We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Boris Ackerman a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Boris, appreciate you joining us today. Setting up an independent practice is a daunting endeavor. Can you talk to us about what it was like for you – what were some of the main steps, challenges, etc.

I was recruited by a prestigious Plastic Surgeon right out of residency program, as my training director highly recommended my candidacy. The few years I spent in that practice were invaluable, learning the ins and outs of running a business, interacting with high profile patients and refining a few surgical principles. With time, it became clear that I had to branch out on my own. I wanted to implement my own techniques and protocols that I felt would achieve better outcomes. I took a leap of faith, and opened my own practice.

Boris, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

I adopted a motto for my surgical practice; “In pursuit of beauty, harmony and excellence”. This involved creating a physical space that encompassed a luxurious and inviting office space as well as a fully certified surgical facility. This allows for seamless, comfortable and safe environment for my patients, from the time they come to our office for the first time, to their surgical experience and through their postoperative recovery.

My practice is devoted to facial rejuvenation surgery, like facelifts and eyelids surgery. Some years back, I traveled the world learning “best practices”, which helped me developed my own facelift method. Currently, I am a published author and known authority in facelift surgery, with exclusive referral only practice. I am a firm believer in “giving back” to my specialty; I am a frequent presenter at various national and international Plastic Surgery Conferences, sharing my techniques with fellow surgeons,

As a Co-Director of Orange County Aesthetic Surgery Fellowship, I train the next generation of Plastic Surgeons in the art of advanced facial rejuvenation surgery.

Any stories or insights that might help us understand how you’ve built such a strong reputation?

Plastic Surgery is a competitive market in Newport Beach. I applied the Nordstrom philosophy: “The customer/patient is always right”. Of course, everything starts with delivering the best possible surgical outcome; but then we ad the best patient experience, like minimal waiting time, individualized and attentive interacting with the front office staff, and addressing all of patient’s concerns, no matter how trivial.

Learning and unlearning are both critical parts of growth – can you share a story of a time when you had to unlearn a lesson?

In my prior group practice, the patients were seen by the nurses for most of their postoperative care. I radially changed that, once I opened my own practice. I see all of my surgical patients for all theri postoperative visits, I personally remove the sutures and provide all the necessary instructions. I find that this approach is appreciated by my pati9ents, and gives me a change to get to know my patients better and address allo their recovery needs.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.doctorackerman, com
• Instagram: @drborisackerman
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCo0RBOpJ3GTjtzQu-x8ihww