Dr. Chia Chi Kao is an internationally recognized, board-certified aesthetic plastic and reconstructive surgeon with over 22 years of experience.

Dr. Kao is the founder of KAO Institute in Santa Monica, California which encompasses plastic surgery, aesthetic medicine and regenerative therapies. He is also the creator of the new and revolutionary Ponytail Lift™ and Ponytail Facelift™.

A graduate from the Medical School at the University of Washington in Seattle, Dr. Kao completed a 5-year General Surgery program at the University of Washington and received his Board Certification by the American Board of Surgery in 1997. He became a clinical professor at the University’s Center for Videoendoscopic Surgery and taught residents and fellow surgeons this technique. He then completed a three-year plastic surgery program at the University of Southern California. 

Dr. Kao is a Staff Plastic Surgeon at Saint John’s Health Center in Santa Monica, a member of California Society of Plastic Surgeons and is certified by the American Board of Surgery and the American Board of Plastic Surgery. Dr. Kao has been a regular nationally and internationally invited speaker for the International Society of Plastic Surgery (ISAPS), American Society for Aesthetic Plastic Surgery (ASAPS), Beauty Through Science (BTS), American Society of Plastic Surgeons (ASPS), and American Academy of Facial Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery (AAFPRS).