Category: General

Our blog covers a variety of topics about the plastic surgery procedures Dr. Chong offers at her Newport Beach practice.

Fat Is The Original Filler

During the course of any day, I am asked why fat isn’t the “same” throughout the body. Consider that fat has been grossly underappreciated and in fact deplored, however this connotes a fundamental misunderstanding of the multiple roles fat plays. Structure and protection are critical reasons why fat surrounds critical structures… Read More »

Who’s Looking After Your Patient

In aesthetic medicine, we obsess about details: patient selection, choice of surgical or nonsurgical procedure, material management (best sutures, implants, garments, post-scar therapy). As trainees, we were exposed to the full range of Plastic Surgery – General, Craniofacial, Hand and Cosmetic, with a heavy emphasis in Reconstruction… Read More »

ER Call: Do Your Job

Yesterday was the first time in 10 years, that I took ER call for Hoag. As my practice thrived, I dropped off the call schedule, naively believing that younger Plastic Surgeons shared the perception that service to Hoag, our base hospital was a prerequisite to building a practice… Read More »

Not Blue Flame Enough

When I asked my brother whether any of his peers were contemplating a “nip and tuck” and he introduced me to a VC insult, #“not blue flame enough”. Apparently, it justifies my suspicion that youth has become commoditized and… Read More »

Waterpolo 2016

Yes, this is the last season that my family & I will be sports fanatics who ditch, leaving home at 05:00h to travel to the tournament, chant the institutional “war cry” and cluck about sore muscles, banged lips & plays that didn’t quite happen. Our daughter is starting her final waterpolo season at… Read More »

Queen Of Hearts

February was American Heart month but perhaps we physicians should think about how heart disease can have various manifestations, especially in women and ethnic minorities. Heart disease affects more than 6 million American women, and another 37 million women are at risk for developing heart disease… Read More »

Mothers and Daughters

I have the good fortune to enjoy the patronage of several families in which multiple generations are represented. Aesthetic surgery is like any other service industry. Consumers or patients must perceive there is a need to change something. Cosmetic providers must be excellent listeners to select patients, screening their… Read More »

On Relevance

A few weeks ago marked the passing of two artists, who were widely admired for their craft and possibly for their enviable transgenerational appeal. At some level, most of us search for meaning in this life, however we may never aspire to the cultural icon status of David Bowie or elicit the antipathy of arch­villain, Alan Rickman… Read More »