Dr. Melinda Lacerna

Double Board-Certified Surgeon Dr. Melinda Lacerna

Dr. Melinda Lacerna is double board certified by the American Board of Plastic Surgery and the American Board of Surgery. She is a fellow the American College of Surgeons (ACS) and is a member of the American Society of Plastic Surgeons (ASPS) and the International Society of Aesthetic Plastic Surgery (ISAPS). Dr. Lacerna obtained her medical degree from the University of California, Irvine. She received her general surgery training at Kaiser Permanente in Los Angeles and her plastic surgery training at Temple University in Philadelphia.

Dr. Lacerna has over 19 years of experience in all aspects of plastic and reconstructive surgery and aesthetic surgery and has special interests in facial rejuvenation (face lift, neck lift, eyelid surgery, nasal surgery, browlift, fat grafting and plasma skin resurfacing). She is also a speaker, presenting at many national and international plastic surgery meetings.

More recently, she was an invited speaker to the following meetings:

• The American Society of Plastic Surgeons (ASPS) January 2021: “Adding skin tightening device to your practice”
• International Society of Plastic Surgery (ISAPS)meeting in September 2021 in Vienna, Austria: “Scarless Facial Rejuvenation”
• APYX Global Sales Meeting, Dallas TX, January 2022: “My experience with Renuvion”
• The American Society of Plastic Surgeons (ASPS) in March 2022: “Plasma Resurfacing and Facelifts: The Next Level Facial Rejuvenation”
• Renuvion 2^nd Annual User’s Meeting, March 2022, Las Vegas: “Minimally Invasive Browlift”
• Vegas Cosmetic Surgery (VCS), June 2022: “Minimally Invasive Browlifts”
• International Society of Aesthetic Plastic Surgery (ISAPS), September 2022, Istanbul, Turkey: “Minimally Invasive Browlifts”

Dr. Lacerna is passionate about combining new technology and classic surgical techniques and is constantly re-inventing aesthetic procedures to make them safer, less invasive and more effective for patients. She enjoys teaching and sharing her knowledge and experience with other surgeons and is a national trainer and instructor for Renuvion technology for sub-dermal skin tightening and skin resurfacing. She incorporates the latest technologies in her lasers, radiofrequency and plasma with regenerative medicine, in order to give her patients appealing results. She has participated in many surgical mission trips, including to Africa and the Philippines, in order to treat children with cleft lips. In addition, Dr. Lacerna is a published artist. Her oil painting “Les Fleurs de Chateaux” was featured on the cover of the Kaiser Permanente national journal in 2006. She is an avid oil painter, mixed media and mosaic artist. She strives to achieve attractive, natural-looking aesthetic outcomes for her patients. Lastly, Dr. Lacerna is a devoted “gym rat” and enjoys cross fit, running and scuba diving. She truly believes in maintaining a healthy lifestyle and life balance to achieve better versions of ourselves.

Dr. Lacerna’s Philosophy

A consultation with Dr. Lacerna is like confiding to a close friend about insecurities you have about your appearance. As a woman, she listens very closely to your concerns and hopes. She understands exactly how women want to look and feel- whether in a bikini or lingerie, or simply wanting the right curves in jeans, a little black dress, or a wedding gown. She understands you want your face to have that “natural glow” during a candlelit dinner or a reunion, but not look like you just had your face done. She understands that men also care as much abut their appearance, but they do not want to look overdone.

To extend the duration of their results, Dr. Lacerna encourages her patients to keep a balanced lifestyle with regular exercise and healthy eating, in order to keep the new self confidence and life optimism that matches your beautiful new face and body!
In your initial consultation, Dr. Lacerna will evaluate your health and will be frank in discussing your expectations of your post-surgical results. Again, she will give you specific instructions on how to prepare for surgery, including guidelines on eating and drinking, smoking, and taking or avoiding vitamins, iron tablets and certain medications. Be sure to arrange for someone to drive you home after the vaginal rejuvenation surgery.

Dr. Lacerna’s Education & Certifications