When I first arrived at Ganchi Plastic Surgery, I was really excited to experience a new specialty in the medical field and get to know Doctor Parham A. Ganchi, a renowned and award winning plastic surgeon from the class of 1987 (see bio).  Although I wasn’t exactly sure what to expect during the two days at his office and tried to go in with an open mind, any expectations that I may have had were easily exceeded.  I learned a lot from Doctor Ganchi, got to know him and his staff very well, and felt very comfortable and welcome at the office.

On the first day of my visit to the office, I met the staff and Dr. Ganchi—all of whom were very friendly and welcoming.  The staff was hard working and dedicated to making the patients’ experience as pleasant and easy as possible while still managing to laugh, joke, and have a great time together.  It was so nice to see an office full of people that both take their work seriously but also love what they are doing.  Following the initial check in and meet and greet process, I followed Dr. Ganchi around and met with new patients, follow-ups, and pre-operation clients.  Coming in on Dr. Ganchi’s day of consultation was very educational and interesting because I was able to meet with patients who had a variety of plastic surgery needs and preferences.  In fact, I find this really fascinating and attractive about the field of plastic surgery—the flexibility—a plastic surgeon is certified and trained to perform hundreds of different surgeries, both reconstructive and cosmetic.

On this first day at the office, I listened to Dr. Ganchi talk to his patients about talking care of themselves post-operatively, watched him examine them, and also saw a lip enhancement injection.  When Dr. Ganchi spoke with his patients, he was very clear and made sure to answer all of their questions in a way that was medically informative but also understandable for them.  He was efficient with his time but did not rush through his consultations.  After meeting with his patients, I continued to see people that were pleased with the results and they looked great! The results I saw at Dr. Ganchi’s office were definitely among the best; for example, I thought his Rhinoplasties were pretty flawless.  His fabulous results are not only a product of his medical training but also due to the way he handles his procedures, which will be explained in Day 2.

Below is a link to Dr. Ganchi’s bio page where you can find out more about Dr. Ganchi’s education, training, see his amazing results, and find contact information!http://www.ganchi.com/plastic-surgeon-new-jersey/

One of the most exciting parts of Day 1 was actually when Dr. Ganchi showed me images on his computer from other surgeries he has done in the past and surgeries in which he was involved during his residency.  These surgeries were even more interesting to me because they were reconstructive surgeries that corrected a genetic deformity or a treated a trauma.  I have considered maxillofacial surgery to be one specialty in which I am very interested; therefore, seeing and hearing about some of Dr. Ganchi’s experiences such as cleft pallet repair surgery was really inspiring.

My favorite story was one in which Dr Ganchi. told me about how they took the cartilage from a person’s last floating ribs and skin to reconstruct the shape of his ear, which was missing.  It is truly mind-boggling to think about what can be done today with one’s own body to fix deformities or traumas and even more amazing to think that you or I could be the person responsible for helping such people in need.

The following day, I was able to see four different surgical procedures, all done on the same person.  It was such an amazing and valuable experience in which I learned a lot more about the human body and surgical procedures.  I watched a breast lift and augmentation, an umbilical hernia repair, and a tummy tuck.

The surgery was about 6 hours, which may seem long, but not when you are a surgeon who aims to achieve the best results possible. Dr. Ganchi was extremely precise, careful, gentle, and paid great attention to detail; in fact, before he began, he marked and measured segments and areas of the body to ensure his precision and accuracy.  To me, surgery is like art and plastic surgery is like creating a masterpiece.  Dr. Ganchi was prepared well to sculpt his masterpiece- he had his markings done, pictures up on screens in the operating room, and he prevented mistakes that could have been easily made by counting tubes of liquid he used out loud.  Although counting tubes seems simple, you learn how to count as a young child, many mistakes in medicine happen with simple tasks like giving the proper amount of medications.

Dr. Ganchi explained what he was doing throughout the surgery.  He identified parts of the body and pointed them out to me.  I felt like a medical student receiving a lesson in anatomy and I was glad to be able to have more of the human body revealed to me!

Yes… a selfie of Dr. Ganchi and me

After my very rewarding two-day visit with Dr. Ganchi, he told me, “Maybe you’ll now consider plastic surgery.”  At first, going into the Princeternship I felt like it could be an option, but after this experience it has fascinated me and definitely inspired me to keep my mind open to all specialties because each has something beautiful and wonderful to offer our society.Overall, this was an absolutely amazing, eye-opening, informative, and special experience.  I observed the doctor during his consultations with new and returning patients, got to see how his office was run, and was able to watch a 6-hour surgery.  Dr. Ganchi and his staff were so welcoming and kind and I learned a lot including procedural details and Doctor Ganchi’s past work with reconstructive plastic surgery.  I encourage students to take advantage of this great opportunity.Thank-you again to Dr. Ganchi and his lovely staff!