I was interested in medicine at a very early
age.
I thought that science was fascinating and
ultimately I really had a connection with
other people and I felt that the best marriage
between my love of I'm a common man and science
was medicine.
And I was attracted to surgery because it
gave me an opportunity to make a tangible,
immediate impact in my patients.
I think that the most common misconception
about plastic surgeons is that there is no
interest in complex reconstruction that there
is just an interest in aesthetic surgery.
My biggest interests are in complex reconstruction
of the upper extremity, whether that be something
as straightforward as a broken bone in a finger
or a wrist, or as complex as transferring
nerves from one part of the arm to another
to regain function.
So I think that I would prefer that providers
and patients alike think of me as both a plastic
surgeon and an upper extremity surgeon and
think of me whenever they have whatever difficult
problems need help.
One of my mentors in training always took
care of the most complicated patients.
He never backed down; he never thought that
a problem was too hard to take care of.
And I think that what that taught me was that
every patient, whether you know that you can
cure them or if you can only make their day
better deserves your time and attention.
And ultimately putting in that effort makes
a difference not only in how fulfilling your
job is but also in the quality of care that
they get.
