Who actually does the cutting when a patient books a cosmetic procedure here, and what are they qualified to do? At Plastic Surgery Chicago, Dr. Kotis, the answer is John A. Kotis, a board-certified plastic and reconstructive surgeon with more than 23 years of practice behind him, working out of Arlington Heights in the Chicago metro area. That single fact sets the tone for the whole site: it is built around one surgeon and his credentials, and it does not try to hide the person behind a brand.

The credential list is the strongest thing on the page and deserves to be read closely. Kotis trained at the Chicago College of Osteopathic Medicine at Midwestern University and holds DO credentials. He chaired the American College of Osteopathic Surgeons Section of Plastic Surgery from 2012 to 2014 and still holds a Board Examiner role for that organization. Those are not vanity titles. A surgeon who examines other surgeons for board status is operating at a level most local practices cannot claim, and that context changes how the rest of the offering should be read. Plastic Surgery Chicago, Dr. Kotis has built its reputation on this foundation rather than on marketing language, and it shows.

Procedure range and what it says about the practice

The surgical menu at Plastic Surgery Chicago, Dr. Kotis is genuinely wide. On the breast side there is augmentation, lift, reduction, reconstruction, and revision work, meaning the practice handles both elective cosmetic cases and the harder reconstructive ones. Body contouring covers liposuction, tummy tuck, Brazilian butt lift, arm lift, and thigh lift. Facial surgery includes rhinoplasty, facelift, eyelid surgery, and chin implants. Then there are the combined and specialty cases: mommy makeovers, gynecomastia surgery, and gender-affirming surgery.

That last category is worth pausing on. Gender-affirming surgery is not something every general cosmetic practice takes on, and listing it alongside reconstructive breast work points to a surgeon comfortable outside the purely elective lane. The gender-affirming and reconstructive offerings together are the clearest evidence that Plastic Surgery Chicago, Dr. Kotis runs a full surgical practice and not a quick-fix injectables shop with a few operations attached.

For patients who want something short of surgery, the on-site medical spa fills that gap. It covers both the standard injectables and the device-based treatments: BOTOX, dermal fillers such as Juvederm and Radiesse, Kybella, laser treatments, chemical peels, PRP injections, and CoolSculpting. Having the spa under the same roof as the surgeon is practical, because the same person assessing a patient's face for a facelift can honestly recommend fillers instead if that is the better fit.

Safety infrastructure is where Plastic Surgery Chicago, Dr. Kotis separates itself from many competitors. The facility carries Joint Commission Office-based Surgery Accreditation, a meaningful standard for procedures done outside a hospital. On top of that, Kotis holds hospital affiliations with Northwest Community Hospital and UChicago Medicine AdventHealth La Grange. For anyone weighing where to have a tummy tuck or a BBL, knowing the surgeon has hospital privileges nearby is a real piece of the risk calculation, not a marketing footnote.

Outside reputation

Outside opinion is more mixed, and it is worth being plain about that. Plastic Surgery Chicago, Dr. Kotis carries 27 reviews on Yelp and 22 on Sharecare, where the average sits at about 3.2 out of 5. Healthgrades lists Kotis with patient reviews, and US News Doctors aggregates 60 reviews spread across six categories. For Plastic Surgery Chicago, Dr. Kotis, the 3.2 figure is the one worth taking seriously. It is neither a red flag nor a glowing endorsement, and it sits below what one might expect given the credentials. Cosmetic surgery reviews skew emotional, since outcomes are personal and recovery is hard, so a middling average is common even among skilled surgeons. Still, a patient should read the actual comments across these platforms, because the number alone does not explain itself.

What the outside reviews do not undercut is the substance of the practice. The credentials at Plastic Surgery Chicago, Dr. Kotis are verifiable, the accreditation passes scrutiny, and the procedure list covers most reasons someone walks into a plastic surgery office. The site does the basic job well: it tells a visitor who is operating, what he can do, where he does it, and how to reach him.

One honest caveat for cautious patients. A practice built around a single surgeon means availability and scheduling depend on one person's calendar, and the spread of reviews points to experiences that vary, as they do at most surgical practices. Neither observation should scare anyone off, but both are worth raising at a consultation.

Plastic Surgery Chicago, Dr. Kotis is a serious option for Chicago-area patients researching a surgeon for breast, body, or facial work who care more about board standing and accreditation than about a polished sales pitch. Ask at the consultation about case volume for the specific procedure you want and how Kotis reads those Sharecare and Yelp comments. A surgeon with his board-examiner background should have a clear answer, and the published evidence at Plastic Surgery Chicago, Dr. Kotis is strong enough to justify the conversation.

---