With his glitzy roster of elite clientele from Chicago and around the world, Dr. Leon Forrester Tcheupdjian is the self-proclaimed king of liposuction. A forerunner in field of cosmetic surgery since the 1970s, Tcheupdjian has brought numerous surgical and non-surgical techniques to the country that loves to nip, tuck and augment their troubles away.

With his daughter and head nurse Leslie Forrester by his side, the pair are Chicago’s own “Plastic Royalty.” At least that’s how NBC felt earlier this year when they signed up the twosome for a reality television show shepherded by Towers Productions. “Plastic Royalty” will give viewers a look at how the cosmetic couple transforms the lives of their patients by day … and rub elbows with the upper crust by night.

The father-daughter duo took a break from an afternoon of tummy-tuck procedures, tattoo removals and chemical peels at their Gold Coast office to chat with Skyline about the upcoming show.

Leslie: There’s definitely the medical side of it; we’re the largest cosmetic and plastic surgery center in Illinois, we have done more liposuction cases than anyone in the country. But I think more uniquely, it’s very unusual to find a father and daughter team who are actually cool people and who relate to their patients. We hang out together, we shop together, we live within a block of each other and we work full time together. This is our family business.

Leon: It’s the yin and the yang. She’s more the speed, energy and youth, and I bring more of the subtleness and age. So we push and pull each other all day long, and we work as a great team.

Leon: In a surgical world, that would be liposuction and breast enhancement. On the non-surgical side, that would be laser treatments — be it removal of tattoos, removal of unwanted hair, or growth of hair. We have a laser here that actually promotes hair.

Leslie: We can remove it and we can grow it. As long as the men don’t want to put that [hair] on their backs, I’m totally cool with that. I do a ton of lips, too.

Leon: Actually, her nickname is the Queen of the Lips. She is the lips person.

Leon: All walks of life; the educated, young, healthy and realistic.

Leslie: I think mostly people think this is for the upper crust, and it isn’t. The majority of people we see are everyday people that maybe want a little something to make themselves feel better. Especially with unemployment rates being up, people feel like they need to be a little more rejuvenated to compete in the field.

I think there’s a huge misconception with who our clients are. Our client is your soccer mom, or your buddy that lives next door to you. And all this stuff is so affordable now that it’s not for the upper crust, it’s for everybody.

Leon: In scientific terms, it has changed very little. Liposuction is extraction of localized fat. The techniques and devices have changed, but at the end of the day, you are removing fat from an unwanted body part. How good you are at doing that in an artistic fashion will end up being the ultimate result. Would Michelangelo have performed better if he had had an electric chisel? If we can buy Michael Jordan’s shoes, does that mean we can play like him? Device creation can only help to a certain point.

Non-surgically, a lot has changed. That is a technological world, from the creation of lasers, to materials like botox and fillers that you inject inside people to create a change. Who knows what the future will bring? Maybe injectable glues? That could be amazing.

Leslie: I wanted to work with my father, I knew that from when I was a very young child. I think if he had been another kind of surgeon I would have been a nurse for him then, too. I just inherited that creative, artistic ability to understand this field; whether it’s nature versus nurture I have no idea, and I don’t care, I just love it.

Leon: I think there are many situations where you say “no thank you” or you reject a patient. Health is a big issue: you could have a cardiac issue, you could be pregnant, or you might be taking certain medications such as blood-thinner that counteract with certain injections. There are also people who have unreasonable expectations.

Leslie: Weight loss is also a big issue. We don’t look at a patient and say “you’re too big, we can’t operate on you.” We might not be able to that moment, but what we will do is guide them through weight loss and get them healthy.

Leon: It’s a reality show, this is not rehearsed. There will be pre- and post-surgery consultations, you will watch some procedures we perform, and then post-op patients will talk about how what they have to say and what they went through.

Leslie: And then the social aspects of our lives, there’s some of that as well.

Leon: My personal life is very boring; I’m a workaholic and an avid reader. But she’s got a much more exciting life than I do.

Leslie: Ideally, I would like people to see that this field is really about improving people inside and out, and that there is so much compassion and love in what we do. Really, the best feeling is seeing somebody feel so good afterwards, even if it’s for something little. And we’d really like to bring down the intimidation of this field, because it’s not intimidating.

Leslie: People always ask if it’s gross to watch it, but it’s not. With liposuction, there’s no blood.

Leon: Everything is controlled, even with big tummy-tucks there is no blood and guts. Most people, when they are done being injected, ask is that it?

Leslie: This isn’t open-heart surgery, we’re not cracking any chests open. You could watch a liposuction and eat simultaneously and it really wouldn’t faze you. Nothing needs to end up on the editing floor, it’s cool.

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By Tracy Klimek from Bridgeview
Posted: 10/07/2010 6:34 PM

Forgot to put where I am from on the recent comment. sorry

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By Yvonne from goldcoast
Posted: 08/25/2010 10:41 AM

Awesome.. a Chicago reality show, with a great Dr, nurse, and staff! I always feel like a million bucks when I leave. Also, the warmth, and camaraderie is an added bonus to my visit. Rock it guys!

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By Rocco from The LP
Posted: 08/08/2010 4:44 PM

I hear Gary a.k.a. The G Man is awesome on this show. I also hear that there are a few other characters, Dr. Roman, GAS MAN DAN, etc. who make this a great show!!!

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By jen from naperville
Posted: 08/06/2010 11:16 AM

This is going to be a great show if anyone in CHICAGO should being making a show about how to make people feel and look beautiful... It's the lipo hut... Can't wait to watch. xx

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By Julie Polk from Gold Coast
Posted: 07/30/2010 10:22 PM

I am so happy to have Leslie and Leon here for my needs. They have been fantastic, and I would recommend them to everyone. Their staff is wonderful as well!

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By ruby from chicago
Posted: 07/30/2010 7:14 PM

It's about time Chicago has a its own reality show! and a Royalty show on top of it. Bravo. Mayor Daley will be proud. They are a great group of docs and beautiful staff, specially Leslie, I cant wait to see the show Much success to the entire staff.

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By katiemkeegan@yahoo.com from Gold Coast
Posted: 07/30/2010 6:42 PM

Can't wait to see this show. Should be cool. I've been going to see Dr T for a while now.