"Yes, lots of people come to us during this time of the year." says Doctor Renato Calabria, smiling from behind his desk. It's one o'clock in the afternoon of a beautiful day in November. Despite his busy schedule. this young Italian plastic surgeon has immediately, received me in his office. I'm sitting in front of him. in his private office in Santa Monica. dying to ask him tons of questions on plastic surgery. The vain part of me wants to know everything on how to become more beautiful. In a second, though. I'm able to quell my urge, realizing that maybe the readers of INSIEME/Together are more interested in knowing about this handsome Italian surgeon. We decide not to use the formal third person in our talk (which was obviously going to be in Italian). Soon, we discover we have something in common in our family background: his mother comes from Levico, where he was also born, and my father's family is from Roncegno. We both know the Trentino region very well, especially Valsugana Valley. The memory of those places bring us together. for a moment, and I feel as though he is one of my relatives. Great. I feel comfortable and now at ease to ask him questions.  

What made you come to California?  

I wanted to learn the language. I knew German, which is a compulsory subject in school in Bolzano, where I grew up. but I didn't speak English. After graduating from high school. I planned to go to London, but an elderly aunt who lived here, invited me over. I decided then to come to Los Angeles, where I spent a few months before going to Padua University. While here I immediately fell in love with California. Since then, I came back every summer for internship at the general surgery department of UCLA. When I received my Masters in Medicine in Padua, I decided to come here. After a period of research at UCLA., I took the Ph.D.. in general surgery and went for three years to San Francisco to study for a second Ph.D.. in plastic surgery. Altogether I studied ten years in America. It was a hard and difficult time, but extremely important for my professional formation.  

How often do you go back to Italy?

I've just come back from Milan, where I taught a course on the newest laser technologies at the University and next January I'll be in Rome and Taormina for seminars.

I love traveling. During my years of study in San Francisco, I went several times to South America. with a team of nurses and doctors, to operate on children suffering from congenital defects. When my schedule allows me. I still participate in voluntary missions. Next year I'm going to Guatemala. Those expeditions are amazing experiences.  

The laser technology has greatly improved the results in plastic surgery. Are there any other significant new technologies in your field?

Definitely. The laser technology has given great results, especially in skin treatment,. which were not achieved before. 

A new technology is the ultra-sonic liposuction, which melts the fat, before the suction. making the procedure easier and more precise. This new method has been introduced by an Italian surgeon from Turin. It is still new, but it seems achieving great results. The endoscopy is also another new surgery technique, which allows the surgeon to operate through very small incisions.  

What is the most requested plastic surgery?

We do a lot of face lifting, or better, we give youthful appearances. The complete lifting is not always necessary, sometimes it's just lifting the eyebrows and treating wrinkles with the laser, give a fresh look to a person. Breast augmentation and liposuction are also very popular.

At what age is a lifting suggested?

It depends. You can have a lifting when you are forty or when you are eighty years old. It's very important to find a good surgeon who knows the latest technologies. Some elderly doctors may have a lot of experience, but they do not always have a solution to your problem, because they are not current.

If someone would like to make her or his look younger in a short time, without spending too much, what can he done.

There is always the injection of collagen. which cost 350 dollars per ampoule. momentarily tilling the wrinkles. giving a younger look. I always remind the patient, though, that the result is only temporary and I suggest some other solutions to achieve longer results. With the new technologies, you can have a face lifting and go back to work after a week. To make your lips fuller. there is a new product. Aloderm, which lasts longer than a collagen or fat injection. It taken only twenty minutes to insert this derma. under local anesthesia. It costs 1 1500 dollars.

Hi; secretary come, in. interrupting our interview. I realized we are only talking about plastic surgery, so. once we restart. I ask questions about his private life.

The elderly aunt from Los Angeles, who invited him the first time, and her husband (an old Italian count who imported pasta Buitoni in America and loved gambling) are both deceased. They were his only relatives in California. Today he lives with his American wife Carrie. who he married a couple of years ago and two dogs. His parents still live in Bolzano, while his brother, a lawyer, lives in Bassano del Grappa.

I would stay longer, but I decide to leave, I know he has some patients waiting for him.

Renato Calabria has been very nice and accommodating. While driving home, I think about the article and how to write it, but I keep loosing my concentration. As soon as I can I glimpse in the rear mirror thinking: how would I look with full lips, like Italian showgirl Alba Parietti?