Doctor Q&A

Thank you for your inquiry! We would love to sit down with you to discuss your concerns. Based on the photos and depending on the implant size, a breast augmentation may provide enough volume to lift. Schedule a consultation with a Board Certified Plastic Surgeon to help you reach your goals.

Dear keh1994,
Thank you for sharing your photos and your story. I understand your frustration, especially when you feel unable to reach your original surgeon.
At 11 months post-operatively, the "drop and fluff" process is complete, and the tissues have fully healed. Therefore, what you are seeing now is likely the permanent result unless a revision is performed. Spontaneous correction is highly unlikely at this stage.
Based on your photos, there is a clear discrepancy in the vertical...

Thank you for your inquiry! We would love to sit down with you to discuss your concerns. Our abdominoplasty typically consists of Liposuction of the abdomen, tightening of the abdominal muscle, lifting the mons and removing the excess skin. Schedule a consultation with a Board Certified Plastic Surgeon so we can discuss your goals in further detail.

In my opinion, given that the tattoo is located low on the abdomen just below the belly button, a tummy tuck is a valid and effective option. In this location, the tattoo would typically be fully removed with the excess skin, and the final scar would be placed low and easily hidden. This approach addresses both confidence concerns and abdominal contour at the same time.

The key is proper planning to ensure complete removal and a balanced result.

Whenever you’re ready:
Let’s make it bet...

In my opinion, the unevenness you’re seeing is due to fat distribution differences and skin laxity, which are very common and not caused by anything you did wrong. Weight loss can help overall proportion, but exercise alone cannot correct sagging or asymmetry in this area.

The most effective solution is a buttock lift combined with fat transfer (BBL). The lift addresses the sagging and skin excess, while fat grafting restores roundness and corrects asymmetry. This approach reshapes the b...

Body contouring procedures have become increasingly popular and can help men and women recontour their body in adulthood. If you have stubborn areas of fatty accumulation that are more resistant to diet and exercise, you may be a candidate for body sculpting liposuction performed at Kare Plastic Surgery in Santa Monica. Liposuction remains one of the most popular procedures in cosmetic surgery and allows patients to slim and toned their waist line, back, arms, and legs using this minimally...

Thanks so much for your question,
Yes, in general, it is better to do a brow lift before a hair transplant or hairline-lowering procedure. A brow lift changes the position of the brows and the forehead skin, and in some techniques it can subtly affect the hairline position or tension. If you did the hair transplant first and then lifted the brow later, you could end up distorting the transplanted grafts or shifting the hairline in an unpredictable way. Doing the brow lift (and...

Hello and thank you for your question. I highly recommend that my patients focus much more on real longterm before and after photographs rather than 3D imaging.   I encounter so many patients in my practice who see me for revision rhinoplasty who previously had surgery elsewhere who feel like they were mislead into surgery by surgeons who relied heavily on 3D imaging without adequate real before and after pictures to back it up. Photoshop is easy but real surgery is very different.

I a...

Correction of deviated septum is not always easy and completely predictable procedure. Only after deformity is completely defined after surgical exposure, an experienced surgeon will make decision what is the best way to correct and fix it to prevent recurrence. In your case it is very likely that a combination of septoplasty and rhinoplasty to address function and external nose dis-balance would be my suggestion. Good luck.

Hello! Thank you for your question.
As far as I can understand from your question rhinoplasty surgery is a comprehensive procedure and should be approached as such. For this reason, rhinoplasty would be the most suitable method we can recommend for you.
It would be better face to face consultation.
Best Regards!

A March surgery date can absolutely be realistic, but it depends on a few key factors. If you have your consultation in December or January, and there are no medical issues, March is typically achievable depending on the surgeon’s availability, financing approval, and completion of pre-operative requirements.
As far as recovery and time off work, this varies by procedure and the physical demands of your job. For mommy makeovers that include a tummy tuck, I generally recommend 2 weeks off f...

Breasts are seldom perfectly symmetric. The symmetry can generally be improved as a part of a breast reduction.

Hello and thank you for this question. This is a topic I’m asked about during every consultation I do for both breast reduction and breast augmentation. There is an area of fat right under the armpits that plagues women of all shapes and sizes. It’s very simple to treat with liposuction during your procedure. It’s not typically covered by insurance but the cost, time and recovery are often minimal and can be done at the same time as your reduction or performed later under local anest...

