Dr. Kaplan and the entire PHPS Family are excited to welcome Dr. Gaetano “Guy” Zanelli to the practice. He’s a board certified dermatologist with decades of experience. As you can see above, he brings new aesthetic, non-surgical devices to the office! Now taking appointments for the full breadth of medical and cosmetic dermatology, including:

• Botox and Dysport
• Facial rejuvenation with fillers
• Microneedling
• Leg vein treatments
• Laser hair removal
• Acne scarring
• Chemical peels
• Ultherapy for non-surgical facial skin tightening
• Laser and IPL Photofacial treatments for
  • redness (rosacea)
  • broken capillaries
  • brown spots
• Acne evaluation and treatment
• Cyst treatment
• PRP injections for hair loss
• Removal of moles, lesions and skin cancer
• Rosacea
• Warts

To get on his already busy schedule, please call or TEXT us at 415-923-3005

The post Introducing our new dermatologist: Dr. Gaetano “Guy” Zanelli first appeared on Plastic Surgeon San Francisco | Pacific Heights Plastic Surgery.

Join the Bae Club (aka Club Kaplan)!

For those of you not aware by now, Dr. Kaplan goes by Dr. Bae on social media! As silly as it sounds, this online persona has taken on a life of its own. He’s still the same person regardless, but being Dr. Bae in the Bay Area just made sense on Snapchat and Instagram. Spelling it B-a-e rather than B-a-y is simply a play on words.

And now Pacific Heights Plastic Surgery and Dr. Kaplan are launching the Bae Club! The Bae Club is an additional way to provide our patients with a high end, VIP experience.

When you join the Bae Club, you’ll enter a world of special offers just for you and the ability to treat yourself year round. Check out either the Membership or Package below and see which fits your needs best:

The Bae Club Injectables and SkinCare Membership:

• Up to 20% off Botox/Xeomin, fillers, Latisse and Obagi skin care products.
• Get treated, or purchase, as much and as often as you like and always get up to 20% off.
• All you do is pay a low monthly membership fee (automatically charged to a card on file).
• Purchase must be made online by clicking the button below. Can not purchase in office.

Purchase your Membership HERE!

The Bae Club Wrinkle Reducer Package: 

• Come in the office every three months, get 20 units of Botox/Xeomin and walk right out of the office!
• Instead of paying a lump fee for treatments at each appointment, you pay a little each month with an automated charge to your card on file.
• You’re getting the treatments anyway but instead of paying the full amount every three months, you pay a monthly fee that covers your cost for the year – but at a 15% discount!
• Purchase must be made online by clicking the button below. Can not purchase in office.

Purchase this Package HERE!

We know something new like this can be confusing so please don’t hesitate to call with any questions. Dr. Kaplan (aka Dr. Bae) and his team are always available! Call or TEXT us at 415-923-3005.

The post Introducing the Bae Club! first appeared on Plastic Surgeon San Francisco | Pacific Heights Plastic Surgery.

Doctors-in-training spend the first 6 months of medical school learning about anatomy. Dissecting this tissue from that tissue on people that were generous enough to donate their bodies to science. However, doctors must recognize that our patients did not attend medical school. So there’s a knowledge gap. And to bridge that gap, we must ensure we’re educating patients adequately so we’re all using the same terminology. Confusion on our “words” will lead to an unhappy patient, especially when it comes to anatomy.

Our words count when it comes to anatomy

The first example that comes to mind when discussing potentially confusing anatomical terms is when doctors refer to abdominal quadrants. It’s easy to tell the patient their appendectomy scar will be in the right lower quadrant. Obviously that may not mean much to a patient. Especially unique about the abdomen is how often patients refer to an organ (the stomach) when talking about their abdomen. “You’re operating on my stomach?” while pointing to the abdomen.

It’s important the doctor doesn’t propagate any erroneous terminology just for the sake of the patient’s understanding. These are times when it’s necessary to educate the patient and bring them over to the doctor’s way of thinking, ie correctly referencing the abdomen and not the stomach when discussing abdominal procedures.

Another example in the cosmetic realm is the reference to flanks vs hips vs thighs. Many patients will use these interchangeably. Maybe even some doctors. But if you’re telling a patient you’re performing liposuction to the flanks and they’re expecting slimmer hips postoperatively, you’ll have an angry patient on your hands.

Video description of the hips vs flanks vs thighs

Patients seems to have varying opinions on what the “smile lines” are when talking about injectables like Botox, Xeomin or fillers. I think most people correctly refer to the smile lines as the lines that extend from the nostrils down to the corners of the mouth. These are also referred to as the “parentheses lines” or nasolabial grooves. These areas are treated with fillers. However, some patients refer to the lines around the eyes as smile lines because they’re produced when a patient smiles. Those lines are more appropriately referred to as the “crow’s feet.” It’s so important that this distinction is made because “smile lines” around the eyes (crow’s feet) are treated with Botox or Xeomin, not the fillers typically reserved for the nasolabial grooves smile lines.

