Dr. Rajagopal Shares The Biggest Misconception About Plastic Surgery

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For over 20 years, board-certified plastic surgeon Dr. Usha Rajagopal has utilized her unique perspective of cosmetic surgery to educate and empower her patients. Specializing in cosmetic surgery for the face, breast, and body, Dr. Rajagopal has pioneered in numerous surgeries including female rejuvenation procedures. Dr. Rajagopal sat down with Haute Beauty to discuss what sets her practice apart and the biggest misconception about her field.
My greatest achievement? 
Building a successful practice of 20 years with a stellar reputation and high patient satisfaction.
The future of my field is?
Amazing. My field has been growing by leaps and bounds over the last 20 years I’ve been in practice. When I started out, it was mostly just surgery itself. We did have collagen that could be injected into facial lines, but since then we have had a revolution in plastic and cosmetic surgery with Botox and a host of new fillers (Restylane and Juvederm). We also now have lots of non-surgical procedures using lasers with very little downtime. Even in the reconstructive field things have improved immensely such as face transplants.
The biggest misconception about my field is? 
People think that plastic surgery is not “actual surgery.” Social media has offered many benefits in making plastic surgery information more accessible and sharing how bodies can be transformed, but there can also be many misconceptions. What people don’t realize is that it’s actual surgery, that there are risks involved, and you need to be a good candidate for it. Another misconception is that all cosmetic surgeons are plastic surgeons. There’s a very big difference between a cosmetic surgeon and a board-certified plastic surgeon. A board-certified plastic surgeon goes through decades of training. I went through 16 years of training after high school, including medical school, surgical residency, and a plastic surgery residency. I think it’s very important for people to seek the correct credentials so that you can have the best results.
My most requested procedures are? 
Surgical procedures: Female vaginal rejuvenation (labiaplasty), breast augmentation
Non-surgical procedures: Non-surgical rhinoplasty, lip injections, chin augmentation, jawline slimming, cheek augmentation
What surgical advancements are you most excited about? 
I’m very excited about the new non-surgical options to improve someone’s life such as fillers to reshape the face, Kybella and CoolMini for double chin fat reduction, and Emsculpt/Emsella procedures.
What are you best known for? 
I’ve been in practice for over two decades now. Our office is well known as the go-to place for both surgical and non-surgical procedures. I am best known for mommy makeover procedures and female rejuvenation labiaplasties.
What is your most memorable patient reaction? 
Seeing one of my very first labiaplasty patients again almost 18 years after her procedure. The patient was thrilled with the results and to this day is still so happy she had it done.
What sets my practice apart is?
I really care about my patients and I treat them like family. I make sure that the people I hire have the same outlook and that they treat patients like they would their family members. What most people say coming to our practice is that we are warm, welcoming and that we provide excellent service. Additionally, we are always on the cutting edge of what is new in plastic surgery. We stay ahead of the curve and continuously try to build a supportive and educational community online through our social media channels.
What I love most about my profession is?
Since this field has exploded, there is much variety in procedures I can perform. I really love that I could work from head to toe. I can be doing a blepharoplasty and a non-surgical rhinoplasty one day, and the next minute I am injecting fillers to the hand, followed by a labiaplasty in the afternoon. I really can improve every part of the body and I that’s what I really love.
Career defining procedure?
Being a pioneer in vaginal rejuvenation and labiaplasty procedures. I started performing labiaplasties in 1999 and I’ve done over 2,000 procedures. I’ve probably done the most in Northern California. I have patients coming from all over the country and internally to get this procedure done. In the last 3-4 years, it has taken off, but now in addition to labiaplasties, we have more options to help the patient both internally and externally.
What new services are you excited to offer? 
Emsculpt for muscle contouring and Emsella to treat urinary incontinence.