Kao Plastic Surgery

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Kao Plastic Surgery Dr. Chia Chi Kao is the founder of Kao Plastic Surgery and KO'AN Center Santa Monica. Best known for "My focus is as much on the emotional as the physical.

Dr. Chia Chi Kao is a board-certified aesthetic plastic and reconstructive surgeon with over 15 years of experience whom Vogue claims “is single-handedly revolutionizing the future of facelifts.” He is also the founder of the KAO Center in Santa Monica, CA and is the creator of the new and revolutionary Ponytail Lift™ and Ponytail Facelift™ procedures. It is not about making someone simply look younger, but giving them the gift of feeling attractive and vibrant. Beauty is timeless."

10/01/2026

How do I place a tear trough implant through such a tiny opening? And what keeps it in place?

The approach depends on the patient’s anatomy.

In a younger patient without excess lower eyelid skin, I can place the implant endoscopically through small scalp incisions.

When excess skin needs a skin pinch, I use a tiny entry at the outer edge of that incision to reach the bone.

The implant sits directly on the bone, beneath the periosteum, the thin tissue covering it. I create a precise pocket that closely matches the implant’s dimensions, helping limit movement and rotation as it heals.

The goal is lasting structural support: augmenting deficient bone beneath the eye, supporting the lower eyelid, and creating a smoother transition from the eyelid to the cheek. The implant is intended to remain permanently, although revision or removal can occasionally be necessary.

Preserve above. Structure below.

Have you ever wondered whether your under eye hollowing comes from the skin, the soft tissue, or the bone beneath it?

Two years later, look at the center of his face.This gentleman is two years out from his Ponytail Facelift Alpha. The ch...
09/29/2026

Two years later, look at the center of his face.

This gentleman is two years out from his Ponytail Facelift Alpha. The change I want you to notice is one of the hardest to achieve: the transition from the lower eyelid into the cheek, and the nasolabial fold beside the nose.

In a traditional facelift, the cheek is usually approached from the side. Reaching the central midface from there is difficult, particularly with the branches of the facial nerve in that region. With my endoscopic technique, I approach from above, work directly beneath the cheek, and place sutures in the cheek tissue itself to elevate it.

Look at his oblique view. The cheek sits higher, the nasolabial fold is softer, and the result is still visible two years later. That is why I believe the midface is central to meaningful facial rejuvenation.

The goal was never to make him look like someone else. It was to bring back his own features, naturally.

Beauty Without a Trace.

DAY 2 SOLD OUT. 80 SURGEONS. ONE SHARED INSPIRITION ABOUT THE FUTURE OF FACIAL REJUVENATION.Our Ponytail Academy Foundat...
09/25/2026

DAY 2 SOLD OUT. 80 SURGEONS. ONE SHARED INSPIRITION ABOUT THE FUTURE OF FACIAL REJUVENATION.

Our Ponytail Academy Foundational Course at the University of Pittsburgh is a 14-hour day of lectures and cadaver lab training.

October 9 sold out in five weeks. We added October 10 to welcome more surgeons, and that day sold out too. Across both days, 80 participants will come together to study endoscopic facial rejuvenation.

I’m grateful for the enthusiasm. To me, it reflects a growing desire to understand what modern facial rejuvenation can achieve through smaller, more thoughtfully placed incisions and a deeper understanding of facial anatomy.

The ponytail is rising. I look forward to learning alongside everyone joining us in Pittsburgh.

Join the revolution. Follow for future courses.

#

09/25/2026

At 65, she’s stepping into the photos she used to avoid.

Five months after her Ponytail Facelift™, her brow looks softer, the transition from lower eyelid to cheek looks smoother, the dark undereye circles are gone , and her neck has a longer, slimmer contour. We addressed loose neck skin and reduced the submandibular glands, with no visible scars.

She tells me she has never felt more confident. She’s happy to take photos with her friends now, even if a few jokingly say they’re jealous.

That is the part of facial rejuvenation that matters most to me. Beyond lines and wrinkles, it can change how someone feels when she walks into a room, sees a camera, or simply looks in the mirror.

A new lease on life at 65. Beauty Without a Trace.

SEE THE PONYTAIL LIFT™ THROUGH MY EYESSo many of my surgical colleagues have reached out wanting to observe me perform t...
09/24/2026

SEE THE PONYTAIL LIFT™ THROUGH MY EYES

So many of my surgical colleagues have reached out wanting to observe me perform the Ponytail Lift™, my signature operation.

But when a procedure is performed through such small, carefully hidden incisions, looking over my shoulder simply does not provide the view needed to truly understand the technique. And there is only so much room in an operating room.

That is why we partnered with AestheticStreams.com.

