By Tony Judnich

Judnich@hometownnewsol.com

PALM BAY - Before they see him, many of the patients of Dr. Frank Filiberto share one thing in common: they're not happy with the person they see in the mirror.

Dr. Filiberto, 60, performs plastic and cosmetic surgery, including facelifts, breast augmentation, liposuction and other procedures that help people look their best. He has been in business for 30 years.

"'I want to look like I feel,' is probably the most common thing I hear," he said. "I think the main reason people choose to have a procedure - excluding breast augmentation - is the person you see in the mirror is not the person you feel like."

Dr. Filiberto said facelifts are the most common procedure that he performs. Surprisingly, he said about 20 percent of men these days have facelifts.

"The number is increasing because of the job market," Dr. Filiberto said. For instance, "a 50-year-old man who lost his job and wants to get back into the market needs to look younger."

In his Palm Bay office, Dr. Filiberto performs traditional facelifts, mostly for senior citizens. In an Orlando office, he and other doctors perform the "Lifestyle Lift," which is advertised on TV, addresses the first signs of aging - in the neck and jowl areas - and is done mostly for people age 40 to 60.

"I do 50 facelifts a month in Orlando," Dr. Filiberto said. "Practice really does make perfect."

Years ago, some facelifts could take four hours to complete, he said.

"Now, they can be done in one hour, and we use the same local anesthesia that dentists use," he said. "In one hour, you're in and you're out."

Dr. Filiberto said people who are considering having liposuction should view it as a sculpting - and not a weight reduction - apparatus.

The human body is programmed to have a certain number of fat cells, so while surgery can remove fat from the stomach or other parts, the fat might later be redistributed to a patient's arms, legs or other areas, he said.

Eating healthy and exercising can help decrease the amount of such fat redistribution, Dr. Filiberto said.

He said overall, the cost of cosmetic procedures is determined by the market and demographics.

"You should be going to the people who are experienced and know how to do this type of work. That's what you'll get from us," he said.

Dr. Filiberto graduated from St. John's University in New York, completed medical school at the Universidad Autonoma de Guadalajara and fulfilled his surgical residency at the University of Miami, according to the Web site, www.lifestyleliftmaitland.com/doctors/filiberto.htm.

He is a fellow of the American Academy of Otolaryngology-Head Neck Surgery.

Dr. Filiberto's roots in Palm Bay run deep, having served as the city's mayor from 1987 to 1990. The former amateur boxer also is the founder of the Palm Bay Boxing Club.

This boxing program serves as another way for Dr. Filiberto to uplift many people.

"Every lower socio-economic class in our country has used boxing as a way to rise up from the streets," he said. "Everything I do is a vehicle to boxing. It affords me to give my time to a program that I really believe helps the community."

Dr. Filiberto's Palm Bay office is at 2105 Palm Bay Road, Suite 6W. It is open from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday.

For more information, call (321) 676-3101 or visit the Lifestyle Lift Web site.