| My route to becoming a plastic surgeon was a little longer
and less traditional than most. Plastic Surgery is a specialty that is very diverse and encourages physicians from other surgical specialties to become a plastic surgeon. My background before Plastic Surgery was in dentistry and oral surgery, the surgical specialty of Dentistry. In my oral surgery training, I was involved in treating children with birth deformities of the face. I worked alongside plastic surgeons in caring or these children and because of this experience, I set out to become a plastic surgeon. I went back to medical school, then on to training in General Surgery, Plastic Surgery, and finally pediatric and craniofacial plastic surgery. I practiced and taught Plastic Surgery at Loma Linda University for 6 years before coming to Bakersfield.
How do you hope to serve individuals and the community as a plastic surgeon?
I believe I can be an addition to the already high quality medical care in the Bakersfield community with my special expertise in facial and children’s plastic surgery. People seeking plastic surgery in Bakersfield do not have to feel as if they need to go to Los Angeles to obtain state of the art plastic surgery – it is available right here in Bakersfield.
What advice would you give someone considering plastic surgery?
There is a great deal of misinformation about Plastic Surgery presented by the media and on the internet. If someone is thinking of having a plastic surgery procedure, it is a good idea to educate yourself about the procedure you desire but it must always be kept in mind there are many individuals out there trying to “sell” you plastic surgery. Oftentimes, this results in claims that are not entirely forthcoming. A common “sales tactic” I hear about is for someone to claim they can perform a facelift and there will be no swelling or bruising and the person having the facelift can return to work the next day. I am involved with some aspect of facelift surgery every day and I can tell you I wish it were true that you can go back to work the next day but that is just not the case. You must be wary of many of the claims made about plastic surgery. Just like most things – “if it sounds too good to be true …. It probably is.”
What are the most common procedures performed locally?
I have two areas of plastic surgery I concentrate on – facial surgeries and buttock augmentation. One of the nice things about working with the other plastic surgeons at Beautologie is we have such a busy practice we can specialize in certain areas. Since I have had so much experience in facial surgeries I perform the facelifts and rhinoplasties. This is great for me because I enjoy doing these procedures and since I am doing them every week, I am able to hone my skills and get consistent, very good results.
There are not a lot of plastic surgeons that do buttock enhancement surgery. Buttock augmentation is one of the fastest growing plastic surgery procedures and because our practice at Beautologie has people coming to us from all of the Central Valley I am able to provide buttock enhancement to many individuals. Look out J-Lo, there is competition for you now!
What are the most common misconceptions about your line of work?
The recovery time from plastic surgery. One has to remember that plastic surgery is surgery. People do not expect to go back to normal activities the day after having their gall bladder removed but because of the way plastic surgery is presented on TV, people do not realize there is a normal recovery period just like with any surgery. Generally, the recovery time is about 10 – 14 days for most plastic surgery procedures to where one is getting back to routine activity.
What makes you best suited for your job?
I believe there are many factors that make a successful plastic surgeon. I saw these qualities at work during the time I taught plastic surgery. Certainly, training in Plastic Surgery and the experience that brings is important but that only gets one so far. Plastic surgery also requires the ability to perform complex maneuvers with one’s hands, visualize 3 –dimensionally and those that are the best have a lifelong desire to examine results and strive for improvement. However, the quality I saw in my training that separated the very best plastic surgeons from the others is attention to the details of the surgery. Plastic surgery is all about being exacting in the details of the operation. Exactness is part of my basic make up.
What is the most rewarding experience you¹ve had in your career?
I really do not look at one single experience that stands out as most rewarding. Now that I am getting a little older (I just turned 50) I have found helping people look younger very rewarding. Studying the facial aging process and applying the techniques of facial rejuvenation to counteract aging is both quite challenging and rewarding. Some techniques have not really changed all that much. The facelift operation is basically the same now as it was 20 years ago – despite what the media and certain people will tell you – but it takes years to master. What has changed is fat grafting to the face along with performing a facelift. I am continually amazed at the results that can be achieved combining fat grafting with other more traditional facial rejuvenation procedures.
What has your job taught you?
People have the same fears and desires regardless of age, race, ethnic heritage or wealth. We are really all the same on the inside. |
