Doc Talk
Cheers to 20 Years
By Bahram Ghaderi, MD, FACS
This July marks the 20th anniversary of our practice opening. I finished my fellowship training on June 30, and we opened on July 2, 2001 (only because July 1 was a Sunday). I did not take over an existing practice nor join one. We built it from the ground up. My wife and I started a couple of months earlier with an empty office with just the walls, and somehow by July 2, we managed to open our doors with an entire medical office setup and ready to go. My goal for that first day was to have at least one patient scheduled, and we did! We committed on the day we opened to serve the community we lived in and have been blessed to do so for the last two decades.
Here are some fun numbers since I am a numbers guy. I was 32 years old, and my wife was 28. We had one daughter at the time, who was almost two years old. Today I am 52, and my wife is only 39 (I said I’m a numbers guy, but I am also smart enough not to point out her age now). Our daughter is now a college graduate and almost 22, and we have two other children, ages 19 and 16. Even though it is a medical practice, to our family, it feels like our family business, our version of a mom-and-pop shop. The last 20 years would not have been possible and could not have been accomplished without the support of my wife and family.
In the last 20 years, our office has seen nearly 12,000 patients, performed nearly 7,000 surgeries, and performed almost 2,000 office procedures (like earlobe repairs and more simple treatments). There have been countless Botox injections given (including my own – I don’t do them myself if you are wondering). We have had over 45,000 office hours, and over 64,000 individual patient encounters from the initial consult to follow-ups and postop visits. I am humbled daily by the patients that come through those office doors, trust us with their care, and share a piece of their lives with us. Thank you all for the ways you teach and inspire me with your patience and strength.
I knew plastic surgery and medicine when I started but not as much about running and managing an office. Dale, who walked into our office almost 20 years ago, has taught me everything about making the patient experience excellent. Her dedication to patients and managing the practice with utmost integrity has been invaluable. There is no number for her value in our lives and the lives of our patients. Gabrielle joined us over ten years ago. She has quickly grown to be a rock both Dale and I rely on daily. Gabrielle showed her true strength during the pandemic as she navigated countless changes and adjustments in one of the most challenging times for us all. Alexis and Ava have joined us most recently, and I can see already the ease with which they work with each other and our entire team. Dale, Gabrielle, Alexis, and Ava are the faces of our practice and the initial point of contact with each patient, whether it be an email, a phone call, or that first greeting inside our office. Linda is someone that has been there from day one. As a registered dietician, she has offered expert care and guidance to numerous patients. Linda works with patients to either help them with weight loss goals prior to undergoing surgery, or with patients to help with dietary needs and advice for healing and maintaining their look after surgery. It is not lost on me that all those thousands of hours could not be under our belt without a team that is as important as my plastic surgery training was.
I have spent nearly 25,000 hours standing in a surgery room. Working alongside me is a surgical team at the hospitals and facilities that care for our patients. From the nurses, anesthesiologists, nurse anesthetists, surgical technicians, surgical assistants, and all their support staff that work to create a safe environment for each surgery, everyone is focused and dedicated to your safety. They also deserve a big applause for all the unnoticed work they do, and I am proud to work with them daily.
Beyond the numbers, we have met some fantastic people over the years. When we say you become part of our St. Charles Plastic Surgery family, we mean it. I love hearing from former patients who email me with an update on their life or share a photo of a special event. Twenty years ago, I was confident we could offer an exceptional and caring environment for patients, but what I didn’t recognize at the time was how much I would learn from all of you that transcends beyond textbooks and journal articles. Medicine is definitely an art, and I plan on continuing the pursuit of perfecting that art for another 15 years at least. Thank you to everyone that has been part of this journey. Again, as always, for any questions or comments, you can email me at drghaderi@stcharlesplasticsurgery.com
Office Facelifts
As the years fly by, it is normal to age. Our office has definitely gone through the aging process, but had some help along the way to stay new and fresh. About every 10 years, the office has had a “facelift”. Below we have shared its progression to truly appreciate where it all started.
