One On One MSM beauty With Dr. Johnny Franco Of Miami Plastic Surgery A graduate of Beloit College with a Bachelor of Science in Biochemistry, Dr. Franco earned his Doctorate of Medicine from the University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston. Dr. Franco served his residency in Plastic Surgery at Saint Louis University School of Medicine. There, he was chief resident from 2010-2011. In 2011, he completed additional training at Chan Gung Hospital in Taiwan with a focus on microsurgery primarily in cancer reconstruction, followed by a fellowship at Gent University Hospital in Belgium where he specialized in breast reconstruction and fat grafting. Dr. Franco has an impressive history of publications and presentations and has received many academic achievement awards including the Walter S. Haven Prize, Elizabeth W. Souter Award and the Merck Index Award. Originally from Las Cruces, New Mexico, Dr. Franco is bilingual in English and Spanish. MSM: Tell us what inspired you to become a plastic surgeon? I was always interested in surgery and medicine growing up. Early on in medical school I thought that I wanted to do transplant surgery, however the more exposure I had to plastic surgery the more I loved it. Plastic surgery is such a broad field with endless potential. One of the things that I love about plastic surgery is that it is truly a combination of technical skill, knowledge and an art form. Every person is different and there is no one correct way to treat everyone. This individuality from patient to patient makes every day exciting and a new challenge. MSM: What are the newest procedures in plastic surgery? There are a couple of new procedures that have changed plastic surgery in the past few years. The first is fat grafting which has allowed us to sculpt the body in ways that we were never able to do before. It allows a plastic surgeon to remove fat from unwanted areas and enhance other areas. The body can be shaped as whole rather than just individual enhancements. It also can avoid the need for implants or other foreign materials such as fillers. Fat grafting has become extremely popular here in Miami for procedures like the Brazilian Butt lift because of the overall improvement women receive in their entire shape! The gummy bear breast implants have improved the results that plastic surgeons have been able to achieve in both breast augmentations and breast reconstruction. It gives patients more 10 MSM Miami Shoot Magazine Beauty PHOTOGRAPHY BY Imani Ogden options to achieve the shape and size that they desire for their breasts. It is now possible to individualize every breast augmentation to the patient. Voluma is a new facial filler that lasts two years compared to the typical six to nine months that most other fillers currently last. It allows patients to decrease the number of visits to their plastic surgeon! MSM: What are facial fillers and Botox? The most important comment I can make about Botox and fillers is that patients need to be aware of what they are having injected into their body. As mentioned earlier make sure that the person injecting you truly has your best interest at heart. If what the person is telling you sounds to good to be true it probably is to good to be true. Unfortunately too often I see