Total Lipedema Care

Total Lipedema Care
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JAIME S. SCHWARTZ

M.D., F.A.C.S.

Total Lipedema Care is led by Dr. Jaime S. Schwartz. A board-certified plastic surgeon and world-renowned lipedema specialist, who has dedicated much of his career to raising awareness for fat disorders (like lipedema) that are highly underdiagnosed and usually misdiagnosed as morbid obesity. He is known for taking on the complex lipedema cases — giving patients more hope by alleviating the pain from this disorder.

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Dr. Jamie Schwartz

MEET DR. SCHWARTZ

Total Lipedema Care is led by Dr. Jaime S. Schwartz. A board-certified plastic surgeon and world-renowned lipedema specialist, who has dedicated much of his career to raising awareness for fat disorders (like lipedema) that are highly underdiagnosed and usually misdiagnosed as morbid obesity. He is known for taking on the complex lipedema cases — giving patients more hope by alleviating the pain from this disorder.

Dr. Schwartz is committed to the care of lipedema patients in all stages and types of this fat disorder, also known as painful fat syndrome. Dr. Schwartz and Total Lipedema Care, work in collaboration with some of the world’s leading researchers and endocrinologists who have dedicated their entire careers to the study of congenital and genetic fat disorders in men and women. Through Dr. Schwartz’s collaborative research, he is able to educate other doctors on how to examine fat and to identify adipose disorders instead of diagnosing it as morbid obesity. Dr. Schwartz’s innovative techniques to relieve the pain and pressure of lipedema for his patients, is why patients from all over the world who suffer from this disorder are seeking his services. He contributes his advanced approach to the ongoing research of the disorder.

Dr. Schwartz is committed to promoting advances in medicine and serves on various American Society of Plastic Surgeons committees, including health policy, patient safety, emerging trends, quality and performance measurement, and the Clinical Trials Network. Dr. Schwartz is a member of the American Society of Plastic Surgeons (ASPS), and a diplomate of the American Board of Plastic Surgery (ABPS). He has also received national recognition with many “Physician’s Choice” and “Compassionate Doctor” awards.

EDUCATION

As he attended college at Tulane University and earned a Bachelor of Science degree in cellular and molecular biology, he also further delved into health, the human body, and disease. He discovered that his curiosity in this field might be genetic. His mind was opened by books from a great-uncle (whom he never met), Dr. Jay Milton Hoffman, such as his The Missing Link in the Medical Curriculum (1981) and John Westerdahl’s Hunza: Secrets of the World’s Oldest Living People (1968). These influential books (written way before their time) discussed how diet and disease are related. Dr. Schwartz spent time learning all he could about these topics and dedicated research time at the Ochsner Medical Institute. After his extensive time working and studying healthcare, Dr. Jaime Schwartz was accepted into the Georgetown University School of Medicine in Washington, D.C., which is one of the top five most selective schools in the United States.

During his time at Georgetown, he continued to pursue extracurricular research and education in addition to his rigorous medical curriculum at the world-renowned Georgetown Lombardi Comprehensive Cancer Center, a National Institute of Health accredited National Cancer Institute. Here, he was able to focus on his main interest: breast cancer. He became involved in cancer research on Tamoxifen and studied tumor biology and the biological basis of cancer.
As a third-year medical student on clinical rotations, Dr. Jaime Schwartz performed his first surgery — as an assistant to a mastectomy for a breast cancer patient. After the breast was removed, he asked if he could stay to see the breast reconstruction process — a pivotal moment in his life where his whole world changed. As the plastic surgeons began to reconstruct the breast, they discussed the different options, such as expanders, implants, and several types of flap techniques using the patient’s own fat. The options seemed endless and the surgeries seemed very artistic. He was very intrigued. He was furthered exposed to more plastic surgery procedures, such as cleft lips and palates, diabetic limb salvage, and wound care. The reality became that as a plastic surgeon, he could be instrumental in touching people’s lives by putting them back together. He was hooked.
Under the auspices of the chairman Dr. Scott Spear, Georgetown Plastic Surgery was one of the most influential departments in the world for breast reconstruction. Due to this, Dr. Schwartz ranked Georgetown University Hospital Plastic Surgery number one on his list for residency programs he wanted to attend (even above Harvard). There were only 71 spots in the entire United States for plastic surgery training for doctors directly from medical school in the country. Dr. Schwartz was accepted into his first choice. His training there set the stage for his career as one of the foremost authorities on breast surgery.
Georgetown University Plastic Surgery was one of the first Departments of Plastic Surgery in the country (not a division of general surgery) and the training program was one of only a few at that time that was integrated. What that meant was that Dr. Schwartz spent his entire six years there focusing only on plastic surgery.

