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Katie moves on to the Department of State

By Dr. Juris BunkisSeptember 20, 2022No Comments

by Juris Bunkis, MD

This past week, Orange County Plastic Surgery wished Katie Finaldi godspeed on the next leg of her career. Katie responded to an ad for a receptionist in our office in May of 2020, just as we were reopening from the COVID shutdown. Her CV was different from the ones that usually came across my desk when evaluating candidates. Let me give you a taste of what I read: Katie Finaldi grew up in Corona (of course, lived on a street called Finaldi Way, but that’s another story). She had spent the previous decade in Maryland. Katie earned a Bachelor of Arts degree from Towson University, where she was on the Dean’s List and was the Founder and President of the American Choral Directors Association.

During this time, she also studied in Florence and was fluent in Italian. During nine of her years in Maryland, she was the House Manager for the Baltimore Concert Opera and also was a cantor at the Immaculate Conception Church. She participated in the International Rescue Committee in Baltimore, mentoring a family regarding American culture and helping them acclimate to life in the US. In addition, she worked with sex trafficking survivors through Araminta Freedom International. This definitely was not a typical resume for an office job at a plastic surgery practice! I discussed her application with our office manager, Jo Cattell, and we elected to bring her in for an interview. Katie arrived impeccably dressed and was as impressive in person as she was on paper. Her stated reason for wishing to work for us was that she wished to return to California to be closer to her family. I mentioned that she was overqualified for the position but asked if she would consider helping me with my work at the Latvian Consulate and helping us as an intern for the Los Angeles Consular Corps (she excelled in both diplomatic positions, as well as a patient coordinator in our office). Needless to say, we did not expect Katie to be with us forever. Of course, during the two plus years she was with us, she earned a Master’s degree in criminology at USC – and applied to the State Department for a job in the Diplomatic Protection Unit.

Thank you, Katie, for a job well done, both in our office and with the Los Angeles Consular Corps and the Latvian Consulate. While we all wish you well, we will all miss you very much! It has been an honor to have you with us. We have no doubts that you will excel at the State Department’s DPU!

Spotlight on Plastic Surgery – ABDOMINOPLASTY WITH LIPOSUCTION

by Juris Bunkis, M.D., F.A.C.S.

Liposuction and tummy tucks are NOT weight loss techniques! Patients with big, round distended bellies, with relatively thin external fatty layers frequently come in requesting a liposuction or abdominoplasty. The problem these patients have is an excess of internal fat and neither liposuction nor a tummy tuck will help them. As Dr. Ekstrom discussed in last week’s blog, we counsel patients regarding diet and exercise and they must have their weight under control before considering body contouring surgery – and if that absolutely does not work, consideration can be given to bariatric surgery (procedures like a gastric sleeve, which are done by general surgeons). Once weight has been lost, skin will be lax, and perhaps some external fatty excess may remain – these issues can be effectively addressed with tummy tucks with a liposuction if necessary. The patient shown below lost 60 pounds following a diet and exercise regimen, and came in to see us with skin laxity and some stubborn fatty deposits that did not go away with her healthy regimen. She was an excellent candidate for an abdominoplasty and a 3,500 cc liposuction of her flanks and upper abdominal areas to give us the pleasing result seen below.

An abdominoplasty is an operation in which excess skin and fat from the abdominal wall, particularly below the navel, is removed and the remaining skin tightened. This is accomplished by elevation of the skin and fat, tightening the underlying muscles if necessary, pulling the excess skin downward, and excising the excess. It is particularly effective in removing stretch marks from the lower abdomen, but it must be understood that not all stretch marks can be eliminated, and that some laxity, particularly noticeable when flexing the hips (bending forward or sitting), will persist. The same navel is reinserted into the skin after the tightening procedure. This procedure can be combined with other abdominal or non-abdominal operations such as liposuction, microfat grafting, BBL’s, facelifts, breast enhancement or other procedures. Combining a tummy tuck with breast enhancement is frequently referred to as a “Mommy Makeover”, a popular option at Orange County Plastic Surgery and Salisbury Plastic Surgery!

50 year old female, following a 60 pound weight loss, shown here before and after an abdominoplasty with liposuction (Actual patient of Dr. Bunkis)

If you want to see if you can have any part of your body improved, contact us for a consultation:

For CA, please call 949-888-9700 or visit www.orangecountyplasticsurgery.com
Or for MA location, call 508-755-4825 or visit www.salisburyps.com
You can write to
Dr. Compoginis at compoginis@ocps.com
Dr. Bunkis at bunkis@ocps.com
or Dr. Ekstrom at mds@salisburyps.com