So choose your words carefully! To check pricing on any of these procedures from a doctor near you, click here.

Click here for the original blog post written by Dr. Kaplan for BuildMyBod.

The post Let’s talk about anatomy [video] first appeared on Plastic Surgeon San Francisco | Pacific Heights Plastic Surgery.

Merz, the makers of Radiesse and Belotero, recently completed their Radiesse Golden Ticket campaign. Three lucky winners received a makeover to the lines and wrinkles of their lower face. Dr. Jonathan Kaplan, founder and CEO of BuildMyBod and board-certified plastic surgeon was the treating physician for the third winner.

Radiesse Golden Ticket winner and her results

As you can see in the before and after photos above, Dr. Kaplan reduced and in some cases eliminated the patient’s deep lines and wrinkles. Radiesse, a calcium based filler which can last up to 2 years is best for deep creases like the parentheses lines.

Belotero on the other hand, is a hyaluronic acid-based filler (the same material in your joints) and perfect for very superficial etched-in lines. Like smoker’s lines. Together, Radiesse and Belotero combine for a perfect treatment of the lower face.

Check out Allison’s story below!

To check pricing on Radiesse or Belotero from Dr. Kaplan, click here.

Click here for the original blog post written by Dr. Kaplan for BuildMyBod.

The post Dr. Kaplan featured in Radiesse Golden Ticket campaign first appeared on Plastic Surgeon San Francisco | Pacific Heights Plastic Surgery.

The right way to answer “how much a procedure costs”

Sure you could simply answer the follower’s question and give them a dollar figure. But what if the price is more than they were expecting? They’ll just dismiss the idea of coming to see you. And since you don’t have their contact info, you can’t follow up to answer more specific concerns about their needs. You certainly can’t have an open conversation on social media for obvious reasons. One is the HIPAA risk but also, you don’t want to start providing consults to everyone on your Instagram or Facebook feed.

The right way to answer a consumer’s question about pricing is to get their contact information first. Then follow up with them offline (or off social media) for a more personal and patient-specific conversation. But how do you get their contact info for follow up?

Well as you’ll see in the video below, this doctor got it right. Dr. Rich Castellano is a facial plastic surgeon in the Tampa Bay Area and he’s known as Dr. Smile or @realsmiledr on Instagram or ImageLift on Facebook.

In the video, he’s performing filler injections via Facebook Live. And not just once, but three times during the injection session, he was asked how much the procedure cost. Again, he could’ve just listed the price three times in response to the question. Instead, he directed them to his Price Estimator on his website so the follower could check for themselves. However, for the follower to see the cost, they have to first enter their contact information. Armed with the consumer’s contact info, the office staff can follow up and answer their questions and address their concerns. Can’t do that with a vague social media handle!

In the same video, you’ll see where a patient asks via Instagram how much a Brazilian Butt Lift (BBL) and Breast Augmentation combo procedure costs. If we simply answered her question, the most we would have is her Instagram handle. But to go to her Instagram page and start asking follow up questions is a bit stalker-ish. She’s probably ok with us answering her questions on our page but probably not ok with us pestering her on her Instagram page.

That’s the secret to the internet. Minimize the number of clicks for the consumer to get from “I know what I want” to “here’s how I get it.”

Since we recommended she go to the Price Estimator on our site, we instead received her name, email address and phone number after she provided her contact info in exchange for real-time pricing information. And since she contacted us, provided her contact information, opted in to receiving emails from us, she’s given us permission to follow up.

Video: How to answer pricing questions on social media

One more small detail to make the consumer’s life easier. Instead of giving them a link to go to a Price Estimator and then forcing them to scroll through all of the procedures to find the procedure they’re looking for, give them a deep link. A deep link brings them to the specific procedure they want to know pricing for without all of the searching. In this example, the deep link takes the patient directly to the BBL/breast aug procedure listing. That’s the secret to the internet. Minimize the number of clicks for the consumer to get from “I know what I want” to “here’s how I get it.”

So doctors, don’t give the milk away for free. Embrace price transparency. But do it in a way that benefits both the patient and you by clicking here and requesting a BuildMyBod provider account. Consumers, click here to check pricing from a doctor near you.

Click here for the original blog post written by Dr. Kaplan for BuildMyBod.

The post Doctors: Has a follower on social media ever asked you how much a procedure costs? first appeared on Plastic Surgeon San Francisco | Pacific Heights Plastic Surgery.

Popular procedures for men

Eyelid lift

The eyelids may be the first thing to go on a man. Whether it’s heavy upper eyelids or fat bags under the eyes, eyelid surgery is very popular. One reason contributing to its popularity, aside from the surgery being very effective, is that it can be done with minimal downtime.

