by Juris Bunkis, M.D., F.A.C.S.
It was a great privilege and honor to be on the Senate floor, (in the capacity as Honorary Consul for the Republic of Latvia in Southern California) in Sacramento this past week for the unanimous passage of Senate Concurrent Resolution #22, introduced by Senator Josh Newman. The essence of this resolution lies in this phrase: “Resolved by the Senate of the State of California, the Assembly thereof concurring, That the Legislature expresses support for the Governor to execute a cooperation agreement between the Republic of Latvia and the State of California that will promote mutual international trade and commerce”.
After three years of working on this effort (delayed by the COVID pandemic) this new cooperation between the state of California and the country of Latvia (my parents homeland) will result in a trip to Riga by a California delegation headed by Senator Josh Newman. Retired Senator Robert Hertzberg and California Treasurer Fiona Ma will be notable members of the delegation to explore and negotiate new partnerships between Latvia and California businesses. Dr. Ekstrom and I will have the honor to be a part of this delegation.
I had not been in the State Capitol for a number of years and, I must say, the building is even more impressive than I remembered. Upon collapse of Mexican rule in California, a constitutional convention met in 1849 at Colton Hall in Monterey and proposed a constitution, subsequently ratified by the people. San Jose became the first capital. A federal military authority administered California from 1848 until September 9, 1850 when California was admitted to the Union. The following year, the California capital moved for brief periods to Vallejo and later, to Benicia, and in 1854n to Sacramento.
It was not until 1860 that construction began on the current capital building and it was completed in 1874. To add more needed space for government offices the Capitol Annex was added in 1951and the Capital is currently undergoing another renovation. A sense of history pervades as one travels through the capital complex.
Spotlight on Plastic Surgery – Ear Surgery
By Juris Bunkis, M.D., F.A.C.S.
External ear surgery is a common procedure in all of our practices but does not grab the headlines that facelifts, body lifts, BBL’s or some of the other procedures do, but the results are equally satisfying to our patients. The most common ear procedure we do is to repair earlobes torn by wearing heavy earrings. Some of these patients come to us with an enlarged hole, which will not allow an earring to stay in place; at other times, patients present with a completely torn, bifid earlobe. In either case, these are repaired as an office procedure, under local anesthesia, in the office. We can repierce the earlobes after the wounds soften, about three months later.
57-year old female before and after an office repair of a torn earlobe. (Actual patient of Dr. Bunkis)
A step above this in complexity is a closure of a large earlobe hole caused by wearing gauges. We see patients frequently who are applying to the Armed Forces or have “grown up” and are just tired of the large holes, and seek to have them closed. Sometimes the remaining rim of tissue is quite stretched and thinned. These cases obviously take more time and skill to close, but are also done in an office under local anesthesia and produce results very satisfying to the patients.
30 year old male whose life circumstances changed and who tired of the large gauge holes, before and after repair. (Actual patient of Dr. Bunkis)
The most common variety of earlobe deformity we take to the operating room is the so-called protruding ear. Just as some people are tall, others short, some people have big feet, others small, a normal variant in facial aesthetics is the degree of ear protrusion. Most of us have a well-defined antihelical fold and our ears are relatively flat against our heads. In a small percentage of people, the antihelical fold is lessened or missing, and the ear protrudes from the head, often leading to teasing (“Dumbo”, “Mickey Mouse”, etc.) by playmates and friends. Creating an antihelical fold and “folding” the ear back against the head is best done in an operating room under a light general anesthetic. As with many procedures that we perform, patients are frequently surprised afterwards that “no one noticed”, even the folks who used to tease them!
40-year old male, before and after a setback otoplasty. (Actual patient of Dr. Bunkis)
To reach us:
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. John Compoginis at Contact Us Form
Dr. Staci Compoginis at Contact Us Form
Dr. Deborah Ekstrom at mds@salisburyps.com
or Dr. Juris Bunkis at Contact Us Form