Yes, it is absolutely possible in many cases to keep your current implants and still perform a breast reduction — but it must be done with the right technique and for the right reason.This situation is actually a classic indication for a Push-Up Lift–style reduction.How breasts get “too big” with implantsOver time, breasts can enlarge due to:Weight changesHormonal factorsPregnancySkin and tissue stretchIn these cases, the excess volume is usually your own breast tissue, not the impla...

In my opinion, flanks-only liposuction is a good, natural option if your skin is smooth and your goal is subtle curves with less downtime. For the most balanced result, VASER Lipo 360 is ideal.

Whenever you’re ready:
Let’s make it better.

Warmly,
Dr. Luis Mejía, MD
Board-Certified Plastic Surgeon

Morpheus 8 is a non-invasive skin and soft tissue tightening treatment that is consistently amazing in our patients. We use the Morpheus to exact fractional induced RF into the skin or tissue in order to tighten collagen and stimulate contraction of the tissue. For acne scars, it is quite useful to build collagen in patients who have atrophic scars but is not very productive for ice-pick scars which require TCA Cross. For tissue tightening, Morpheus is ideal for the face and neck and we...

Thank you for your question and photo. Based on this single frontal view photo, you would do best with a full facelift, neck lift, upper lip lift and fat transfer to the upper face. The brow and eyelids can be done later. Now you can waste your money on smaller, ineffective procedures like what you have done already, which BTW, will make a facelift more challenging. You do have an asymmetrical face with one side significantly smaller, significant perioral aging, loose ski and platysmal...

Hi TBD.  In most cases, the key issue in determining whether to suggest dermal fillers or surgery is volume loss vs. skin laxity.  If the skin is loose and drooping, then surgery is often the best option.  If the skin is taught and firm, but the patient is thin or has volume loss, then we suggest dermal fillers.  In your case it appears that you have not lost much elasticity in the skin but do have a depression in what's called the malar area.  We commonly use Radiesse and Restylane Lyft...

Thank you for your question. I would consider the face and the neck as one aesthetic unit. The face and neck belong together. Anatomically, the tissue layers of the face transition into the neck. It only makes sense while performing a deep plane face lift to address the neck as well. The most beautiful results are obtained when both is combined usually with some ancillary procedures of the face, to address all the aging processess - like the eyes, volume loss, upper lip ptosis, brow...

You appear to be a great candidate for a deep plane facelift and neck lift, especially given your concerns about nasolabial folds, midface sagging, and heaviness along the jawline. This technique lifts the deeper facial layers rather than just the skin, providing a more natural and long-lasting result.
I often combine this with fat grafting to restore volume in the cheeks and around the mouth, which helps smooth folds and balance the facial contour.
While your photos are helpful for an...

No. That would complete eliminate the nesting affect of the implant sitting in a space between the two fascial planes with Cooper's ligaments and associated breast tissue surrounding the device. Motiva Ergonomix implants are the only ones that can be placed in this fashion. Preserve represents a totally new and better paradigm for breast augmentation. Keep in mind there are only about 50 surgeons in the US who have been trained to do this technique with it's proprietary instruments, so you...

Thank you for your inquiry. We would love to sit down with you and talk about your concerns and goals. Yes, implants have the cc and a serial number on them. The implant that is used has the information on them. Schedule a consultation with a Board Certified Surgeon.

Thank you for your inquiry. We would love to sit down with you and talk about your concerns and goals. Upper eyelid surgery removes excess skin to the upper eyelid giving you a natural more rejuvenated look to the eye. We recommend a consultation in person to see what would benefit you the most. Schedule a consultation with a Board Certified Surgeon.

The first photo shows bilateral upper eyelid retraction which is worse the anatomic left side in this image (assumes you have not reversed the images). In the second image pair, both upper eyelids are heavy with a relatively flat upper eyelid contour, the other eyelid demonstrates peaking of the upper eyelid just later to the lateral limbus—where the colored part of the eye meets the white of the eye. Should you have your original surgeon fix this? I can almost guarantee that your surgeon w...

Based on this photo you may have a droopy eyelids, condition called upper eyelid ptosis. Treatment of this condition is surgical. In person consultation with a board certified plastic or oculoplastic surgeon is recommended. Good luck.

Hello Ingrid.  For what you are describing, you have several options.  A tiny dose of neurotxin like Botox or Dysport should be able to stop the twitching.  For the volume loss, including what you are seeing when you smile, dermal fillers often work very well.  We prefer Restylane in this area.  Finally, if there is too much loose skin (not really apparent from your photos), then a surgical option is also a possibility.  Best of luck.