Doctors of Distinction

January 2023

Directory:

• Jennifer Brammeier, DO, FAAD & Brian Bishop, MD, MPH, FAAD
• Sumeet Bhanot
• Joe Greco
• Federico Richter
• Steven Reichbach
• Alissa Shulman
• Cohen & Associates

Jennifer Brammeier, DO, FAAD & Brian Bishop, MD, MPH, FAAD

In 2003, award-winning dermatologist, Dr. Emily Arsenault founded Arsenault Dermatology in Lakewood Ranch. Today, Arsenault Dermatology has expanded their patient care and services with 20 medical providers across six clinical sites throughout Manatee and Sarasota counties. A seventh site is in the works in Venice. They’re also about to hit a milestone year—their 20th anniversary serving the community they love. This landmark achievement is one of many accomplishments Arsenault Dermatology has achieved in the Sarasota-Bradenton area, and in their industry.

“We are more of a platform than a practice at this point,” CEO, Dr. Mike Arsenault said. “In the beginning, our patients got to know us through word-of-mouth referrals. In 2022, we saw close to 100,000 patients. By comparison, the Tampa Bay Buccaneer’s stadium seats 65,000 people.” 

According to Dr. Mike, when they started out, they did things that seem very normal today, but weren’t done at the time—like providing head-to-toe skin checks, accepting insurance, treating children, and even opening up the first dermatology clinic in Lakewood Ranch. With more than 3,400 Google reviews at an average of 4.9 stars, their patients are showing they’re happy with the experience, results, and medical care they’re receiving. 

Dr. Mike is also proud that, due to their size, they’re able to  provide their patients with two world-class Mohs surgeons: Dr. Jennifer Brammeier and Dr. Brian Bishop. 

Mohs surgery, created by Dr. Friedrich Mohs in the 1930s, is a subspecialty of dermatology and a highly effective and precise tissue-sparing technique for treating skin cancer. During this procedure, the surgeons are actively examining tissue under a microscope, allowing them to see where a cancer stops—something other skin cancer treatments don’t offer. Because of the thorough evaluation of tissue involved with a microscope, Mohs surgery has the highest cure rate of any treatment for skin cancers on the face. 

According to Dr. Brammeier, most of the surgeries she and Dr. Bishop perform are on the head and neck—specifically ears, noses, and lips. 

“We’re primarily working with two main types of cancer,” Dr. Brammeier said, “Squamous cell carcinoma and basal cell carcinoma, but also a lot of melanomas.”

Both doctors enjoy different aspects of their job.

“I like to work with my hands, and I like the artistic component, that we have to be mindful of both the cosmetic and functional outcome,” Dr. Brammeier said. “We’re also checking on the specimens underneath the microscope, and that’s another part I really enjoy.” 

Dr. Bishop, who initially planned to become a general surgeon, appreciates that his patients are awake during the entire Mohs surgery. 

“In an outpatient setting with the patient awake, you can be more concerned about the patient overall and help ease any of that anxiety that comes along with surgery,” he said. “It tends to be the best of both worlds where you get that comfortable environment and that patient rapport, but you also get to do the artistic work, the creative and fun components, like Dr. Brammeier mentioned.”

Mohs surgery is an outpatient surgery performed in-office and under local anesthesia in two phases. In phase one, the cancer is completely removed as confirmed by a microscope. In phase two, the open area receives a cosmetic closure. 

Both Arsenault Dermatology Mohs surgeons keep to the practice’s highest surgical standards, using plastic surgical techniques to ensure all scars are hidden along the normal folds and lines of the face. 

Mohs surgery is highly specialized work, using the latest technology, and an experienced team of histotechnologists who flash freeze patient samples and prepare microscopic slides on site. The surgeons comment that there’s a certain energy to it, where the patient is relaxed, but everything else is constantly moving. 

“Mohs never gets boring. Every case is challenging in its own way,” Dr. Brammeier said. “There’s always something new.”  

