R. Michael KochDr

I had abdominoplasty with muscle repair and liposuction to the flanks performed by Dr Koch on January 8, 2021. I have an overall slim build but had a lot of skin and stretch marks after having 2 children. I had contemplated this surgery for 20 yrs, being fearful of anything invasive using general anesthesia. I knew I’d be trading one scar for another, but I wanted to ensure the level of the scar would be concealable. I visited his office twice prior to the surgery, reiterating this concern. I wore bikini underwear to the appointments, which I had to lower for him to point to above my pubic region, where the scar would be. Pointing towards my hips, he mentioned my incision may be, “a little longer” because of skin laxity towards the sides of my abdomen. I was told by Dr Koch that he was a “magician”, and I shouldn’t worry about the level of the scar even though he’d be removing so much skin. Postoperatively, I was stunned to discover the incision was not only above my bikini line, but also curled up both sides of my flanks. I was never told that there was even a possibility my incisions wouldn’t be concealable. During my postop visits, I vocalized my concerns about the level and length of the scars and that I hadn’t seen any improvement in my love handles. I was repeatedly told it was swelling and that the areas will “settle”. He also flippantly commented that they’d fade. Dr Koch stated he made the incisions up towards my flanks and not across the hips because I would develop dog ears and would not have been pleased. Besides asymmetrical, conspicuous scars, I still have a protruding lower abdomen, love handles, more laxity, stretch marks on my left side and DOG EARS. During my 6 mth appt, he and his team offered bodytite and morpheus8 to try to rectify my disappointing results. These are new procedures for his office, so I was skeptical and nervous. I asked if a rep from the company for the device be present. His coordinator stated it shouldn’t be a problem, she understood my concerns and she’d confirm their presence ASAP, which she never did. Despite my skepticism, I made the appt for these procedures. I didn’t have the money to go elsewhere. A mth later (a week before the appt), I was contacted by the office that Dr Koch wanted to meet with me regarding my treatment moving forward. The day after my scheduled appt I received a letter from Dr Koch. It stated that I had an “excellent” and “wonderful” result and that the incisions were made, “exactly” where they were supposed to be. He also concluded that I was chasing a body image that only existed in my mind. The image I was seeking was from his own website. He specified that I didn’t have any medical or surgical complications and was healthy. Does this equate to an aesthetically pleasing outcome after spending $9,100? Previously, I had asked if he ever performed these procedures on dark skinned black patients. I already experienced hypopigmentation from a steroid injection he administered to my umbilicus. Because of this question he stated in his letter, that our physician- patient relationship was damaged by my “racist” statements. He proceeded to inform me of his prior work with inner city communities, as if that was related to how these new procedures would affect my skin color. He also claims my “demand” for a rep was a reason as well. If he was so offended by a rep being present, why didn’t he deny the request initially. I believe he was just making excuses and absolving himself of any responsibility for my poor result. Unfortunately I'm unable to upload photos. Be very careful before choosing him for an abdominoplasty. I wish I hadn’t.