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My
first exposure to Plastic Surgery was in my general surgery
training in England. Succeeding at the challenge of
manipulating a mangled traumatic wound to regain function and
appearance was like a shot of adrenalin to me.....
I
was also profoundly touched by the patient who seemed to gain
self esteem or personal comfort after a cosmetic procedure.
Then there was the patient with a tissue/structure deficiency
from a birth defect, traumatic injury or surgery. This
type of reconstruction was the ultimate challenge. How can
I "borrow" like tissues from one area to replace or
replicate the loss, keep the tissues alive and limit change of
appearance and/or function to the place being borrowed from?
I was hooked and I've never looked back. I am so grateful for my many mentors who encouraged and guided me to follow this
path.
My
family and I moved to the states from England in 1975. I
did a fellowship in clinical Traumatology at the Maryland
Institute of Emergency Medicine while waiting for a training
position in plastic surgery to open up. We moved to St.
Louis, Missouri in 1976, where I attended St. Louis University.
After completing my plastic surgery residency at St. Louis
University in 1978, I started practice in Alton and
Granite City, Illinois. Today, the Illinois office is in
Alton and the St. Louis office is in Florissant just North of
Lambert Airport. I
maintain surgery privileges at Alton Memorial Hospital, St.
Anthony Hospital and the Riverside Surgery Center.
On
a personal note, my wife of many years, Parveen, is
also a physician. We have three children scattered around
the country. I knew I needed a life other than my practice
when I heard Sharon,
my nurse, describe me by saying "If it doesn't hurt,
bleed or cry he's not interested." So recently I've
taken up golf and archery. I won my first trophy for
anything, ever in my life, for the longest putt at a
hospital charity golf tournament. The girls say I hold it
in the same regard as my marriage certificate and board
certification, They're exaggerating......some.
During
the past 30 years, I’ve seen a wide spectrum of changes in
medicine…. miraculous advances in plastic surgery and medicine
in general and even some necessary changes in medical economics.
Heck, today we do some of our best work without surgery. What hasn’t changed; however, is that I’m as hooked today
as when I was just a kid in England. I still like coming to work
everyday.
I’ve
been blessed with a loyal and capable staff as enthusiastic
about this specialty as
I am. One of our patients paid us the ultimate compliment by
saying, "I like coming here, Doc, everybody’s always
smiling." Smiling comes easy when you love what you’re
doing for a living!
All
of us at Ahmed Plastic Surgery take pride in our practice and
share an effortless dedication to promoting and awareness of
Plastic Surgery for what it really is --- A far reaching
specialty offering both surgical and nonsurgical treatments to
all areas of the body, for the young and old, the rich and poor,
and all those in between.
We
enjoy treating our patients. We’ve been here long enough that
we’re beginning to see several generations of the same family.
You’d think that might make us feel old, but….
Without
you, our patients, there wouldn’t be an Ahmed Plastic Surgery.
Thank you, for placing our trust in us by allowing our staff to
participate in your plastic surgery care.
Dr.
Ahmed, Sharon, Tiffany and Dana
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