GREENWICH COSMETIC SURGERY

An inside interview with LocateADoc.com

Describe the most rewarding experience that you have had working with a patient?
I had a patient who came to me with an enlarged labia on one side. A former partner had humiliated her so much she refused to date for over two years. After reducing the labia to match the smaller side she regained her self esteem and started to date again. She told me the result of the surgery was so compelling it had given her a new outlook on life. Although the procedure was not complex and short, the impact on her was incredible. It's stories like this make my efforts so satisfying.

What makes your specialties the right fields of medicine for you?
Gynecology is unique among all the fields of medicine. It is a positive specialty that is satisfying both to patients and to the physician. It is the only field in medicine that encompasses a wide range of surgery, general medicine, endocrinology, psychiatry and sexual counseling. A gynecologist can generalize or specialize in any of these areas, oftentimes morphing from one discipline to another. In my case, I transitioned from obstetrics and infertility to minimally invasive and robotic surgery, aesthetic vaginal surgery, bioidentical hormone therapy and sexual counseling. After 25 years of practice I still wake up every morning looking forward to going to the office.

Finish this sentence: If I weren't a doctor I would be___.
...still a doctor! It is the very best career one could have, despite all you read about the costs of malpractice, regulation and the economic difficulties of practicing medicine. I am still reinventing myself, and it's wonderful.

When (your age) did you first realize you wanted to become a surgeon? And did you experience anything in particular to motivate you to achieve this prestigious goal?
My history is very different from most other physicians. I was not pre-med in college and never aspired to be a physician. In fact, I bounded from graduate school to the Peace Corps, veterinary school and then dental school before transferring to medical school to become a facial surgeon. That lasted until I discovered obstetrics and gynecology, which inspired and motivated me to specialize in that field. About ten years ago I discovered many women were totally dissatisfied with appearance, experienced discomfort from enlarged labia and miserable from the loss of sexual feeling during intercourse, usually as a result of childbirth. What was most amazing was that most gynecologists refused to recognize or even discuss these issues with their patients. Women couldn't even share their most intimate concerns without being humiliated or dismissed. Now you are empowered to control the physical aspects of your sexuality. Finally you have a choice.

Can you tell us in your own words what you consider a perfect outcome of a surgical procedure?
Without a doubt, the perfect outcome is the satisfaction seen on the face of a patient after she has achieved her desired result. You have to realize many women take years just to make the decision to undergo surgery, and during that time they have dealt with discomfort, embarrassment and lack of sexual feeling. That is now history. What better gratification can a physician feel knowing that he or she has so positively impacted a woman's life?

What is your favorite procedure to perform and why?
I love to perform labia reductions. They appear simple to do but are very challenging, especially if the tissue is thick or there is a lot of skin surrounding the clitoris. That means the clitoral hood must be reduced and tapered into the revised labia to give a smooth and natural appearance. It takes a long time and lots of cases to develop this expertise. In many instances the outcome is life changing.

What procedure would you like to do more of and why?
Vaginoplasty or vaginal tightening would really benefit many couples who are dissatisfied with their physical relationship. Most times the vagina has lost its strength and tone and its diameter increases. The result: lack of friction during intercourse and diminished feeling; passage of air from the vagina; tampons fall out. From another perspective many women without these defects have partners who are anatomically too small to stimulate them. Both partners benefit tremendously from vaginal tightening. The amazing thing is most women don't even know the surgery exists, or think it is something pornographic. Nothing could be further from the truth. The overwhelming majority of patients I have operated on are in stable, long term monogamous relationships and only want to experience a heightened sexual experience with their partners.

In a perfect world, when would you like to retire, where would you go and what would you do?
One voluntarily retires when they are bored or have had enough with the routine of their career and they have sufficient resources to sustain themselves for the rest of their lives. Why even consider retirement if you enjoy what you do, when you discover new, exciting avenues within your specialty you wish to explore? I enjoyed doing volunteer medicine in Nicaragua and would like to continue to do so. Besides, given the current economic climate, it may be difficult to retire even if you want to!

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