September 18th, 2010 Dr. Mele
Dr. Joseph Mele appears on KRON4's Body Beautiful.
Write down all your questions about Breast Lift San Francisco and Breast Augmentation Bay Area. Board Certified Plastic Surgeon, and breast enhancement expert, Dr. Joseph Mele, will be answering questions regarding cosmetic breast enhancement, live, on Channel 4, this Monday.
Back by popular demand, Dr. Joseph Mele will be the guest on San Francisco KRON4′s Body Beautiful. Hosted by Vicki Liviakis, Body Beautiful shows you the latest trends and treatments in cosmetic surgery. Bay Area residents can call in, and have their questions answered live, on Monday, September 20, 2010, between 11:00 and 11:30 AM.
A special 800 number will be displayed during the program. If you have plastic surgery questions, call in and ask Dr. Mele. If you are not available Monday at 11 AM, email your question and TiVo the answer. (EDIT: This show has aired, but you can still ask me questions by using the contact form on the lower left of this page, click here, or call (925) 943-6353.)
Please join us. This week’s show will focus on the most popular breast enhancing procedures: Breast Augmentation, Breast Lifts and the combination Breast Augmentation Mastopexy. Questions can also be submitted off air, at any time, by using the contact form on this page (in the lower left corner).
Posted in About Dr. Mele, Breast Augmentation, Breast Lift (Mastopexy), Home | 1 Comment »
August 20th, 2010 Dr. Mele
Dr. Joseph Mele, guest author for ABoardCertifiedPlasticSurgeonResource.com
I was recently asked to contribute to A Board Certified Plastic Surgeon Resource, an online resource helping patients find Board Certified Plastic Surgeons. My article stresses the importance of Board Certification, and explains how to recognize a true Medical Board.
Most Medical Boards are self regulating. The long standing, traditional medical boards are also under the regulation of the American Board of Medical Specialties (ABMS). Under the ABMS the only Board specifically dedicated to Plastic Surgery is the American Board of Plastic Surgery. Other sound-alike boards, for example The American Board of Facial Plastic Surgery and the American Board of Cosmetic Surgery, have not been accepted as ABMS Boards, and thus fall outside the regulation of the ABMS.
Information about the American Board of Plastic Surgery can be found right here on the San Francisco Plastic Surgery Blog: Board Certified by the American Board of Plastic Surgery.
For the full version of the article, click the picture below.
Dr. Mele's article on Board Certification
Posted in About Dr. Mele, Patient Safety | No Comments »
August 16th, 2010 Dr. Mele
The International Society for Aesthetic Plastic Surgery (ISAPS) started its 40th anniversary meeting this weekend in San Francisco. While the majority of the meeting will be spent discussing the finer points of plastic surgery technique, Saturday was spent discussing patient safety on a global scale.
The ISAPS is leading the way in global guidelines for plastic surgery patient safety. Topics included:
- Uniform global plastic surgeon certification requirements
- Uniform global facility accreditation requirements
- Medical Procedures Abroad ™ i.e. Medical tourism
- Guidlines for patient safety
- Medical device guidelines and usage
Sunday was spent discussing Blepharoplasty (eyelid surgery) and Rhytidectomy (face lift surgery). Today was dedicated to Rhinoplasty (nasal surgery) and Mammoplasty (breast surgery: breast augmentation, breast implants, breast enhancement, breast reduction, beast reconstruction, congenital breast deformities and breast lift surgery).
Tomorrow Maria Siemionow, MD, the team leader of the first U.S. face transplantation surgery, will be making a special presentation. Tuesday will focus on aesthetic reconstructive surgery, as well as Abdominoplasty (tummy tuck) and Body Contouring (liposuction and body lifts).
The final day of the conference, Wednesday, will be spent on Cosmetic Medicine and finally Patient Safety and Complications. It’s been great so far. If you would like more information on any of these procedures, please click on any of the Categories to the left, or visit my main website: DrMele.com.
Posted in Patient Safety, Plastic Surgery Societies | 1 Comment »
August 1st, 2010 Dr. Mele
Dr. Joseph Mele's San Francisco Plastic Surgery Blog
Thank you for reading my Plastic Surgery Blog. The previous posting, Dr. Mele Receives the 2009 Patients’ Choice Award, pushes the number of posts on the San Francisco Plastic Surgery Blog to over 100. Not bad for a little over a year of existence.
Thanks to readers like you, the San Francisco Plastic Surgery Blog consistently ranks high on Google. Of the millions of listings found under “plastic surgery blog,” today the San Francisco Plastic Surgery Blog is once again ranked number one. While Google is constantly adjusting its rankings, the San Francisco Plastic Surgery Blog consistently ranks among the select few found on page one.