Dr. Bishop agrees. 

“I always thought that it would get to a point where I was seeing the same things over and over again, but you can find the fun and creativity with every case.”

Arsenault Dermatology
8926 77th Terrace East, Unit 101
Lakewood Ranch, FL 34202
941-907-0222
www.arsenaultdermatology.com

Sumeet Bhanot, M.D., FACS

Family ties have always been paramount in the life of Dr. Sumeet Bhanot.  Dr. Bhanot was born into a military family in Chandigarh, India, while his father was on the battlefield.  He grew up in India till the age of 8 when he immigrated to the United States after his father fell ill and needed advanced medical care.  This exposure to the medical field is what inspired him to become a physician.  To realize his dream, dedication and perseverance earned scholarships to prestigious schools such as NYU and Yale University.  This life altering experience fostered the mettle that has shaped him into the surgeon he is today.

Dr. Bhanot is best known for his deep plane facelift, borne from decades of study, experience and his relentless pursuit of the perfect facelift.  His belief is a paradigm shift in our understanding of the aging face and surgical philosophy.  Phrases such as sagging skin, wrinkles and volume loss are used to describe the visible symptoms of aging; efforts to make amends by pulling, smoothing and plumping can fall short.  The root cause of these symptoms is the shifting of the deep volume from the upper face to the lower.  He feels the remedy is to return this deeper volume and entire face as one unit, restoring the natural facial volume distribution, alleviating the heaviness around the mouth and laugh lines, lifting the face (jowl) out of the neck, relegating the need for fillers, fat and excessive stretching.  Dr. Bhanot believes that the true art of plastic surgery is achieved by following Mother Nature’s grand plan, creating dramatic change with subtle natural, beautiful, refreshed, youthful results.  His patients report looking decades younger, without the “tell” of an overly operated, exagerated, plumped and stretched look.  

Dr. Bhanot is double board certified in Facial Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery as well as Head and Neck Surgery.  His blend of artistry, beauty and expertise in science, combined with a compassionate, warm manner, has earned him ranking as a Castle Connolly Top Doctor for eleven consecutive years.  Dr. Bhanot resides in Sarasota with his beautiful wife Kelly and their three children.

Bhanot Facial Plastic Surgery
2038 Bee Ridge Rd, Sarasota, FL 34239
941.966.3223 • www.sarasotafacialplastics.com

Joe Greco, MD

Dr. Joseph Greco is a third-generation hair transplant surgeon following in the footsteps of his grandfather, Dr. Joseph Greco, Sr.—a pioneer in the field—and his father, Joseph Greco, PhD, PAC, a world-renowned hair transplant surgeon based in Sarasota for over three decades. One of Dr. Joseph Greco’s earliest memories was watching his grandfather take care of patients in his home. Greco used to tag along on house calls too, often receiving gifts from regular patients. Though that was many years ago in a rural coal-mining town in Pennsylvania, it isn’t hard to see that his grandfather’s commitment to providing exceptional medical care has carried on through each generation of the Greco family.

Today, the hair restoration center at Greco Dermatology provides unique solutions for hair loss—both surgical and non-surgical. Greco’s wife, Vicky Greco, is the aesthetics director and specializes in scalp micro-pigmentation, scar camouflage, and microblading. Greco Dermatology utilizes proprietary techniques that harness a patient’s own growth factors in a highly concentrated protein matrix for use in bio-enhanced skin rejuvenation, hair restoration, and personalized topical skin therapy.  

Dr. Greco is a Double Board Certified physician, previously Director of UCLA Santa Monica Dermatology, and Health Sciences Associate Clinical Professor at UCLA. He has been recognized as one of Southern California’s rising stars, annually as a SuperDoctor® in Southern California (2016-2022) as well as a TopDoctor® in Los Angeles in 2018. He has an extensive list of book chapters and journal articles, and he has also appeared as a faculty presenter at national conferences and workshops on surgical anatomy, advanced surgical reconstructive techniques, cutaneous oncology, hair transplantation, and novel laser and light source technologies. Although his time in California was fruitful, and he had an attachment to his patients and his practice, he missed working alongside his father. 