For the upper eyelid, the incision is hidden in the natural crease of the upper eyelid. The incision to remove fat and eliminate fat bags from the lower eyelids can be done without an obvious incision. In fact, the incision is made on the inside of the lower eyelid. Fat is removed and no stitches are necessary to close the incision. Also, this procedure doesn’t typically hurt. Lack of pain and a man’s tendency to not tolerate pain as well as women contributes to the popularity of this procedure! Check pricing on an eyelid lift here.

Neck lift

Deep lines on a sagging face can be distinguished on a man, but a sagging neck can show age and make someone look heavier than they really are. Men are very self conscious of their necks and this may be more common with the advent of selfies.

The problem for many men is that the incisions for a neck lift can be very visible behind the ear due to short hair. Luckily, many men are a candidate for a mini neck lift. This means they only receive an incision behind the chin. The incision is actually well hidden and allows the surgeon to redrape the skin, tighten the neck muscles and perform liposuction all at the same time. Check pricing on a neck lift here.

CoolSculpting

CoolSculpting doesn’t replace liposuction. But if you want no downtime and a reduction in your love handles, this is a go to for men. Neither men nor women are itching to go to surgery but again, men are particularly “allergic” to pain. For those of you not familiar, CoolSculpting is a non-surgical treatment for stubborn pockets of fat not amenable to exercise. In a morning or afternoon session, fat can be frozen with the ability to partake in a conference call during treatment.

Botox and Fillers

As men try to keep looking young, or at least as young as their CEO, non surgical injectables are just what the doctor ordered. BOTOX® Cosmetic or XEOMIN® can relax the lines due to overactive muscles in the face (forehead, 11’s between the eyebrows or crow’s feet). It lasts for up to 6 months and is one of the most popular, most successful aesthetic treatments ever.

Fillers on the other hand are used to fill in wrinkles due to loss of collagen, not overactive muscles. These include the parentheses lines extending from the nose to the corners of the mouth. Men also get fillers to streamline their jawline and hide jowls. All of these injectables can be done on your break. However, women have the benefit of covering up any potential bruises with makeup!

If you’re interested in any of the treatments above, you can check pricing from Dr. Kaplapn by clicking here.

Click here for the original blog post written by Dr. Jonathan Kaplan for BuildMyBod.

The post Popular procedures for men first appeared on Plastic Surgeon San Francisco | Pacific Heights Plastic Surgery.

Like movies? Biofilm is the most important film you’ve never heard of! Biofilm is the technical name for the slime that bacteria secrete. It’s a problem in the case of breast implants and fillers. We generally worry about blatant infections from bacteria but in the case of implants and fillers, biofilm can cause problems other than a frank infection. Curious? Keep reading.

Biofilm and how it affects you

Obviously your doctor knows about the risk of infection anytime they inject a filler into your face or place a breast implant during breast augmentation. That’s why the doctor cleanses the skin with alcohol (in the case of fillers) or betadine (in the case of breast augmentation). But with billions and trillions of bacteria on the skin, it’s not always possible to get rid of 100% of the bacteria.

That doesn’t mean we just give up when it comes to cleanliness and good surgical technique. That’s still critical. We just have to understand the potential risks. Even if there are a few bacteria still present during surgery or non-injectable treatment, your body does a pretty good job neutralizing most of them. However, some bacteria can attach to the filler or implant after placement. The bacteria then secrete a slime that all together, represents biofilm.

With biofilm present, it’s harder for antibiotics to kill the bacteria with their protective slime covering. This doesn’t result in infection. In the case of fillers this can result in granulomas and nodules. In the case of breast augmentation, this can result in a thickening of the scar tissue around the implant. If the scar tissue around the implant is thick enough to distort the implant and breast, that’s capsular contracture.

So how do we reduce the risk. First let’s discuss fillers. As the image above shows, the more needle sticks into the skin to inject fillers can potentially bring more bacteria from the skin surface and into the filler. By using the blunt cannula technique, your doctor only makes one needle stick, rather than many. In other words, the treatment can be performed with one entry point rather than five or ten. You can see an example of the blunt cannula technique in the video below.

Blunt cannula technique video

In the case of breast augmentation, protecting the implant from any skin bacterial contamination is beneficial. For example, inserting the implant without the implant touching the skin or covering the nipple, and it’s bacteria hidden within the nipple milk ducts, can help. You can see an example of “nipple shields” in the video below.

Nipple shields video

To check pricing on any of these procedures from Dr. Kaplan, click here.

Click here for the original blog post written by Dr. Jonathan Kaplan for BuildMyBod.

The post Considering breast aug or fillers? You need to know about biofilm! first appeared on Plastic Surgeon San Francisco | Pacific Heights Plastic Surgery.