Sarah Santucci ’17, Ganchi Plastic Surgery

Sarah-SantucciMy first day with Dr. Parham Ganchi ’87 (see bio) began with a surgery that lasted several hours. It was a SMAS facelift in which the skin of the lower face and neck is lifted from the layer of fat underneath, and the muscular system of the face is manipulated to create a natural-looking and not excessively “tight” result. Dr. Ganchi’s surgery room is remarkable—pristine and equipped with the latest technology. I’m eternally impressed by the design of medical equipment. For example, Dr. Ganchi’s surgical loupes had a light whose cord clipped to the back of his collar to stay out of his way. But there was a tool even more remarkable and something I’d never seen before. Dr. Ganchi had insulated forceps to which he could touch the cautery tool in order to precisely stem tiny facial vessels. This helps to prevent bruising and other bleeding-related complications in his patients. For more information on Dr. Ganchi’s facelift procedures, see http://www.ganchi.com/plastic-surgery/face/face-lift/

Dr. Ganchi’s wife also works with him on days he sees patients. OrchidsTara, one of Dr. Ganchi’s nurses, informed me that Leyla Ganchi had done much of the impeccable decorating, which, to my great joy, included some beautiful orchid varieties. She ordered lunch for his nurses and for me. For Dr. Ganchi, she peeled a clementine. She said, “Dr. Ganchi, take two minutes and eat this orange.” But he was already off again. Later, a nurse asked what he was doing with the peeled citrus just sitting out, Dr. Ganchi responded wisely, “I’m aging it.” Funny, because he does the exact opposite to his patients.

A picture of Dr. Ganchi is a picture of a busy but devoted man. He chooses to give each patient special attention. Busy officeMost doctors nowadays rush through their jobs—you may sit in a waiting room for two hours to see your doctor for only two minutes. He is not that way. He works with his patients, giving them his valuable time in order to guide them toward the best plan of action. I heard one of his staff saying, “Sure. We’ll see you afterhours.” A nurse told me, “He stays here sometimes until two in the morning. That man gets no sleep.” And he has four children fifteen years old and younger, enough of a job in itself for most mortals.

Sometimes, with all the silly speculation about which movie stars have gotten breast implants or a rhinoplasty, it’s hard to see cosmetic plastic surgery at the personal level. Like it or not, appearance is very important in our society—important to how others see us and therefore how we see ourselves.

One of the last patients I saw was a kind woman who had had a body lift and a breast reduction and was in for a post-operative checkup. She told Dr. Ganchi how appreciative she was of the surgery he had done for her. Right before Dr. Ganchi and I left for her to get dressed again, she looked me in the eye and said, “I want you to know, sometimes it’s not just cosmetic. I couldn’t go shopping with my friends… I couldn’t be with anyone… Sometimes it’s not just cosmetic.” He had changed her life.

Thanks to him, and thanks to State-of-the-art operating roomPrinceton and the Princeternship program, I spent what would have otherwise been a boring Intersession instead having the experience of a lifetime. If I became a surgeon as skilled and as caring as Dr. Ganchi, I would consider my life a success. He has changed the lives of countless people, and now I think he can add my name to that list.

Jacqueline Nicholas ’15, Ganchi Plastic Surgery

Jackie-NicholasWhen 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, Nicholas 1I 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!

Nicholas 2

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!