This past March, he took the leap and moved his family to Sarasota. The family aspect is the force behind him going into medicine, so it made sense to make the move.  Will there be a Dr. Joseph Greco the 4th? According to Dr. Greco, a next possible successor, his two-year-old son, Joey, has not decided what he wants to be when he grows up. Though Dr. Greco admits that “it would be great if the family legacy continued for a 4th generation.”

Greco Dermatology
1990 Main Street, Suite 700, Sarasota, FL 34236
941.867.3376 • grecodermatology.com

Federico Richter, MD, RPhS, DABVLM Board Certified

As a child growing up in Argentina, third generation vein specialist, Dr. Federico Richter was surrounded by expert vein physicians. His grandfather helped pioneer sclerotherapy, a treatment for varicose and spider veins, and his father was also a vein specialist. Though vein procedures have advanced today, he learned a lot in his early years.  

“I grew up around veins since I was two to three years old,” he said. “I was in my dad’s office looking at before and after pictures of patients. When I was a kid, I would look at people’s legs and notice their varicose veins, and skin discolorations and think—they should see someone for that.”

Dr. Richter was also impacted by his father’s patients’ stories.

“Many of my dad’s patients would tell me, ‘your dad changed my life. Because of what he did, I can now sleep at night.’”

In Dr. Richter’s practice today at Florida Vein Center in Bradenton, he’s proud to say his patients are sharing the same stories. 

Though varicose veins are a common problem, Dr. Richter explains that not much is taught about vein issues in medical school or residency. That’s why he’s committed to teaching residents at Manatee Memorial and Blake Hospital, as well as primary care facilities locally. In his teaching, he does his best to clear away misconceptions that varicose veins and spider veins are cosmetic problems, rather than a medical issue. He also explains and gives lectures on chronic venous insufficiency, a condition that affects millions, but is often misdiagnosed by doctors. 

Dr. Richter has been practicing as a vein specialist since 2007. He’s one of a few vein specialists in Florida that focuses solely on vein problems. He’s also the first physician in the state of Florida to perform a venous seal, a medical superglue treatment for veins. Though he’s in a high demand industry and often works long hours, he doesn’t see it as work.

“To change a patient’s life and make them feel better with something that’s very simple and minimally invasive, it’s very rewarding.”

Dr. Richter says his father recently retired from his practice in Argentina, and is very proud of the work he’s doing; carrying on the family legacy of helping people to get their lives back after struggling with vein problems.

Florida Vein Center
6050-A 53rd Ave E
Bradenton, FL 34203
941.907.3400

4051 Upper Creek Dr #108
Sun City Center, FL 33573
813.634.9260
www.floridaveincenter.com

Steven Reichbach, MD

When board certified anesthesiologist, Dr. Steven Reichbach moved to Florida from New York eight years ago, he’d been working for decades at the largest private practice anesthesiology group in the country. Though he enjoyed what he did, he was considering a different focus in medicine—-treatment for chronic pain, depression, PTSD, and addiction. Dr. Reichbach was intrigued by research surfacing about long-term pain and mental health treatment with a common anesthetic drug, Ketamine. He was very familiar with this drug as he had been using it in his practice since 1991. 

“One of my former partners had opened up an office providing IV Ketamine infusions for mental health disorders,” he said. “So I spoke with him and realized I could use my knowledge and experience with Ketamine in a different way, outside of surgery centers.”

Dr. Reichbach also noticed there were other physicians across  the country using Ketamine for treatment of chronic pain and mental health disorders in private practice. Not long after, Dr. Reichbach opened the Reichbach Center on University Parkway. 