During his training, Dr. Jaime Schwartz completed close to 3,000 procedures while authoring articles, textbook chapters both nationally and internationally, as well as definitive, educational, special journal supplements for the Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery Journal of the American Society of Plastic Surgeons. His kind, caring demeanor toward his fellow colleagues and patients was rewarded with the Georgetown University Hospital’s “Caring Star” award every year (given by patients to the top healthcare providers at Georgetown University Hospital). He also took an active role in medical student and resident education where he won the highest teaching award as “Outstanding Resident Teacher Award” for the Department of Plastic Surgery and the “Certificate of Professionalism” award from Washington Hospital Center medical staff.

His accolades from training allowed Dr. Schwartz to pursue a fellowship. He was offered many positions, including the Harvard program at Beth Israel Deaconess and the world-renowned Cleveland Clinic. He accepted the Cleveland Clinic Fellowship in advanced face and body aesthetics as a clinical instructor in their training program. He was afforded the opportunity to work alongside amazing physicians who performed the first face transplant in the United States and to educate by overseeing residents and teaching them some of the art of breast surgery that he learned from Georgetown and Dr. Spear.

NATIONALLY RENOWNED SURGEON

Dr. Jaime Schwartz was recruited to Southern California by Presbyterian Intercommunity Hospital (PIH) as Chief of Plastic Surgery based on his academic excellence and national reputation as an “Outstanding Aesthetic Surgeon and Reconstructive Breast Surgeon.” Here, he was tasked with building the hospital’s first plastic surgery department, creating a reconstruction after massive weight loss — body contouring program, and assembling and overseeing their breast cancer reconstructive program. As chief of plastic surgery, Dr. Schwartz performed more than 5,000 surgeries and 10,000 cosmetic procedures. He developed novel techniques for breast cancer reconstruction using the patient’s own vascular tissues with “AutoDerm.” He also created PIH’s first nipple-sparing registry, developed national guidelines for breast surgery and implants, was instrumental in obtaining national accreditation for the PIH Breast Center through National Accreditation Program for Breast Centers (NAPBC), and was a principal investigator for a Phase 2 FDA clinical trial for correcting and preventing poorly healed breast scars. Dr. Schwartz is also very proud to be a part of changing the culture of breast reconstruction where “women made their own choices” about their care and options for treatment.
When PIH incentivized their employees to “Get Fit” through a work fitness program, so many of these employees and their families lost hundreds of pounds. Dr. Jaime Schwartz was tasked with helping all of them regain their bodies with surgical body contouring. He performed hundreds of tummy tucks (with circumferential or fleur de lis incision techniques), lower body lifts, arm lifts, thigh lifts, back lifts, breast lifts with or without implants, and contouring liposuction.
Dr. Schwartz became a community figure from lectures in the hospital, local TV station interviews, presenting or attending the monthly breast cancer support groups, and creating a fundraiser known as “Rejuvenate For The Cure®.” Understanding the best way to beat breast cancer is early detection, Dr. Jaime Schwartz started this yearly event where he would inject BOTOX and cosmetic dermal fillers with all proceeds donated to the PIH Breast Center to offer free mammograms to women who could not afford them. On the first day of the fundraiser, Dr. Schwartz performed enough injections to raise money to provide more than 300 mammograms.
He continued his active leadership role in patient care and safety by serving on numerous committees at Presbyterian Intercommunity Hospital, including Patient Safety, Patient Experience, Surgical Administration, and Research Oversight. In recognition of his “patient-first” ethics and hard work, he was awarded the highest-level Physician Excellence Award.

