Dr. 90210 - Cari & Robert

Episode 1
Premiered: July 11, 2004

The Surgeon: Dr. Robert Rey

Patients and procedure:
Cari – Breast reconstruction
Robert – Lower eyelid surgery

DR. ROBERT REY, M.D., M.P.P.

In this premiere episode of Dr. 90210, we meet Dr. Robert Rey, a young plastic surgeon looking to make it big in Beverly Hills. Dr. Robert Rey was born in Brazil, and came to this country pursuing the American dream. One of his dreams was attending Harvard Medical School, and he achieved that dream. That is where he completed his plastic surgery fellowship. Now he has dreams of conquering the most competitive place for a plastic surgeon, Beverly Hills.

Dr. Rey has been in practice for 5 years. In that time he has worked on numerous patients, including celebrities. Most of his staff comprises of former patients. Dr. Rey’s wife Hayley, who runs his business, has received breast implants. Dr. Rey himself has also undergone plastic surgery and enhanced his profile through rhinoplasty (nose surgery).

Dr. Rey insists on working out 6 times a week, because he feels if you’re a slob, you won’t make it in Beverly Hills. Dr. Rey is a Tae Kwon Do enthusiast. In this episode, we even see Dr. Rey choosing to attend a Tae Kwon Do session instead of sticking around to help his wife Hayley with their daughter’s birthday party. His wife is very understanding, knowing that these sessions make him happy and relaxed. Dr. Rey does feel that his decision is a little selfish, but he feels that it makes him a better person and not so stressed. After attending the session, he feels centered and ready to take on the world.

Dr. Rey’s hours are from 7 in the morning, to 11 at night. Sometimes his daughter, Sydney, cries when he comes home, because she doesn’t recognize him. In order for Dr. Rey to spend time with Sydney, she has to be a “night owl." Dr. Rey feels the more successful he gets, the more stress he receives and not the other way around. Hayley misses the beginning of his practice, because he wasn’t as busy. She would love it if her husband took on a partner, so that he won’t be as busy.

The first time we see Dr. Rey at his practice, we do find him very busy. He has 3 follow-up visits, and 17 consultations, meaning potentially new patients for his practice.

When Dr. Rey walks into the operating room, he feels he must set the tone. If he walks in the room nervous, that could make the staff nervous. But if he walks in there with confidence, that confidence will go to the staff. This is very serious business. Traditionally Dr. Rey likes to begin with a prayer. We see Dr. Rey displaying these operating room practices when he performs breast reconstruction on Cari and lower eyelid surgery on Robert, in this episode of Dr. 90210.

CARI:

Will Undergo Breast Reconstruction to repair a previous Breast Augmentation surgery.

Cari is 20 years old, from San Bernardino, CA. Cari was born with an asymmetry, a condition where one breast was larger than the other. She went to a surgeon to have this corrected. The surgeon that performed her breast augmentation was previously trained as a dentist. The procedure was performed four times, and the surgeon botched every surgery. The results of the operation still looked terrible.

Many patients have come to Dr. Rey in order to correct a botched surgery. In Cari’s case, there was also an infection and she told Dr. Rey that the wound never closed. Plus she has a massive hole in breast. For Dr. Rey, this was going to be a challenge. The doctor was not sure what he expects to find when he starts operating on her.

Cari had a talk with her parents about undergoing another surgery. She told them how she felt more confident with Dr. Rey. The consultations and viewing pictures of Dr. Rey’s past work helped her feel comfortable with Dr. Rey. Cari’s father was very concerned because he didn’t want to see his daughter’s hopes crumble.

Cari’s surgery involves reconstructing her breast. Dr. Rey will use his skills and talents to try and fix her. While waiting to undergo surgery Cari is not nervous at all, unlike her mother who is extremely anxious. The two meet with Dr. Rey, and he begins the procedure by taking pictures of Cari. Then he makes marks on Cari to act as a guide during surgery.

During the operation, Dr. Rey notices that he doesn’t feel any muscle in the breast and that it is probably damaged. He also notices a huge scar on the breast. He was going to focus attention on the right breast, and a little on the left. There was a lot of damaged caused by the previous botched surgeries. However, Dr. Rey wants to turn this negative into a positive. At the end, it took about 150 stitches to close Cari up.

While Cari was napping, Dr. Rey explained to Shelley (Cari’s mother) that Cari had chunks of muscle missing and there was a huge scar was removed. He also explained to her that Cari’s breast will still look little for a while and that it will be a few months before her breasts start to look good. Dr. Rey goes home after a long day at the office.

Cari comes back to Dr. Rey’s office 2 days after surgery. Kristi, Dr. Rey’s Physician’s Assistant, examines Cari and explains post-op instructions to her. Two weeks after surgery, Cari paid another visit to Dr. Rey’s office. This time she was bearing gifts for the doctor and his staff. Dr. Rey had exceeded her expectations. One month after surgery, Cari began doing much better and pleased with the results.

Cari’s story shows why it is important to find a qualified plastic surgeon, one who is trained in plastic surgery. Dr. Robert Rey is fully trained as a General Plastic and Reconstructive Surgeon. To view more of his credentials, CLICK HERE.

ROBERT:

Will undergo lower eyelid surgery to remove fat pockets from the eyes.

Robert is 37 years old, from Palmdale, CA. He feels the bags under his eyes stand out and he wants them removed. Robert was impressed by Dr. Rey. Actually, Robert was even turned away by Dr. Rey the first time he request eyelid surgery, because his blood was too thin. Even though those test results were caused by a lab error, Dr. Rey’s carefulness is what impressed Robert. He also liked how Dr. Rey was straightforward and honest during the cosmetic surgery consultation. The blood tests came back fine the second time, and the doctor feels confident that they can now go ahead with the procedure.

During consultation, Dr. Rey explained the details of the procedure to Robert including the risks. Robert is excited to have this procedure done.

The operation took two and a half hours to complete. When Robert woke up from eyelid surgery, he felt a little pain in his eye. Dr. Rey doesn’t like to fool around with that. So he undid a stitch, contacts an ophthalmologist who assures Dr. Rey that the patient will be fine. This was serious business because one minor problem could have cost Robert his eyesight.

Robert returns to Dr. Rey’s office 3 days after surgery for a post-op visit. The area was still healing, and healing nicely. The results at the time of the post-op visit were very positive. Since his surgery, Robert no longer sees the bags under his eyes when he looks in the mirror. Now he has confidence in his appearance and was very pleased with the results. This was a procedure he did completely for himself, and not for anyone else.

Click on the following to learn more about each procedure featured or mentioned on this week’s episode of Dr. 90210:

Breast Augmentation
Breast Reconstruction
Lower Eyelid Surgery
Rhinoplasty