Dr. Jeffrey C. Friedman began his journey in private practice by opening The Cosmetic and Reconstructive Surgery Center in Lafayette, California in 1987. Prior to this, he had been performing cosmetic and reconstructive surgery on patients from all over the world as a surgeon and officer in the United States Navy. Having studied medicine at the University of Paris (France) and Chicago Medical Schools, he completed his surgical subspecialty training at the Naval Hospital, Oakland, an affiliate of the University of California, San Francisco. After completing training, he served as an attending physician and teacher at the Oakland Naval Hospital and then became the Chairman of the Department of Otolaryngology Head and Neck Surgery and Facial Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery at the Naval Hospital, Okinawa. While in Okinawa, Dr. Friedman designed and opened a Facial Plastic and Reconstructive Outpatient Surgery Center, greatly expanding those services available to the overseas personnel and their dependents. The expertise and artistry displayed by his work in Japan brought patients to him from as far as Thailand and Turkey. Dr. Friedman has trained in liposuction surgery and body sculpting with Dr. Gary Fenno (Houston, Texas). He is a diplomat of the American Board of Cosmetic Surgery and the American Board of Otolaryngology Head and Neck Surgery. He is a Fellow of the American Academy of Cosmetic Surgery, a member of the American Society of Liposuction Surgery, and is past President of the California Society for Specialty Plastic Surgery. He brings to his patients technical expertise, an artistic eye, and a caring for their wishes and needs.
Today, Dr. Friedman's practice is dedicated solely to cosmetic surgery and has been since 1989. He has performed over 20,000 cosmetic surgery procedures and is consistently on the leading edge of advancements in cosmetic surgery. He was one of the first in Contra Costa County to have an accredited surgery center, one of the first to employ tumescent liposuction techniques (now the industry standard) and is renowned for his endoscopic (minimal incision) techniques, including facial rejuvenate procedures and breast augmentation through the belly button. Dr. Friedman was the first to perform the belly button breast augmentation in Northern California and remains one of the few surgeons trained in and actively performing this technically advanced procedure.
In 2010 Dr. Friedman sold the Cosmetic and Reconstructive surgery center in Lafayette and is no longer affiliated with that entity in any way. He took a year off from surgery to study figurative sculpture full time. Dr. Friedman’s figurative sculpture has taken inspiration from Michelangelo’s works including such pieces as the “David” and Rodin’s body of work. More recent inspirations have included Frederick Hart (the Vietnam Memorial’s: The Three Soldiers, porticos of the National Cathedral and related works) and Richard MacDonald’s works (Statues created for the 2008 Olympics, Cirque du Soleil and many others). His artistic work has direct applicability to his work as a surgeon. After returning to surgery in 2012 he had gained a new and keener appreciation and understanding of the human form that surpasses any other understanding or refinement that can be gained with the study of Medicine and Surgery alone. With 30 years of experience as an accomplished cosmetic surgeon and as a budding figurative sculptor, his art is now both in his patients and in bronze. They compliment each other significantly and to the great benefit of his patients. Dr Friedman has stated:
“The work that I have done to become a figurative sculptor has brought me back to surgery as I could not imagine not bringing my new and greatly improved vision of the human form and its surgical potential back to my patients”.