If you are new to the San Francisco Plastic Surgery Blog, I hope you find these articles useful and informative. The goal is to provide information about a wide range of plastic surgery topics in an interesting and entertaining fashion. If you are interested in a specific procedure, the ever increasing number of articles are organized by topic. You can find these topics listed to the left under Categories.
Most of the articles were inspired by the questions I receive every day in my Walnut Creek Plastic Surgery practice. I am open to requests, so if you cannot find an article addressing your area of interest in plastic surgery, let me know, and I will try to help.
Posted in About Dr. Mele, Home | No Comments »
July 28th, 2010 Dr. Mele
Dr. Mele 2009 Patients Choice Award Recipient
Thanks to you and other happy patients, I have again received the Patients’ Choice Award. More than 800,000 patient reviews and ratings were gathered for the 2009 Patients’ Choice Award, and this top rating has only been given to a select few of the nation’s doctors.
Ratings are compared in the following areas:
- Bedside manner
- Amount of time spent with patients
- Courtesy of my staff
- Appropriate follow-up
- Overall opinion of me as a physician
The award is selected on merit by American Registry, in partnership with LexisNexis, Vitals and Castle Connolly Medical’s America’s Top Doctors.
Thank you to my patients. There is nothing better than being appreciated. I am very happy that I was able to make a positive contribution to your lives. Thank you for choosing me as your San Francisco, East Bay Area Board Certified Plastic Surgeon in Walnut Creek.
Posted in About Dr. Mele, Home | No Comments »
July 10th, 2010 Dr. Mele
Dr. Joseph Mele, MD, is an Active Memeber of the Alameda-Contra Costa Medical Association.
The Alameda-Contra Costa Medical Society (ACCMA), our local county medical society, was established almost 140 years ago. The ACCMA is affiliated with both the California Medical Association (CMA) and with the American Medical Association (AMA).
As per its Web Site, The purpose of the ACCMA is to:
- Provide a forum for the full and frank interchange of ideas among physicians
- Secure intelligent unity and harmony within the profession
- Make effective the opinions of doctors in all scientific, medical, public health, medical economic, and social affairs in which the medical profession has a valid interest or public responsibility
The list of the ACCMA’s achievements are truly remarkable including:
- The first woman elected president of any national medical society (1895)
- Established, with its member physicians, health care for low-income patients (1932)
- Created a non-profit insurance company (1936) which later became Blue Cross of California
- Created the Alameda-Contra Costa County Blood Bank(1945)
- Guaranteed Medical Care for all Alameda County Citizens (1947)
- Created the first medical society-sponsored group professional liability insurance plan (1947)
- Organized the first multi-casualty airport disaster drill, conducted at Oakland International Airport (1956)
- Formed the first physician well-being committee (1968)
- Established the first doctor-owned professional liability insurance company in California: Medical Insurance Exchange of California (MIEC) (1975)
- Formed the Alameda-Contra Costa Physicians Committee (ACCPAC) as its local political action committee (1989)
- Created the Credentials Verification Service (CVS) (1996)
For more details see the ACCMA Achievements Page.
Posted in Home, Plastic Surgery Societies | 1 Comment »
July 8th, 2010 Dr. Mele
Dr. Mele is an Active Member of the California Medical Association (CMA)
The California Medical Association (CMA) was formed as the State Medical Society of California on March 12, 1856. The initial membership totaled 75 physicians who held their first meeting over 154 years ago at Pioneer Hall on J Street in what is now Old Town Sacramento. In 1923, the association was renamed the California Medical Association. At its 150th anniversary the membership totaled 35,000.
The CMA continues to support the people of California. It has studied the effects of lack of access to care for the poor since the 1930s, and tried to get legislation passed in the state and nation that would establish compulsory health insurance. They continue to advocate for health insurance for all, via voluntary participation, through legislation, policy and the courts.
I was privileged to see how the society works first-hand as the California Society of Plastic Surgeons Young Physician Representative to the CMA, dealing with issues such as access to care and the distribution of vaccines. The CMA continues to work closely with County Medical Societies to assist with local problems, with State Legislators for statewide medical issues, and with the American Medical Association for national health issues.
Posted in Home, Patient Safety, Plastic Surgery Societies | No Comments »
July 6th, 2010 Dr. Mele
Dr. Mele is a Lifetime Member of the American Medical Association (AMA)
The American Medical Association (AMA) was founded in 1847 at the Academy of Natural Sciences by Nathan Davis. With it, the first minimum standards for medical education were established. The original goals of the AMA where to:
- advance the science of medicine
- improve the standards for medical education
- develop a program of medical ethics
- improve the health of the public
The often quoted Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) was established in 1883. This was not the first journal created by the AMA. Indeed, the Archives of Ophthalmology, Archives of Otology and the Journal of Cutaneous Diseases (now Archives of Dermatology), all preceded the JAMA.
