Why Choose Dr. Mustoe
Widely considered one of the Chicago area’s best facial plastic surgeons, Dr. Thomas Mustoe graduated with honors from Harvard College and Harvard Medical School. He also completed plastic surgery training at Harvard hospitals and is one of the few surgeons nationally board-certified in both plastic surgery and head and neck surgery. Upon being named professor and chief of plastic surgery at Northwestern University School of Medicine at the age of 40, Dr. Mustoe was the youngest surgeon in the nation at that time to be appointed to a position of this elite status.
Once you have decided to enhance your appearance through cosmetic surgery, your concerns turn to safety, comfort, and results – and choosing from among the best plastic surgeons in Chicago to help you achieve those goals. You owe it to yourself to select a board-certified plastic surgeon with the highest level of integrity and skill. Your surgeon should have the experience, reputation, and proven track record to inspire your confidence. For thousands of patients throughout the country, Dr. Thomas Mustoe has met and exceeded those criteria.
2,000+ Upper Eyelids
2,000+ Facelifts
2,000+ Rhinoplasties
2,000+ Breast Augmentations
1,500+ Lower Eyelids
1,000+ Breast Reductions
1,000+ Breast Lifts
1,000+ Abdonimoplasties
800+ Browlifts
A Personal Connection and Excellent Reviews
From their first visit, Dr. Mustoe’s patients are immediately put at ease by the wonderful office staff members and his warm, caring personality. He is a Chicago plastic surgeon who takes the time to listen intently to each of his plastic surgery patients and truly understand what they hope to achieve. He understands that, for you, this is both a physical and an emotional journey. He will draw from his years of experience and volumes of research to help guide you toward the treatment plan that will achieve the results you desire.
Dr. Mustoe believes that plastic surgery should be completely transparent, meaning that the results should enhance your appearance in a way that is balanced and complimentary. He is able to achieve results that are noticeable but natural-looking.
With over 1,000 reviews touting Dr. Mustoe’s skill and results, there’s no doubt why so many patients in Chicago and beyond select Dr. Mustoe. People repeatedly mention how his experience, education, bedside manner, and dedication to delivering great results won them over. There’s no doubt why even doctors themselves choose Dr. Mustoe for their surgery.
An International Authority on Plastic Surgery
Dr. Mustoe has an excellent reputation as one of the most accomplished cosmetic plastic surgeons in Chicago. He lectures nationally and internationally, and is renowned for his dedication to academics, research and innovation in the field of plastic surgery. The more than 200 articles and book chapters he has written have helped advance the science and art of plastic surgery. He has also been featured in the media on numerous occasions – including an appearance on Chicago’s own Oprah Winfrey Show – as a recognized authority on plastic surgery. He has been named to many local and national best doctor lists, and operates on many physicians and their families.
Experience & Leadership
Dr. Mustoe has performed more than 10,000 operations, through which he has refined both his surgical skills and his aesthetic sense. As a Stuteville Professor at Northwestern University and Chief of Plastic Surgery from 1991-2010, he trains some of the best and brightest future plastic surgeons at one of the nation’s top plastic surgery residency programs. His influence has shaped the plastic surgery community as a whole, and continues to spur innovation and advances in the field of plastic surgery.
However, Dr. Mustoe is committed to his patients above all else, and works long hours at his busy practice to meet their needs.
Dr. Mustoe’s Specialties
As one of Chicago’s most sought-after plastic surgeons, Dr. Mustoe frequently performs the following cosmetic procedures, and his expertise is highly regarded in the following areas:
Facelift and Neck Lift Surgery
Board-certified in both plastic surgery and otolaryngology-head and neck surgery, Dr. Mustoe is a leader in advanced facial aesthetic surgery techniques. He was an early pioneer of the deep-plane facelift, which he has performed exclusively for 30 years. Dr. Mustoe’s groundbreaking article on anatomic features of the deep-plane dissection in the neck was instrumental in allowing neck lift procedures to be performed alone or as part of a lower facelift without requiring any incisions underneath the chin. Over the years, he has refined this technique to improve and accelerate patient recovery.
Mid Facelift and Correction
For patients primarily concerned about cheek laxity and nasolabial folds, Dr. Mustoe performs a modified mid facelift or mini facelift to address these targeted aging symptoms with much more natural and long-lasting results than fillers. A mid facelift can also be an effective secondary procedure to help patients preserve the results of a previous deep-plane facelift. Dr. Mustoe has performed hundreds of secondary facelifts for his own patients, who typically do not need this follow-up surgery for at least 10 to 15 years after their initial procedure.
