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| Carla Retief, MD, and Michael Stephanides, MD | |
By Dorene Kaplan
Dermatologist and Mohs surgeon Carla Retief, MD, and plastic surgeon Michael Stephanides, MD, have formed a remarkable and unusual partnership in Nashville, Tenn. They run concurrent but independent practices at the same location.
“Plastic surgery and dermatology—there are no two specialties that complement each other better,” Retief says. “When these highly specialized disciplines combine, patients are offered the most comprehensive care available and the most beautiful results possible.”
A board-certified dermatologic surgeon, Retief founded Retief Skin Center in 2002. Practicing dermatology since 1999, Retief brings extensive experience and an artistic eye to the region. She is one of a handful of board-certified, fellowship-trained Mohs micrographic surgeons in the Tennessee area, specializing in Mohs surgery, laser surgery, and minimally invasive cosmetic surgery.
Stephanides, a board-certified plastic surgeon, moved to Nashville from Stanford University in California in 2001. He joined forces with Retief in 2009. His practice concentrates on facial surgery, breast surgery, liposuction, and body-contouring procedures.
“Patient satisfaction is of the utmost importance,” Stephanides says. “You have to treat your patients as if they were family members. Patient satisfaction and safety plays a major role in the decision-making process before any surgery is scheduled.”
A Full Roster of Treatments
Both surgeons have a hands-on approach and are available to patients even outside of office hours, including weekends and house calls.
Retief offers a full range of services, including Mohs surgery, eyelid surgery, mini facelifts, facial liposuction, fillers, neurotoxin injections, and laser skin treatments. Retief Skin Center offers an extensive menu of aesthetic services by medically trained aestheticians.
Retief has spent more than 8 years developing a customized skin care line, BuffRx. Between her background in chemistry and her medical expertise, she has been able to produce very effective prescription products. In her office lab, Retief compounds all of her BuffRx products to ensure superior patient satisfaction. Since it is compounded in the lab at her office, Retief is able to customize each product to meet the skin care needs of each patient. It is mixed fresh, so the product is at its ultimate potency when purchased.
Stephanides specializes in the full spectrum of cosmetic surgeries, including facelifts, eyelid surgery, neck lifts, breast augmentation, breast lifts, liposuction of the face and body, tummy tucks, body contouring, thigh lifts, arm lifts, and body lifts.
Best Practices
The physicians agree that patients benefit from synergy of their partnership with the opportunity to receive consultations and treatments from two surgeons. With some patients, both surgeons use their individual skills at the same time (at the office facilities and in the operating room), maximizing the cosmetic results.
“From surgical to nonsurgical procedures, we offer the convenience of one-stop shopping,” Retief says.
“Our skills and expertise complement each other, ensuring that the patient will receive the best possible outcome from two doctors who have spent years in training. This is a unique setup in Nashville,” Stephanides adds.
Well-Grounded Expertise
A native of Huntingdon, Tennessee, Retief attended Vanderbilt University in Nashville and received her medical degree from The University of Tennessee in Memphis. Following her dermatology residency at Rush-Presbyterian St. Luke’s Hospital in Chicago, she was one of approximately 40 dermatologists in the world to begin a Mohs Micrographic Surgery Fellowship. During that time, she was fortunate to train under the current president of the American College of Mohs Micrographic Surgery and Cutaneous Oncology.
Stephanides graduated from Stanford University School of Medicine in Palo Alto, Calif, where he continued his training in plastic surgery. In 1997, he joined the faculty in the Division of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery at the Stanford University Medical Center.
In addition to training other plastic surgeons, Stephanides was one of the founders and the medical director of the Stanford-NASA National Biocomputation Center, and was involved with developing high-end technology solutions for difficult surgical problems and surgical training. He has lectured extensively around the world and has participated in numerous surgical trips in developing countries.
Carla Retief, MD
Retief Skin Center
4301 Hillsboro Pike, Suite 200
Nashville, TN 37215
(615) 383-6092
www.retiefskincenter.com
Michael Stephanides, MD
Stephanides Plastic Surgery
4301 Hillsboro Pike, Suite 200
Nashville, TN 37215
(615) 383-0702
www.stephanidesplasticsurgery.com