Initially, 90 to 95% of Dr. Reichbach’s patients were self-referred. Many felt their psychiatrist wouldn’t approve of their Ketamine treatments. Today, around 70% of his patients are referrals from therapists and psychiatrists. He attributes this change to more knowledge about Ketamine in the media, as well as psychiatrists and therapists seeing results from their patients firsthand. 

Dr. Reichbach also added Cannabis to his options for treatment, at his patients’ requests. He found that many wanted to use medical cannabis to treat sleep and anxiety problems. 

Dr. Reichbach states “We can usually get good results using Ketamine with relatively low amounts. Too much of something can worsen things, so we monitor everything closely.” 

With such a high demand for his services, the Reichbach Center is growing fast, and the future is promising. So many people are looking for better solutions to heal from their chronic pain, while also overcoming conditions like depression, anxiety, PTSD, OCD and even alcohol addiction. 

“The most rewarding thing is when a patient tells me they feel like their old self again,” Seeing the light come back into their eyes… that’s as good as it gets.”

Reichbach Center
2415 University Parkway, Building #3, Suite 215
P: (941) 213-4444
F: (941) 213-4440
info@findpainrelief.com
www.findpainrelief.com

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

When Dr. Alissa Shulman was about 13 years old, she witnessed a plastic surgery in progress and was mesmerized. The surgeon, seeing her interest, came out from behind the viewing glass and introduced himself. He was both an artist and a plastic surgeon.

“That was it—-that’s when I knew what I wanted to do,” she said. Starting at the early age of four, Dr. Shulman enjoyed creating sculptures and sewing. She later took these skills into her adulthood, obtaining dual degrees in anatomy and fine arts (sculpture). 

Today, she’s the first woman named Chief of Surgery at Sarasota Memorial, and 2016 Sarasota Memorial Hospital Physician of the Year, as well as the owner of Sovereign Plastic Surgery in Sarasota, combining her sculpture and medical expertise.  

“Sculpting changes the way something looks from all three dimensions,” she said. “As a plastic surgeon, that’s what I’m doing.” 

One of Dr. Shulman’s many specialties is fat grafting, a procedure she describes as similar to sculpting clay. It involves harvesting fat from one area of the body, and then injecting it into the desired area.

“If you carefully process the fat and put it in a place where it has a good blood supply, it really does well,” she said. “I like a nice, healthy patient that gives me tissue to work with.” 

Dr. Shulman’s plastic surgery focus is the body—like tummy tucks, implant removal, breast reductions, breast lifts, and breast reconstruction. She enjoys the challenge of helping patients achieve the look they always wanted. 

Dr. Shulman has achieved many awards and enjoys the artistic challenge and positive results she gives her patients. A mom of two teenage girls, she plans to continue working as a surgeon into her 70s. 

As far as working with her hands, not much has changed since her early years.

“Whatever I’m doing, I’ve always got to be using my hands,” she said. “I’ve been using my hands and making things my whole life, and this is a way to do that with medicine.”

Sovereign Plastic Surgery
1950 Arlington St., Suite 112, Sarasota, FL 34239
941.366.5476 • www.sovereignps.com

Cohen & Associates

At Cohen and Associates, our goal is to help you better understand your psychiatric symptoms and condition, and to work collaboratively with you to improve your overall health and well-being. In over a decade of private clinical practice, each of us has worked closely with patients to select the most evidence-based, effective medication(s) to achieve symptom remission. In addition, the most current technology in gene testing now allows us to best choose personalized medication strategies that are more likely to improve your condition. Aside from medication options, we strive to help you gain meaningful personal insights, provide support for your discomfort and help you adapt new ways of coping with challenges.  

We are here for you. We are dedicated, experienced and honored to provide care to our community. 

Cohen & Associates
1217 S East Ave #209, Sarasota, FL 34239
941.559.8500 • www.drrebeccacohen.com