Dr. Melinda Lacerna is a distinguished figure in the field of plastic surgery, holding double board certification and based in Bradenton, Florida. With over 20 years of dedicated practice, she is the founder and owner of LA Plastic Surgery, The Skin Plasma Center, LA Skin Med Spa, and Elite Aesthetic Surgery Center. Her specialization in facial plastic surgery and skin resurfacing has positioned her as a leading expert, notably authoring significant works such as the “Non-surgical Facial Rejuvenation and Skin Resurfacing” chapter in the 9th edition of Grabb and Smith’s Plastic Surgery. Additionally, she is in the process of co-editing and contributing to “The Skin Book,” aimed at offering an exhaustive guide on skin and procedures for plastic surgeons. Her prolific output includes numerous publications and ongoing research, further solidifying her reputation in the field.

In her extensive 20 year experience, she has specialized in facial aesthetic surgery (face and neck lifts, Browlifts, eyelid surgery, rhinoplasty, fat grafting and plasma skin resurfacing).

She is a sought after national and international speaker, and within the last year has delivered over 20 invited keynote lectures in 5 countries, namely Greece, South Korea, Colombia, Canada, and the US. She is actively involved in plastic surgery research and is the Principal Investigator for two current IRB approved studies with APYX Medical, namely “Minimally invasive browlift with Renuvion” (retrospective), and “Skin Quality Improvement with facelifts and Renuvion” (prospective). She serves as consultant,  key opinion leader (KOL), speaker and physician trainer for multiple aesthetic industry partners including APYX Medical (Renuvion), Energist (Neogen), Cytrellis (Ellacor), Evoloutionary Biologics (exosomes) and Allumiere MD (skin care). She is the author of “Non-surgical Facial Rejuvenation and Skin Resurfacing” Chapter 46 of Grabb and Smith’s Plastic Surgery, a classic textbook with worldwide distribution. She is the Editor in Chief of “The Skin Guide: Aesthetic Dermatology for Plastic Surgeons”, a textbook to be published in 2026 by Springer Medical. She has multiple publications, including “Helium plasma dermal resurfacing:Consensus guidelines” (Dermatological Reviews.2020:1-11), “Helium Plasma Radiofrequency Brow Lift: Description of a Novel Technique and Retrospective Study on Safety, Efficacy and Long-term Durability”, and “Take your facelifts to the next level: Safety and Efficacy of PLASMA Resurfacing with face and neck lifts”.

Dr. Lacerna is passionate about combining classical surgical techniques such as deep plane face and neck lifts, with the latest and best technological devices such as helium and nitrogen plasma, and regenerative medicine (fat grafting, Stromal vascular fraction or SVF, PRP, exosomes) to deliver the best, safest and most lasting results for facial and neck rejuvenation. She pioneered a new minimally invasive browlift technique and has recently trademarked her PLASMA LYFT™ face and necklift.  These result in award-winning outcomes:  she has won multiple awards and recognition from her peers, including “The Best Face presentation” gold medal award at ISAPS World Congress in Athens (Sept. 2023) for her scarless blepharoplasty techniques, “The Best Surgical Facial Rejuvenation” for The Aesthetic Awards 2023, and a finalist for “The Best Surgical Facial Rejuvenation” and “The Best Surgical Reconstruction” for The Aesthetic Awards 2024. She enjoys sharing her new techniques with colleagues and has been invited faculty to teach courses by ASPS, ISAPS and the Aesthetic Society. She is visited by plastic surgeons from the US and internationally (Canada, South America, Mexico) to observe and train on her latest minimally invasive surgical techniques and plasma skin resurfacing.