Changes in Plastic Surgery in the Last 20 Years
Plastic surgery procedures have grown by 200% in the last 20 years. 2001 was just the start of the wave of reality shows and constant plastic surgery talk on TV, and then came social media, which made the most obscure things go viral. With all that focus on plastic surgery, it does not come as much of a surprise that it trickeled down into mainstream culture. Then, of course, the pandemic hit, and many of us turned to Facetime and Zoom to communicate. Although wonderful tools, they put us in a position of seeing our faces close-up over and over again. In the last year, as people stayed home and focused on themselves, plastic surgery procedures and interest has increased again. People are living better and longer along with being more active. So, they want to look the best that they can. To me, the increased awareness of plastic surgery has been just as important as some of the scientific advances.
Along with that awareness, the public started to demand less invasive procedures with less downtime. Some patients also want more subtle improvements rather than the drastic changes surgery provides. In 2001, Botox was just starting its rise to fame, and now it is almost part of our daily vocabulary. It is remarkably effective for multiple issues beyond facial wrinkles, such as excessive armpit sweating, and has many more FDA-approved medical applications such as treating migraines. Tissue fillers have also increased in popularity, along with laser skin resurfacing to tighten loose skin. Cosmetic medicine is the umbrella under which all these non-surgical treatments fall. The idea is to prevent signs of aging rather than the older methods of treating or trying to reverse signs of aging with surgery. As the saying goes, an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.
Of course, surgery is still the most effective method for some signs of aging. It holds the gold standard to which all non-surgical treatments are compared when deciding whether or not they are effective or valuable to offer patients. Some patients also prefer the dramatic changes surgery provides versus the more subtle adjustments seen with non-surgical treatments. With surgical advances, the most important one is the increased safety in the last 20 years. Anesthesia has become remarkably safe, and pain control has improved immensely. Recovery times have shortened as well. For example, most patients who undergo breast augmentation can return to work within a few days.
Nowadays, plastic surgeons are armed with many safe options for both non-surgical and surgical rejuvenation. Therefore, more patients can find something that suits them and their lifestyle. They can benefit from a more youthful appearance that only they know about, or they can flaunt it for all to see. Although some surgeries, like abdominoplasties and breast reductions, still require some commitment to heal from and enjoy the results, patients can rely on safe and consistent outcomes no matter how small or large of a change they are pursuing. Of course, there is some risk with all procedures, but those risks have significantly decreased in the last two decades. I expect the next 20 years to follow along that path of increased safety, reliability, reduced recovery time, and less invasive alternatives. I don’t think it is out of the question that someday a robot may be doing our Botox injections, and we arrive at the appointment in our self-driving car that we scheduled by just asking Alexa or Siri. Or better yet, maybe the robot will just come to us-just hopefully it will not be too harsh and point out all the wrinkles with its lack of empathy.
As always, all comments are welcome at drghaderi@stcharlesplasticsurgery.com.
A Word From Management
It has been a rewarding 20-year long journey and I am grateful to have had the opportunity to be a part of the St. Charles Plastic Surgery team. Every day, I take inspiration from the passion shown by Dr. Ghaderi to strive for excellence in all aspects of care for his patients. His dedication, loyalty and leadership has fostered a workplace that I have always considered as a “home-away-from-home” and I welcome happily another 20-years to come. Congratulations St. Charles Plastic Surgery!
Dale Hayes, RN
Practice Manager
To be in business for 20 years is a huge accomplishment, and I am honored to be a part of the SCPS team for 10 years of it. Dr. Ghaderi has been a leading example of what it means to love what you do. Every day I witness his commitment to making sure every patient has the best experience possible by providing exceptional care and having a kind heart. Both Dr. Ghaderi and Dale have taught me so much about life in general and I am blessed to have gained a “work family” as well to be a part of transforming so many patients’ lives for the better!
Gabrielle Welch
Office Manager
20 Years in the Making
These are some of the memories we have made over the past 20 years. We are extremely grateful for meeting so many patients that have become family. We look forward to many more years of creating memories that we will always cherish!