Rhinoplasty
Dr. Mustoe also specializes in rhinoplasty surgery, including functional rhinoplasty, and he has performed over 2,000 “nose job” procedures throughout his plastic surgery career. His advanced training and board certification in otolaryngology and plastic surgery give him a unique perspective when approaching complex rhinoplasty cases. He often combines correcting nasal obstruction and breathing problems with aesthetic rhinoplasty to help patients achieve optimal, natural-looking results.
Dr. Mustoe customizes his approach for each patient, correcting what is deficient while preserving as much normal structure as possible. Dr. Mustoe has lectured about his accelerated recovery and preservation rhinoplasty techniques as a visiting professor and at numerous national and international plastic surgery conferences and meetings.
Eyelid Surgery (Blepharoplasty) and Brow Lift
Having performed over 2,000 upper blepharoplasties, 1,500 lower blepharoplasties, and close to 1,000 endoscopic and temporal brow lifts, Dr. Mustoe’s innovative techniques help patients recover quickly while achieving attractive and long-lasting results. He has lectured worldwide on integrating temporal brow lift and upper blepharoplasty, which optimally corrects eyelid hooding and is often performed as an office procedure under local anesthesia and light oral sedation. Using this technique, many patients can return to work (with signs of having had surgery such as bruising, obvious swelling, and eyelid shape changes) within 10 days.
Breast Surgery
Breast reconstruction was a major focus for Dr. Mustoe during his tenure as chief of plastic surgery at Northwestern University Medical Center. His innovative surgical techniques have appeared in major plastic surgery journals. Dr. Mustoe has also performed thousands of aesthetic breast surgeries, including breast augmentation, breast lift, breast reduction, and combinations of these procedures. After enjoying their original breast surgery results for 10 to 30 years, many patients revisit Dr. Mustoe for secondary surgery to preserve their appearance.
Tummy Tuck (Abdominoplasty)
Dr. Mustoe is unique in the Chicago area in his ability to perform tummy tuck surgery for patients under deep sedation rather than general anesthesia, a technique he has lectured about at national meetings and written about in major journals. He often combines tummy tuck with liposuction and breast surgery as part of a mommy makeover. Even with muscle fascia plication, which is routine, his refined techniques shorten patient recovery time by 50% and virtually eliminate significant complications. In addition, the recovery is faster and less painful, with some patients recovering comfortably using only over-the-counter medications such as ibuprofen or Tylenol®. Dr. Mustoe’s surgical technique for natural-looking bellybuttons was publicized in a major medical journal and received widespread attention in The Wall Street Journal and The New York Times.
Fat Transfer
Dr. Mustoe became well known nationally for fat transfer over 20 years ago and continues to perform fat transfer on thousands of patients in the cheeks, lower eyelids, and around the mouth and lips to achieve a natural, long-lasting result. He also performs breast fat transfer extensively to enhance aesthetic results or during breast reconstruction. This approach is also used to treat the buttocks (in select cases) and to address scarring trauma. With his refinements to the surgical technique, complications such as irregularities are rare.
Innovations in the Use of Local Anesthesia and Sedation
As an authority on local anesthesia techniques that allow plastic surgery to be performed with intravenous sedation and light sedation, Dr. Mustoe has written extensively on this topic and lectured nationally. His expertise includes sharing how specific applications of anesthesia can result in faster recovery, increased safety (general anesthesia carries a dramatically higher risk of blood clots, which can be extremely serious), and the reduced need for drains (none at all, in the case of facelifts).
Optimizing Scar Outcomes
Dr. Mustoe has a career-long interest in understanding the factors contributing to suboptimal scars and implementing surgical techniques and adjunctive therapies to optimize outcomes. His laboratory has been supported by multiple grants from the National Institutes of Health and the Department of Defense; he also holds several patents for potential scar therapies and has served on numerous scientific advisory boards. Additionally, Dr. Mustoe is an editor of a recent textbook on scar management, which has contributions from all over the world. Although scarring is a factor in every surgery, Dr. Mustoe’s technique minimizes scarring across various cosmetic procedures.
Your Next Step
The best way to know if a doctor is a good fit for you is through a consultation. If you would like to meet with board-certified plastic surgeon Dr. Mustoe, request a consultation online for plastic surgery at his downtown Chicago offices. Or you can call our practice at (312) 788-2560 and one of our helpful staff members will schedule your appointment.