A frightening story showed up in local papers last week regarding Elias Renteria Segoviano. This man got arrested in his “cosmetic surgery practice” in Anaheim. The problem was that “Dr. Renteria” is not a doctor, even though his personalized CA license plate is ELIASMD! His website has been taken down but his Instagram page is still up and shows him injecting Beauty injections and filler, doing thread lifts, liposuction and BBL’s. He was advertising “Beauty injections $5” per unit – that is a little difficult to do as Beauty injections costs us much more directly from the manufacturer, but then again, he was accused of injecting “counterfeit” products. In spite of his total lack of qualifications, he managed to attract 1,600 Instagram followers and have a busy practice for years. Yes, he will go to jail. This story brought up the question of qualifications and we will try to clarify that here. To begin with, after college, four years of medical school is required to become a physician. Training and subsequent examinations are required to complete training. In the case of plastic surgery, there are some six-year combined programs, following which trainees may sit for their plastic surgery boards.
The usual path to a plastic surgery residency is a minimum of 3 years of general surgery training, board certification in orthopedics or in the ear, nose and throat specialty. All three of us are board certified plastic surgeons (Dr. Compoginis and Bunkis are double board certified because they were board certified by the American Board of General Surgery before starting plastic surgery training). Board Certification is the goal of most physicians after they have completed their residencies. One difficulty patients have in assessing physician qualifications is understanding the various certifications and titles doctors earn (or in some cases, just buy). The American Board of Medical Specialties is the leading organization for physician board certification. There are 24 member boards recognized by the ABMS and the American Board of Plastic Surgery is one of them.
Many organizations out there call themselves boards but are not truly recognized boards. For example, the American Board of Cosmetic Surgery sounds great but it is not a board recognized by the American Board of Medical Specialties. And there are many others like it. So buyer beware, call us if you have any questions about qualifications…..if you would like to see a plastic surgeon, make sure they are indeed certified by the American Board of Plastic Surgery.
You can always go to this web site to learn if your doctor is certified by any of the specialties covered by the American Board of Medical Specialties www.certificationmatters.org. Know that you are in good hands at Salisbury Plastic Surgery in Worcester and Orange County Plastic Surgery in Newport Beach.
Spotlight on Plastic Surgery – MASTOPEXY AUGMENTATION by John Compoginis, M.D., F.A.C.S.
A mastopexy augmentation is a powerful combination surgery performed on a select group of patients. It combines a breast lift and a breast augmentation, which can dramatically improve the cosmetic appearance of a breast. As time, gravity and life work on the female breast it can change size, shape and consistency. The skin can stretch and thin. The breast tissue itself can grow, shrink, sag and change in density. Overall, the breast – (especially after breastfeeding) typically loses volume in the upper part of the breast, tends to droop (ptosis), loses projection, changes consistency (breast tissue becomes less dense and more fatty), and is more likely to have an enlarged areola and nipple.
The mastopexy augmentation procedure removes excess breast skin, lifts existing breast tissue, adds projection and fullness, can reduce the size of the areola (if needed) and correct any major asymmetry. Overall the goal is to restore the breast and/or enhance the breast giving it a more youthful look. The surgery itself can last between one and a half hours to two and a half hours and does require anesthesia. Recovery is usually six to eight weeks. A mastopexy augmentation can give years of a youthful breast appearance however, it is important to remember the breast will continue to change (time, life and gravity continue to work on the breast) after.
Female in her mid 20’s, after birth of three children, shown here before and immediately after a breast lift and insertion of 450 cc silicone gel implants (Actual patient of Dr. Compoginis)
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 Contact Us Form
Dr. Bunkis at Contact Us Form
or Dr. Ekstrom at mds@salisburyps.com
