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Dr. Cooper In the News
An Inside Look at Cosmetic Surgery in Stuart - Treasure Coast doctor gives patients a 'lift'
From Health Matters
STUART - The dining table gleams with sparkling china and perfectly placed tableware set for 12. A splash of color from a fresh spring bouquet decorates the center and adds a touch of just-right elegance as the aroma of fresh-baked bread wafts through the air.
One by one a line of diners shuffles through the side door looking nothing like anyone would expect to see at such a sumptuous table.
Bandages cover their faces, gauze surrounds their heads. Bathrobes and hospital gowns substitute for tuxedos and designer dresses and there's not a speck of makeup in sight.
Despite their bizarre appearance, everyone is talking and laughing like school kids on a camp out. There are no pretenses here at their temporary home, and to the casual observer, these folks look like the best of friends.
And they are.
Though most have only been "living together" for a few days, they have formed bonds like college chums - the kind of bonds that may last for years as they commiserate and buoy up one another following surgery at the office of Stuart cosmetic surgeon Dr. Robert N. Cooper.
Perhaps you've seen some of them browsing in downtown stores. They're affectionately known by merchants as "Dr. Cooper's mummies" who gleefully shop in complete anonymity - not only because most of them are from out-of-state but also because, who could possibly recognize them behind those Jackie O-style sunglasses?
Nestled along the banks of the Saint Lucie River two blocks from downtown stands Dr. Cooper's year-old four-story, 20,000 square foot surgical center. It is there that he performs more than one percent of all the facelifts each year in America. It's also there that he houses patients in a luxurious recovery facility unlike any other in the U.S. with round-the-clock nursing and meal service and waterfront penthouse apartments with Jacuzzi baths and big screen TVs.
"We have one of the biggest facelift practices in America," said the surgeon.
Yet, he's not particularly well-known in Martin County, despite appearances on ABC's PrimeTime Live and in Vogue magazine.
That's because most of his patients come from the society pages of New York, the nightly national newscasts from Washington, D.C. and the gossip columns of the National Enquirer - and, no, he's not revealing any names.
Dr. Cooper came to Stuart in 1984 where he opened his practice following stints as chief resident in both general and plastic surgery at Nassau County Medical Center in New York.
"I visited Stuart while on vacation and fell in love with it," says the 52-year-old New York native.
His patient count is split between New York and Florida.
This posed special problems that turned out to be a blessing in disguise.
How would he handle the logistics of getting people to his office in a city without a major airport and keeping them safe, sound and happy while they recovered?
He hired a driver to transport patients from Palm Beach International Airport to the office. He made arrangements with local hotels to house patients and made sure the nurses who stayed with them were specifically trained in the care of cosmetic surgery patients.
Being a perfectionist as well as visionary, Dr. Cooper soon realized that he could be caring for patients even better, so in 1992 adapted an office suite to house up to five patients. It was a hit with out-of-town patients who could now arrive at the office and not leave again until they were ready to face the world, secure that they were being well-cared for and able to get questions answered and problems addressed 24 hours a day.
It was so successful that the facility quickly became far too small. That's when Dr. Cooper decided to build Water's Edge Surgery Center, which he and 45 employees have occupied since last May at 201 Osceola St.
What he now has is a facility unrivaled by any other in America, he boasts, a facility about which he has inquires from physicians world-wide.
Most facelift stay a week at [The Pavilion Resort] and like to refer to it as a "spa." Up to 20 patients can be housed there at any one time in private and semi-private rooms as well as in one of two ultra-private, two-bedroom penthouse suites.
"Celebrities usually choose to stay in the penthouse suites because they are more concerned about anonymity," Dr. Cooper explained, "but sometimes husbands and wives stay there either because they're both having surgery or the one who is wants their spouse with them."
Patients in the penthouses have their meals brought to them, while those in the rooms dine communally once they are feeling up to it.
Few people complain about the communal arrangement since they find the camaraderie comforting. Before and after meals, patients frequently play cards, watch TV, chat, compare notes as well as "before" photos, and even venture out in small groups.
"I remember feeling very isolated and depressed when I had my first facelift seven years ago by a surgeon in Palm Beach," said a 61-year-old socialite from Sewall's Point.
"The surgery went well, but once I got home, there was no one to talk to who knew what I was going through. My husband couldn't stand seeing me bruised and bandaged and wasn't much help. I started asking myself why I had had the surgery. Every little thing that didn't seem normal scared me or made me depressed.
"Even though I live in town, I decided to stay at Water's Edge when I had my second facelift last November, and the experience was so different.
"Everybody around me was in the same boat. Nobody would let you get down for long. The people who had had their facelifts a day or two before mine-helped lift my spirits because I could: see the improvements I could look forward to. It was almost like being part of group therapy."
Patients like to call the surgical center a spa for reasons that go far beyond the gourmet meals and round-the-clock nursing care.
"It's like going on vacation," said one 49-year-old recent facelift patient from Jupiter Island.
She took advantage of the center's full-time massage therapist both before and after surgery as well as the on-staff manicurist.
And, like all patients, she received a consultation with the aesthetician regarding temporary camouflage makeup and went home with a complimentary makeup kit.
Dr. Cooper's practice has a history of being a constant work in progress as he further refines his unique services.
At the moment, hammers are pounding and saws are whirring at his Stuart office as a small fitness center is being added on the third floor as well as offices for two new associates - Dr. Diane Madfes, a cosmetic dermatologist, and Dr. James E. Vogel, an international authority on hair restoration techniques who is on staff at Johns Hopkins Medical Center.
"We get a lot of patients who are fitness devotees who can't stand having to be sedentary for even a few days while they recover here," Dr. Cooper explained. "I think it's more detrimental to their recovery to keep them sedentary than it is to closely monitor them while they exercise, so we are putting in a treadmill, stationery tike, Stairmaster and weights.
While Dr. Cooper continues to be the only surgeon performing traditional procedures such as facelifts, tummy tucks and breast augmentations, Dr. Madfes will do liposuction, laser hair removal and skin-resurfacing and Dr. Vogel will handle hair restoration.
"We can take hair off and put it back on in a flash," jokes Dr. Cooper. There isn't much in the way of cosmetic procedures that you can't find here at Water's Edge. We have always stayed on top of the latest developments in the field and will continue to do so.
"We have literally millions of dollars worth of the latest medical technology and will soon have even more."
One thing that won't change, he stresses is the cozy, comfy atmosphere that his patients have grown accustomed to.
"We want every patient to feel as at home here as possible, and I think we're doing a pretty good job of that," said Dr. Cooper. 
