Dr. Ram Kalus is a board-certified plastic surgeon in Mount Pleasant, South Carolina, and Tel Aviv, Israel, with over 32 years in practice. He specializes in aesthetic and reconstructive surgery of the breast, body, and face, with a focus on breast enhancement procedures—including breast augmentation, mastopexy, breast reduction, and immediate and delayed breast reconstruction, along with revision breast reconstructions that may have been performed elsewhere in the past—as well as tummy tucks, labiaplasty, and complete mommy makeovers. The founder of Plastic Surgery of the Carolinas, as well as his practice in Tel Aviv in 2017, Dr. Kalus takes pride in spending as much time as necessary with his patients to answer all of their questions, so they are confident about their surgical journey, and to perform the best possible operation for them. “Much of the anxiety surrounding plastic surgery is the unknown, and fear of a bad outcome,” he says. “We try to dispel and address both concerns for every patient.” Dr. Kalus’s decision to become a plastic surgeon was due to his lifelong appreciation of aesthetics and the physical skill that’s required to create a beautiful outcome. “When I discovered my love of working with my hands and began to understand the power of reconstructive and aesthetic surgery, I became more and more drawn to the specialty,” explains Dr. Kalus. He is also inspired by the influence a person’s confidence in their physical appearance can have on their life. “The extent to which we can positively impact a patient’s self image with our knowledge and skill is both humbling and gratifying,” he says. Although he specializes in aesthetic surgery of the breast and face, Dr. Kalus makes no distinction between aesthetic and reconstructive surgery. “A breast reconstruction is no less an aesthetic operation than a breast augmentation. A reconstruction of a nose or forehead defect is no less an aesthetic procedure than a rhinoplasty or blepharoplasty,” he says. “My absolute cardinal principle is to leave the patient appearing as though they never had surgery.” Dr. Kalus also enjoys performing aesthetic facial reconstruction, as it respects the complex topography of the face as much as the anatomy, and makes every effort to leave the patient with an “unoperated” appearance. He is also known for his expertise in both primary and secondary labiaplasty. “This procedure is less frequently discussed, yet the need for which is clearly underserved from the standpoint of women suffering needlessly from labia minora hypertrophy, or disfigurement from improperly performed primary procedure,” explains Dr. Kalus. “This can be a source of significant improvement of quality of life for countless patients.” After earning his medical degree from Boston University, Dr. Kalus completed his general surgery training at Hartford Hospital and the University of Connecticut. He then underwent plastic surgery training at the Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center in New Hampshire, the University of Massachusetts Medical Center in Worcester, Massachusetts, and in Paris, France at the Hospital for Sick Children. Board certified by the American Board of Plastic Surgery, Dr. Kalus has been an active member of several prestigious medical societies. He is a fellow of the American College of Surgeons and an active member of the American Society of Plastic Surgeons and the American Society for Aesthetic Plastic Surgery. Dr. Kalus also held the roles of Past President and Treasurer of the South Carolina Society of Plastic Surgeons.