Though all plastic surgeons are trained to perform rhinoplasty and most aging face procedures, patients greatly benefit from procedures performed by a facial plastic surgery specialist, according to Alexa M. Franco, MD, an otolaryngologist and facial plastic surgeon at Duke Health.

It’s true that most plastic surgeons learn these procedures and practice them as part of the slate of full body procedures during residency. However, a plastic surgeon with specialized focus on facial plastic surgery has dedicated and detailed training in the face’s entire anatomy. That experience brings a unique dual focus to the approach of any facial plastic surgeon—one that considers both aesthetics and function. As a facial plastic surgeon with training in both otolaryngology and plastic surgery, Dr. Franco maintains that unique dual focus on both aesthetics and function when performing these procedures—expertise that can be especially critical in rhinoplasty and aging face procedures.

Duke Health’s Department of Head, Neck and Communication Sciences features three full-time facial plastic surgeons, including Dr. Franco. The decision to have facial plastic surgery is deeply personal and she strives to address each patient’s individual concerns and needs. She also personally oversees planning, surgery and post-operative care for every case. “I find it so rewarding to give patients their confidence and self-esteem back,” she says. 

The department also takes special care to respond to patient appointment requests in a timely manner. “It can be challenging for patients to be told they have to wait a long time when they’ve mustered up the courage to seek a consult for something they’ve maybe worried about their entire lives,” Dr. Franco says. 

Dr. Franco offers a wide range of facial plastic and reconstructive surgeries at Duke, focusing on aesthetics like rhinoplasty or aging face procedures including face, lip, brow and neck lift, blepharoplasty, or facial fat grafting. She offers consultations and follow-up appointments at Duke Green Level in Cary. 

Patients who come to Duke Health for facial plastic surgery procedures have access to the specialized expertise of facial plastic surgeons like Dr. Franco and also receive bedside care from the department’s multi-disciplinary team of care providers who work exclusively with patients who have head, neck and skull-based surgical procedures.