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CLINICAL AND AESTHETIC SYNERGY 46 MAY/JUNE 2016 | Med Esthetics The future facial plastic surgeon studied biochemistry at Michigan State University, then moved on to Wayne State University where he received a PhD in Pharmacology and then his MD. "I had trouble fi guring out what type of doctor I wanted to be. I thought that medical school, especially my rotations, would help eliminate things I didn't like. But I liked everything," says Dr. Alessi. "I eventually narrowed it down to neurosur- gery, otolaryngology and facial plastic surgery, and applied to programs for each." In the end, he was forced to make a quick decision. On the same day he received an acceptance call from the Medical College of Virginia's Neurosurgery Program, he learned that he was also accepted to UCLA's Head and Neck Surgery Program. "Being from Michigan I decided I'd rather see palm trees and more deciduous trees like home, so I went to California," he says. Dr. Alessi entered the program in 1984 and was named chief resident of head and neck surgery from 1988- 1989. From there, he was ready to branch out on his own. Pursuing a Clinical and Aesthetic Practice After completing his residency, Dr. Alessi was torn between his passions for academia and entrepreneurship. "I'd spent a lot of time doing research and had published extensively. So one part of me thought I was going to be in academia, but another part of me was an entrepreneur," he says. "When I was 13 years old, I was a caddy at the Country Club of Detroit. When I was 17, I started my own gutter company. I had fi ve employees and we would install gutters and paint houses." Dr. Alessi accommodated both passions by joining the Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, which allowed him to pursue academia while also taking part in its very robust group private practice. This path led him to establish the Alessi Institute for Facial Plastic Surgery in Beverly Hills, Califor- nia—his own private practice that offers both facial plastic surgery and treatment of head and neck disorders. "I started in 2000. There was no social media and it was still considered taboo for medical professionals to do paid advertising, so the biggest challenge was getting to know other doctors and attracting new patients," he says. "There's a lot of well-known, well-established doctors in the area, and it's a big city so it's pretty competitive." But it was nothing that some hard work and determination couldn't overcome. Dr. Alessi networked with colleagues from Cedars Sinai, met people in his community and joined professional associations. He also promoted his skills in both Ears, Nose and Throat (ENT) and facial plastic surgery to broaden his patient base. "We did a lot of in-house market- ing and the practice eventually became about 50/50," he says. "Now most of the ENT patients are also having some sort of facial plastic surgery done at the same time." In addition to performing surgeries, Dr. Alessi was an early adopter of Botox Cosmetic (Allergan). Neurotoxins, fi llers and lasers have been part of his practice since 1990. He per- forms all of these procedures and also has a nurse who offers injectables and Thermage (Valeant) skin-tightening procedures. "We have two pricing tiers where patients can have an injectable procedure done with me at a certain price or they can have it done by my nurse at a signifi cantly lower cost," he says. "Even though my nurse is very good and arguably better than me, patients are willing to pay more for the perceived sense of quality that comes from seeing an MD." The Celebrity Standard Now a veteran of the cosmetic surgery specialty in Beverly Hills, Dr. Alessi says his No. 1 secret to success is that he Dr. Alessi's training in ENT and aesthetic facial surgery makes him a top choice for performers, particularly singers, in Los Angeles. CLINICAL AND AESTHETIC SYNERGY