Through the 1900′s the AMA had a tremendous amount of influence over medicine in North America. In public health, it helped to craft national legislation for the control of tuberculosis (TB) and smallpox. In medical education, it inspected and accredited medical schools and curriculums, set standards for internship and specialty training, and encouraged the recognition of specialty boards. It formed many other more influential bodies, including:
There are over 814,000 doctors licensed in the United States of America. State medical societies used to require that their members were also AMA members. After several states dropped this requirement in 1971, the AMA lost over 11,000 members. Today approximately 15-20% of practicing physicians are members.
As the number of physician member decreases, so does funding that comes from dues. Increasingly, the association’s income comes from advertising, CPT and ICD-9 code licensing, and information technology. This has caused controversial decision making in the recent past. The Sunbeam scandal is one glaring example. Despite the controversies, the AMA remains a potent political force, with the ability to influence regulations locally and nationally.
Posted in Home, Patient Safety, Plastic Surgery Societies | 2 Comments »
July 4th, 2010 Dr. Mele
Dr. Mele is a Fellow of the American College of Surgeons (FACS)
Just the FACS Ma’am
Ever wonder why some doctors have FACS after their name? It means they are members of the American College of Surgeons (ACS). FACS stands for: Fellow of the American College of Surgeons. To be a member, a surgeon’s education, training, professional qualifications, surgical competence and ethical conduct have passed a rigorous evaluation, and have been found to be consistent with the high standards established and demanded by the College.
The American College of Surgeons
Established in Chicago, in 1913, the society has 73,000 American Surgeons and more than 4,000 surgeons from other countries. The college’s main activities include the:
- Annual Clinical Congress and other sponsored continuing medical activities
- Commission on Cancer to improve the care of cancer patients
- Committee on Trauma to improve the management and prevention of injuries
- Division of Advocacy and Health Policy monitors legislative and regulatory issues affecting the field of surgery
- Sponsoring of the Residency Review Committee for Surgery and the Surgical Specialties including Plastic Surgery
- Office of Public Information provides general information about surgeons and surgical care
- Surgical Education and Self-Assessment Program (SESAP) a resource for surgeons lifelong learning, and to prepare for Board Certification
- Publications:
So if you are a patient, the letters FACS after a surgeons name mean the American College of Surgeons has independently evaluated and accepted their qualifications.
Posted in Home, Patient Safety, Plastic Surgery Societies | 2 Comments »
June 22nd, 2010 Dr. Mele
Dr. Mele is a Active Member of the International Confederation for Plastic Reconstructiive and Aesthetic Surgery (IPRAS)
The International Confederation for Plastic, Reconstructive and Aesthetic Surgery (ICPRAS) is the largest plastic surgery society on Earth. Since 1955, meetings have been held around the world to foster the advancement of Plastic Surgery. Previous sites include:
- Stockholm (1955)
- London (1959)
- Washington (1963)
- Rome (1967)
- Melbourne (1971)
- Paris (1975)
- Rio de Janiero (1979)
- Montreal (1983)
- New Delhi (1987)
- Madrid (1992)
- Yokohama (1995)
- San Francisco (1999)
- Sydney (2003)
- Berlin (2007)
- Vancouver (2011)
I was fortunate to have attended the last Quadrennial congress held in San Francisco (1999). While it was 11 years ago, almost 90 National Societies were represented, more than twice the founding 39 National Societies.
The IPRAS has four Chapters, each with its own International Society.
- Reconstructive Microsurgery
- Hand Surgery
- Aesthetic Plastic Surgery
- Craniofacial Surgery
These cover the main areas of subspecialization in Plastic Surgery. Aesthetic Plastic Surgery is represented by the International Society for Aesthetic Plastic Surgery (ISAPS) which will be having its meeting here, in San Francisco, this August.
Practicing Plastic Surgery in the San Francisco Bay Area has advantages. San Francisco is a nice place to visit, so we attract many state, national and international plastic surgery meetings. This certainly makes it convenient to attend the best Plastic Surgery Conferences in the World.
As plastic surgery advances and expands, international societies like the IPRAS and the ISAPS will continue to provide a wide range of experience and perspective.
Posted in About Dr. Mele, Home, Patient Safety, Plastic Surgery Societies | 1 Comment »