Now you can experience the operation from the closest possible perspective, through my surgical lens and almost literally through my eyes. Follow every critical step, from the first incision to the final stitch, with a close-up view that may be even better than standing beside me.

The complete Ponytail Lift™ surgical recording is now available exclusively at AestheticStreams.com.

Welcome inside the operating room.

BeautyWithoutATrace

09/22/2026

What happens when we treat the entire face as one work of art?

This beautiful patient was our live surgery patient at the Ponytail Academy. She came to us with dark circles, under eye hollowness, flat brows, upper eyelid hooding, descending cheeks, and loss of definition through the jawline and neck.

The philosophy is simple:

Preserve above. Structure below.

Above the eyes, we preserve. We do not cut away the upper eyelid or excise the brow. Instead, we reshape and reposition the brows while preserving the natural identity of her eyes.

Below the eyes, we build structure. We correct the underlying bony deficiency, support the under eye area, and lift the cheeks vertically to restore youthful dimension.

The brows, eyes, and cheeks must work together along the Z Axis of Beauty. This is not simply pulling the face tighter. It is restoring light, shape, and three dimensional structure.

And a beautiful face must flow into a beautiful neck. We completed the transformation with deep contouring of the entire neck and submandibular gland reduction to create a longer, slimmer, more refined neckline.

Preservation above. Structure below. Deep contouring beneath.

Every detail working together.

This is the art and science of Beauty Without a Trace.

FROM INTENSE TO SERENE.Before surgery, her low brow head and sharply elevated tail created what I call a “diabolical bro...
09/17/2026

FROM INTENSE TO SERENE.

Before surgery, her low brow head and sharply elevated tail created what I call a “diabolical brow,” giving her an intense expression even when her face was completely relaxed.

This is where Brow Fashioning™ differs from simply lifting the brow.

The goal is not to pull everything higher. It is to sculpt the brow into a softer, more graceful slope that makes the entire face appear relaxed, fresh, and naturally feminine.

Now look beneath the eyes.

The hollowness, crepey skin, and abrupt lid cheek junction have been replaced by a smoother, more youthful contour.

My philosophy for modern periorbital rejuvenation is simple:

PRESERVE ABOVE.
BUILD STRUCTURE BELOW.

Above, we preserve and redrape the upper eyelid rather than aggressively cutting away skin and fat.

Below, we restore the foundation with a custom tear trough implant, elevate the cheek, and blend the tissues with precise fat transfer.

Modern periorbital rejuvenation is no longer simply about “cutting away the bags.” It is about shaping, contouring, and rebuilding the anatomy that creates beauty.

Nothing looks pulled. Nothing looks hollow. She simply looks softer, brighter, and more at ease.

This is Beauty Without a Trace.

Do you see how changing the brow shape transforms her entire expression?

BeautyWithoutATrace FacialRejuvenation

09/13/2026

🥊 THE GLOVES ARE ON… SURGICAL GLOVES, OF COURSE.

ISAPS Cancun presents a special session:

“YOU BE THE JUDGE”

🥊 Dr. Chia Chi Kao
Ponytail Lift™

vs.

🥊 Dr. Ozan Sozer
Gliding Lift

The audience will vote three times.

VOTE ONE: Before either presentation, the audience chooses its starting camp.

Then, Ozan and I will each have 15 minutes to present our techniques and defend our surgical philosophies.

VOTE TWO: Immediately after our presentations, the audience votes again. Did either of us present a strong enough case to change anyone’s mind?

Next comes the interrogation: questions from the moderator, answers from both corners, and perhaps a little friendly surgical sparring.

FINAL VOTE: After the moderated discussion, the audience delivers its final verdict.

Will the audience remain loyal to its original choice, or will one of us change the room?

Two surgeons.
Two techniques.
Three votes.
One final verdict.

No punches below the SMAS.

Cancun, YOU BE THE JUDGE.

09/10/2026

A NEW LEASE ON LIFE.

Six months after his Male Ponytail Facelift™, he said something more powerful than anything I could write: At 61

“It’s a different life now.”

He wakes up every morning, looks in the mirror, and no longer sees a tired, wrinkled version of himself. He sees the man he remembers.

Lifted cheeks. Brighter eyes. A stronger jawline. A refined nose. No visible facelift scars. His natural hairline remains completely undisturbed.

This is not about changing who someone is. It is about turning back the clock while preserving his identity.

I may be the closest thing to a real time machine.

Twenty years reversed.
Confidence restored.
A new lease on life.

This is Beauty Without a Trace™.

What would you do if you could turn back time?

Address

900 Wilshire Boulevard, Suite 100
Santa Monica, CA
90401

Opening Hours

Monday 9am - 6pm
Tuesday 9am - 6pm
Wednesday 9am - 6pm
Thursday 9am - 6pm
Friday 9am - 6pm

Telephone

+13103159211

Website

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