY REBECCA HOLLAND
PHOTOGRAPHY BY ROBIN SUBAR
CREATING NATURAL BEAUTY
In his more than 20 years of practice in plastic surgery, with a significant focus on breast surgery, Dr. John Q. Cook noticed something missing. “It was really difficult for patients to get comprehensive information,” he says. This lack of information inspired him to create a new, comprehensive website, www.johnqcookmd.com, providing a wealth of information for those interested in breast surgery, whether in Chicago or elsewhere. “Whether they choose to eventually come to me or go somewhere else, the website gives them the information they need to be able to ask intelligent questions,” Dr. Cook says. If there’s anyone in the Chicago area fit to answer these questions, it’s Dr. Cook. From the start of his career, a major focus of his work has been breast surgery, he has performed a large number of breast reconstructions at the Rush University Medical Center where he is a member of the Plastic Surgery Department. “Reconstruction has challenged me technically and forced me to refine my techniques,” he says. “In that way, all patients who come to me for breast surgery have an advantage because I’ve had to solve some very complex issues.”
At his own practice, the Whole Beauty Institute, Dr. Cook uses this experience to make structural breast surgeries like lift and reductions look natural. Through using the breast structure and existing tissue, he is able to augment the breast and create a more natural looking result. “I don’t have to use implants, and there’s nothing hollow,” Dr. Cook says.
“Breast Implant Volume Is Not the Key to a Beautiful Breast,” reads a heading on the new informational website. Dr. Cook explains that while implant size is one part of the plan in breast surgery,
there are many other elements, such as each patient’s natural breast architecture, breast plane, position, and direction.
This focus on natural beauty extends to other areas of his practice
as well, particularly facial rejuvenation surgery. “I’m a naturalist,” Dr. Cook says. “When one of my patients is walking down the street and sees a friend, my goal is for the friend to say, ‘Wow you
look great,’ not, ‘Oh you’ve had surgery.’” Dr. Cook says in many ways the face and breast are two of the most challenging areas of a person to work on, but also the most rewarding. “Patients put a
tremendous amount of trust in you,” he says.
Now an expert in his field, Dr. Cook didn’t always know he would end up a plastic surgeon. He was an English major in undergrad at Yale, and didn’t even consider medical school until about halfway through college. When he decided to return to his home of Chicago for medical school at Northwestern he was planning to go into heart or neurological surgery. “But then I was introduced to plastic surgery through a lecture in med school, and felt it was a natural match,” he says. Dr. Cook has always been interested in artistic things, which helps create beautiful results for patients. But what he loves most about his job are the positive people he encounters. “These are people who see a problem and want to fix it,
and that’s a wonderful thing,” he says.
In addition to innovative breast augmentation techniques, Dr. Cook and his team are always looking for better ways to perform traditional surgeries. For example, the Whole Beauty Institute will be the first practice in Chicago to introduce SculpSure, a non-invasive fat reduction method that uses specific wavelengths of lasers to target and reduce fat. “This treatment is much faster than other
techniques, and much more customizable to each patient’s shape,” Dr. Cook says.
At both of the Whole Beauty Institute locations, in Chicago’s Gold Coast or Winnetka, the staff provides the highest quality treatment with meticulous attention to detail. “We have a very skilled team, both for our medical aesthetics and non-surgical treatments,” says Dr. Cook.
Whether looking for surgical treatment on the face, body, or breasts, or non-surgical procedures like skin rejuvenation, laser hair removal, or leg vein removal, all therapies at both clinic locations are rooted in Dr. Cook’s belief in natural beauty.
John Q. Cook, M.D. has two locations: 118 Green Bay Road in Winnetka, 847-446-7562 or 737 N. Michigan Ave. Suite 760 in Chicago, 312-751-2112, johnqcookmd.com.