In a presentation at the 27th Annual meeting of the American Academy of Cosmetic Surgery, Angelo Cuzalina, MD, DDS was officially named President of the organization, replacing Mark Berman, MD. “It is positively an honor and a privilege to be elected as president of the American Academy of Cosmetic Surgery,” Cuzalina says. “I am taking over a position from a long line of surgeons whom I admire and respect. It’s very exciting to follow in their footsteps and continue moving this Academy forward in a positive direction.”

Incidentally, some people in the audience — and a few on the podium — did not seem to know how to pronounce Dr Cuzalina’s last name. Some claimed it was “Koo-zah-leena” but I have it on good authority that one should pronounce it, “Kuhz-ah-leena” in which “kuhz” rhymes with “buzz”; or more precisely, “K?z-ah-leena.” ‘Nuff said…

Other tidbits from the meeting:

Bank of America quietly exhibited here, offering its financial service wares to new and existing plastic surgery practices. This is the first time I’ve seen the mega-bank take such a visibly active interest in the aesthetic medicine business. Other financial services firms exhibiting at the meeting were the typical patient-financing organizations, such as CareCredit.

A large contingent of surgical instrument companies exhibiting here was a boon to Jane Petro, MD, a quadruple board-certified surgeon who is loving her assignment for PSP — to write a five-part history of surgical instrumentation.

The exhibit floor was not exactly hopping with sales activity, based on a wholly unscientific survey I took with several vendors. A few said they sold zero goods at the meeting. The heaviest traffic in the exhibit hall was concentrated around the coffee and food tables at the rear of the building. The coffee was good; the food was heavy on the carbs.

The exhibit hall

The main session hall

Dr Berman, outgoing AACS President, at the podium… “It’s been a great year.”

The Marriott Desert Ridge in Phoenix, Ariz — the venue for the meeting.