PROFESSIONAL MEMBERSHIPS

  • American Society of Plastic Surgeons
    Leadership Development Committee Member, 2015 – Present
  • American Society of Plastic Surgeons
    Breast Reconstruction Performance Measure Development Workgroup Member, 2014 – Present
  • American Society of Plastic Surgeons
    PSEN Editorial Committee and Aesthetic Subcommittee Member, 2014 – Present
  • American Society of Plastic Surgeons
    Public Education Committee Member, 2014 – Present
  • American Society of Plastic Surgeons
    Research Development Committee Member, 2014 – Present
  • American Society of Plastic Surgeons
    Clinical Trials Network Committee, Member 2013 – Present
  • American Society of Plastic Surgeons
    Quality and Performance Measurement Committee Member, 2013 – Present
  • American Society of Plastic Surgeons
    Patient Safety Committee Member, 2013 – Present
  • American Society of Plastic Surgeons
    ASPS/SAPS Emerging Trends Committee Member, 2013 – Present
  • American Society of Plastic Surgeons
    Health Policy Committee Member, 2012 – Present
  • American Society of Plastic Surgeons
    Breast Reconstruction with Tissue Expanders and Implant Workgroup Member, 2011 – 2012
  • Presbyterian Intercommunity Hospital
    Surgical Administration Committee Member, 2012 – 2014
  • Presbyterian Intercommunity Hospital
    Cancer Committee Member, 2010 – 2014
  • Presbyterian Intercommunity Hospital
    Research Oversight Committee Member, 2011 – 2014
  • Presbyterian Intercommunity Hospital
    Patient Experience Committee Member, 2012 – 2014
  • Presbyterian Intercommunity Hospital
    Patient Safety Committee Member, 2012 – 2014

PRESENTATIONS & APPEARANCES

  • Schwartz, J.S. Presented at the Asia-Pacific Dermatology and Cosmetology Conference in Tokyo, Japan, August 2018.
  • Schwartz, J.S. Adjunct Plastic Surgical Procedures in the Lipedema Patient: Is There A Medical Necessity? Presented to the Fat Disorders Research Society, Salt Lake City, UT, April 2017.
  • Schwartz, J.S. LipoLift™. Presented at The Aesthetic Show, Las Vegas, NV, July 2017.
  • Schwartz, J.S. BOTOX® for the Treatment of Vaginismus. Presented at The Aesthetic Show, Las Vegas, NV, July 2017.
  • Schwartz, J.S. LipoLift™. [Television series segment]. The Doctors. Hollywood, CA Show, CBS Network, March 22, 2017.
  • Schwartz, J.S. Cancer and Cosmetic Breast Reconstruction: Is There a Difference? Presented at the Plastic and Cosmetic Surgery Conference, The Grand, Long Beach, CA, November 2014.
  • Schwartz, J.S. Current Trends in Aesthetic Surgery. Recorded for Activate Whittier Television. Whittier City Hall, Whittier, CA, May 2013.
  • Schwartz, J.S. Hospital Whittier, CA. Intercommunity⋅ Skin Care and Aesthetic Services. Community Speaker Event, Presbyterian April 2011.
  • Schwartz, J.S. Hospital Whittier, CA. Intercommunity⋅ State of the Art Aesthetic Surgery Options. Community Speaker Event, Presbyterian January 2011.
  • Schwartz, J.S. Breast Reconstruction Options. Presented at the Tea for Triumph Breast Cancer Survivors. Brea, CA, October 2010.
  • Schwartz, J.S. Breast Augmentation. Presented at the Senior Residents Conference, Austin, TX.
  • Schwartz, J.S. Outcome Assessment of Breast Distortion Presented at the Following, January 2009.
  • Spear, S.L., Schwartz J.S., Dayan J.H., Clemens, M.W. Outcome Assessment of Breast Distortion. Following, May 2008.
  • Couch K.S., Schwartz, J.S. Use of Bi-Layered Living Cell Therapy In Recalcitrant Wound Healing. Abstract Poster Presented at the Symposium for the Advancement for Wound Care, San Antonio, TX, May 2006.

HIS PERSONAL JOURNEY

From a very young age, Dr. Jaime Schwartz always knew he was going to pursue a career in healthcare. He comes from a long line of medical providers, such as podiatrists, researchers, and physicians. When he was young, his father would take him on his “rounds” to see patients in the hospital on weekends. In his teenage years, he spent time working in his father’s medical office and began to attend surgeries before he was allowed to drive. Growing up in an area that was considered a “cancer cluster,” Dr. Jaime Schwartz grew up surrounded by many women in his immediate circle with breast cancer. He was touched personally by this and knew he needed to find a way to practice medicine to make needed changes in women’s healthcare.
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If you have questions about your symptoms or are experiencing pain or discomfort, please contact us today. We have some of the leading experts in the country who are specially trained to identify and treat Lipedema.  You can rest assured you are getting the right care with the best possible results.