Dr. Ben Talei

Dr. Ben Talei, MD, FACS, is a facial plastic and reconstructive surgeon who founded Cupid Lips and the Beverly Hills Center for Plastic & Laser Surgery. He holds dual board certification in facial plastic and reconstructive surgery, and his practice is limited to aesthetic and reconstructive surgery of the face, neck, eyes, nose and lips.

He earned a degree in physiological sciences from UCLA, graduating with college and departmental honors, and an MD from the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine. His head and neck surgery residency took place at Columbia University, Cornell University and NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital, where he served as chief resident at Columbia and at Cornell. He then completed a fellowship at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center and two facial plastic and reconstructive surgery fellowships, one of them at the New York Center for Facial Plastic & Laser Surgery. Training also included work under Dr. Milton Waner at the Vascular Birthmark Institute of New York. Dr. Steven Pearlman was his primary residency mentor.

His surgical work includes deep plane facial rejuvenation, covering facelift and neck lift procedures and the AURALYFT facelift, along with minimally invasive primary rhinoplasty and complex revision rhinoplasty. He treats vascular anomalies, including hemangiomas, port wine stains and vascular malformations, including in pediatric patients. He also performs facial reconstruction, including revision surgery following skin cancer excision.

He pioneered the deep plane upper lip lift, the technique behind the Cupid Lift. His peer-reviewed research on deep plane surgery of the face, neck and lips has appeared in Aesthetic Surgery Journal and Facial Plastic Surgery. He described the deep plane upper lip lift in an 823-patient series published in Facial Plastic Surgery Clinics of North America, and he published the Cupid Lift design in Aesthetic Surgery Journal, based on more than 2,440 consecutive lip lifts. Surgeons from other countries travel to the Beverly Hills Center to study his deep plane methods.

He is fellowship director for two American Academy of Facial Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery fellowships, one at the Beverly Hills Center and one at UCLA, where he is also a clinic professor. He holds an appointment as International Professor of facial plastic surgery at the Universidad Autónoma de Nuevo León in Monterrey, Mexico. Patients from across Los Angeles come to him for facial surgery. His work has been featured on E! News, FOX, NBC and Inside Edition, and he received a Certificate of Commendation from the Beverly Hills mayor and city council for community and humanitarian work. Patients widely recognize him as a RealSelf Top Doctor. He continues to conduct research and teach surgical technique in lip and facial aesthetics.