Founder | Cocoona Centre for Aesthetic Transformation
A surgeon-preneur, Dr Sanjay Parashar is a man unafraid of risk. He is an entrepreneur and an expert surgeon, trained in plastic surgery, cardiothoracic surgery, general surgery, and craniofacial surgery.
Fueled by a desire to excel and to rise beyond the norm, he has crafted a renowned business, Cocoona Centre for Aesthetic Transformation.
A proficient chess player and cricketer, occasional sculptor, and gold medalist, Dr Parashar is a man who knows how to achieve his ambitions.
The Cocoona Centre for Aesthetic Transformation is one of the largest cosmetic care centres in the Middle East. It provides top quality, precise, robot-assisted, and safe treatments around corrective surgery, aesthetic surgery, dental and skin.
Cocoona has consistently positioned itself as a premier destination for aesthetic care, with an emphasis on innovation.
It is the first of its kind to bring cutting-edge technologies around plastic surgery for the discerning customer. The centre has highly qualified and experienced teams from the practice side to administration.
These include doctors, therapists, nurses, patient counselors, technicians and front desk and customer service staff. The specialised doctors are from across the globe including India, the US, South Korea, Europe, and the Middle East.
This workforce operates as a single unit to provide patients with a world-class experience in pre-and-post-surgery care.
While there are plenty of opportunities to expand his operations, Dr Parashar is a firm believer in meeting the highest quality standards. As such, he has established a niche brand with a few strategic centres. The Group has three centres in the UAE -Al Wast Road, Jumeriah Lake Towers, and Mirdif 35 Community Centre.
He recently launched Cocoona US in Beverly Hills, Los Angeles. The services are hugely popular and draw a wide audience from across the globe. It is also hugely popular among the Arab communities.
The centre has been recently accredited by Joint Commision International (JCIA), the recognised global leader in healthcare accreditation.
The Man Behind The Brand
Dr Parashar illustrates how passion and the drive for excellence can build a successful enterprise. He received his MBBS degree in 1988 and then pursued MS in General Surgery from Nagpur in 1992. He then specialised in Plastic Surgery Diplomate National Board (DipNB 1995) and (Mehl in 1996).
After this, he traveled to Bahrain, the US, South Korea and Australia – constantly learning and feeding his knowledge and practice of plastic surgery. After all his travels, Dr Parashar was quite specific about establishing his practice’s headquarters in Dubai.
His timing could not have been better: The marketplace was ripe with opportunity. Moreover, Dubai’s medical authorities, such as the Department of Health, were very supportive. At the same time, he strictly adhered to protocols and legislation, setting a benchmark for other similar medical institutes.
Now, the centre receives clients from the US, the UK, Saudi Arabia, and Oman, among others. With the support of Sangeeta, Dr Parashar’s wife, who is the CEO and Executive Chairwoman of the Group, this practice is known for professionalism in appointments, personal care, and quality treatments.
Catering to His Client’s Needs
Cocoona oozes choice, comfort, and convenience. Everything is fashioned to provide a luxe experience for its patrons, from construction to fittings and styling. It is a sanctuary that caters to all beauty needs in an expertly chosen serene location.
While expanding the brand portfolio, Dr Parashar understood that walking directly into a plastic surgeon’s office could be intimidating for some. And so, he came up with the idea of Medspa and salons as a user-friendly way to complement the brand name Cocoona. Salon 900, a subsidiary of Cocoona, is a place where customers can patiently speak to experts and make informed choices about cosmetic modifications.
The salon is especially liked by those customers seeking only skin or body care. For those patients that require more focused care, dermatologists and plastic surgeons are available, too. The Group has also launched different skincare products under the brand name SKIN by Cocoona.
These products promote a preventive approach that alleviates damage caused to nourish radiant, even-toned, and hydrated skin. In parallel, Cocoona also offers Continuous Medical Education (CME) programmes to young medical enthusiasts.
Over the years, these have attracted doctors from Qatar, Finland, Saudi Arabia, and India, among others. Dr Parashar also pursues an active digital strategy through e-platforms (See snapshot) that have grabbed the attention of a global audience.
Building Industry Repute
While practicing plastic and craniofacial surgery in Australia in 2002, Dr Parashar had his first experience with world-class technologies in medicine, such as 3D printing and 3D CT scans.
His penchant for ground-breaking innovation is reflected in the state-of-the-art facilities at Cocoona. It is the first surgical center in Dubai to provide robotic hair transplants.
With untiring innovation and determination, Cocoona is constantly strengthening its service offerings, adding various new services that add to its growing renown.
It won the ‘Most Trusted Cosmetic Surgery Clinic in Dubai’ award in 2021 by M EA markets. Dr Parashar looks forward to establishing a chain of cosmetic care clinics providing specialized and quality tertiary medical care.
He also aims to curate fellowship programs for trainees t o gain experience in the field. C Finally, he envisions a facility for scientists and researchers to collaborate on R&D projects that take beauty and plastic surgery to innovative levels.
Reading : The Way to Mastery
Committed to offering his clients the best. Dr Parashar always pursues knowledge. To ensure utmost patient safety during plastic surgery, he took up courses to study cardiothoracic surgery, craniofacial surgery and advanced trauma life support and brings this expertise to every surgery he performs.
He made an effort to become proficient in Arabic to confidently cater to his clients’ needs, understand their preferences, and provide custom services.
Learning a new language is tough by any count. and yet Dr Parashar persisted through true dedication. And while becoming a businessman was never on the cards initially, Dr Parashar remained tuned to the workings of the business world.
He is an avid reader of medical and non-medical books alike. In fact, he strongly advocates that upcoming doctors widen their horizons by learning about the world beyond their medical practices.
He testifies that his search for newer skills gave him the confidence to start his venture. There is an adage, “If you’re a great doctor, you can’t be a good businessman, and if you’re a businessman, you’re not a good doctor.” With Dr Parashar at the heart. Cocoona is a clear example that passion, dedication, and continuous learning make this possible.