Dr. Goretti Ho Taghva

Dr. Goretti Ho Taghva is a board-certified plastic surgeon and Fellow of the American College of Surgeons with nearly two decades of experience in cosmetic and reconstructive surgery. She leads LEA Plastic Surgery in Newport Beach, California — a boutique practice built on a single conviction: that great cosmetic surgery should refine who you already are, never replace it.

Born and raised in Hong Kong — one of the world’s most cosmopolitan cities — Dr. Ho Taghva grew up immersed in the intersection of Eastern and Western aesthetics. That multicultural foundation shaped a perspective on beauty that is anything but provincial. She sees beauty as it actually exists in the world: varied, cultural, deeply individual. Not one standard. Not one ideal. Not one look.

She earned her undergraduate degree in Neuroscience from Brown University (Phi Beta Kappa, Magna Cum Laude), her medical degree from the Warren Alpert Medical School of Brown University, and completed her residency in Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery at the University of Southern California. But her education did not stop at formal training. Throughout her career she has traveled to Korea, Japan, and Thailand to train alongside surgeons in those countries, learning techniques refined for the specific anatomy and aesthetic values of different populations. This lifelong commitment to learning across cultures is what makes her approach to procedures like blepharoplasty (including double eyelid surgery and Asian blepharoplasty), endoscopic facelift, endoscopic breast augmentation, and facial rejuvenation genuinely informed rather than merely technical.

Her clinical specializations include:

Blepharoplasty and eyelid surgery — Dr. Ho Taghva is recognized for her sophisticated understanding of eyelid anatomy across all ethnicities. Her international training in Korea, Japan, and Thailand gave her a structural knowledge of the eyelid that most Western-trained surgeons simply do not have — an expertise that benefits every blepharoplasty patient, not only those of Asian descent. She performs upper and lower blepharoplasty, double eyelid surgery (Asian blepharoplasty), hooded eyelid correction, ptosis repair, and revision eyelid surgery. Her approach respects each patient’s unique anatomy and preserves what makes their eyes distinctively theirs.

Endoscopic and minimally invasive techniques — including endoscopic breast augmentation and endoscopic brow lift. Smaller incisions, less tissue disruption, reduced scarring, and faster recovery. When a less invasive approach achieves a beautiful result, she believes it is the surgeon’s obligation to choose it.

Aesthetic and regenerative care for perimenopausal and menopausal women — this is not just a clinical interest; it is personal. Dr. Ho Taghva is navigating perimenopause herself and writes and speaks extensively about what this transition does to a woman’s face and body. She does not believe plastic surgery is the solution to everything. She integrates regenerative longevity medicine into her practice and is a strong advocate for hormone replacement therapy as a foundation of healthy aging. Because she believes deeply in staying within her expertise, she refers patients to board-certified endocrinologists and hormone specialists for hormonal management rather than offering it herself. She holds the same standard for all medical care: patients deserve providers with genuine, specific expertise in what they are treating — not generalists offering services outside their training to capture revenue.

Deep plane facelift — the most advanced facelift technique available, producing natural, elegant results that last 15+ years. Her before-and-after gallery speaks for itself: a consistent commitment to refinement over transformation. Her patients look like themselves — rested, refreshed, and unmistakably natural.

Dr. Ho Taghva’s practice philosophy rejects mimicry culture — the growing pressure to conform to a single, algorithm-driven standard of beauty. She believes in self-expression, in honoring your own face rather than borrowing someone else’s. She will tell you what she honestly thinks. She will talk you out of a procedure she does not believe you need. And she urges every patient to choose their providers carefully — in an era when cosmetic procedures and hormone treatments are increasingly offered in medspas and clinics with minimal physician oversight, the difference between a qualified specialist and a convenient appointment can be the difference between a beautiful outcome and a serious complication.

She publishes The Marking Pen on Substack — a publication examining the ethics, culture, and integrity of aesthetic medicine. She also creates content extensively on perimenopause and menopause, helping women understand the changes they’re experiencing and what can genuinely be done about them — from a surgeon who is going through it alongside them.

She is a mother of three daughters, speaks English, Cantonese, and Mandarin, and is an attending surgeon at MemorialCare Saddleback Medical Center. The name LEA is an acronym of her daughters’ first names.

Goretti Ho Taghva online at

Education

We’re exceptionally trained.

• Resident in Plastic & Reconstructive Surgery, Integrated Program, University of Southern California, 2007-2013
• M.D., Warren Alpert Medical School of Brown University, 2003-2007
• McGraw-Hill LANGE Medical Student Award Recipient
• B.S. Neuroscience, Brown University, 1999-2003
• Phi Beta Kappa
• Magna Cum Laude with Honors
• Sigma Xi Scientific Research National Honor Society
• Brown University Undergraduate Teaching & Research Assistantship Grant Recipient
• Phillips Academy, Andover, 1997-1999

Certifications

We’re highly qualified.

• Diplomate of the American Board of Plastic Surgery
• Member of the American Society of Plastic Surgeons
• Fellow of the American College of Surgeons
• Attending Plastic Surgeon at Hoag Hospital, Newport Beach, CA
• Licensed Physician, Medical Board of California #A108049
• Passed USMLE Steps 1, 2, 3

Expertise

We’re experts in our field.

• RealSelf Top Contributor 2018
• RealSelf Top Doctor 2016
• Nationally and internationally invited guest speaker and lecturer in Plastic Surgery
• Member of the American Society of Plastic Surgeons’ Upper Eyelid Blepharoplasty Expert Panel
• Invited Speaker for PureGraft at The Aesthetics Meeting 2017 (American Society for Aesthetic Plastic Surgery)
• Chief Resident in Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery, Integrated Program, University of Southern California
• Member of the Clinical Faculty at Keck School of Medicine, University of Southern California
• Member of the Plastic & Reconstructive Surgery Curriculum on Professionalism Work Group, University of Southern California
• Original research featured in peer-reviewed publications and conferences including Annals of Plastic Surgery, Journal of Craniofacial Surgery, American College of Surgeons, American Association of Plastic Surgeons, California Society of Plastic Surgeons, Plastic Surgery Research Council