Though just another date only, 1st March is an important landmark for my career as a plastic surgeon. Because on this day in the year 2009, we inaugurated our Cutis Hospital for plastic surgery. On 1st March 2025, I completed a long spell of 16 years practicing plastic surgery at one place, Cutis Hospital. Before I start my journey of 16 years at Cutis Hospital, let me take you to the inauguration day.

Completely unaware of the challenges on my way, the inauguration day was full of enthusiasm, optimism and joy for me. In fact, now I realize that it was my passion for plastic surgery awareness only which made me invite and call significant numbers of social and political leaders on the day of the inauguration. However, to invite the leaders and make a big show helps little, if any, to create awareness about plastic surgery. I learnt this fact over these 16 years.

Why Spreading Awareness Became My Mission

Why do I feel the need for plastic surgery awareness is so important? What should be done to create awareness about plastic surgery? Answers to these two basic questions define my 16-year journey at Cutis Hospital. Let us have a brief look at this journey.

Starting a little earlier than 2009. At the time of my admission to M.Ch. (plastic surgery course) in 2002, apart from popular operations of skin grafting and burns treatment, I did not know what else came under plastic surgery. As my 3-year rigorous training in plastic surgery (residency) progressed, I started getting fascinated by the varieties and possibilities of plastic surgery. The teaching of my respected and beloved teacher, the late Dr. Udayan Vyas, was instrumental in igniting my passion for burns and plastic surgery. But, when I passed my final university exams for plastic surgery in November 2005 and stepped out of the hostel and my 24/7 hospital accommodation, I realized that things were entirely different in the outside world for a plastic surgeon, no matter if he is a gold medalist, ethical, skillful, and caring for his patients. 

The Struggles of the Early Days

Though surprised, I accepted the then (and even still today) prevalent norm of freelancing plastic surgery practice. Soon, I started feeling exhausted and suffocated with this pattern of plastic surgery practice. A bit of financial exploitation was there, but during those days, financial exploitation was not a major concern for me. As a freshly passed super-specialist, I wanted to prove myself to the world, and for that, I needed more and more work. But, what was shocking for me were the repeated incidents where my identity as an operating plastic surgeon was purposefully kept hidden from the patients whom I operated on and I was prevented from giving them essential post-operative care and advice. During many such incidents, I was paid reasonable and even lucrative operation fees, but the very idea of hiding the identity of an operating plastic surgeon was not acceptable to me at any cost. It was preventing me from exercising my post-operative management skills and educating my operated patients and their family members during their follow-up visits, which is an integral part of excellent results. These were not the principles of patient care and management taught to me by my teachers, I said to myself. Then, what should I do to exercise the full potential of my knowledge and skill and complete patient care without any influence? Again, I asked myself. And the answer I received from within was “to create plastic surgery awareness.” So that I can utilize the best of my plastic surgery knowledge and skill for my patients and educate society about plastic surgery in an uninhibited way. 

A Defining Decision: Prioritizing My Core Expertise

After I started my plastic surgery practice at Cutis Hospital in 2009, I focused my attention on creating awareness for plastic surgery in the community. It is the reason, in spite of being trained by one of the earliest cosmetic surgeons (2008) in the city of Ahmedabad, I opted not to practice exclusive cosmetic surgery. Thus, I continued practicing liposuction, tummy tucks, breast surgeries, and hair transplants along with surgeries like hand injuries, reconstructive surgeries, facial injuries, burns, and congenital anomalies, which were my core expertise. In fact, around the year 2012, my hair transplant practice was developed so good that a few of my colleagues advised me to stop practicing everything other than hair transplants. They were right in their advice, I also believed. But, at the same time, my core plastic surgery practice also developed, and it demanded more attention and hard work, obviously. Now, I was to make a choice between a hair transplant and the rest of the plastic surgeries, which included core (basic) plastic surgery + cosmetic surgeries. It took almost 5 more years to execute my decision to quit my hair transplant practice completely and focus on the rest of all plastic surgeries. Though I am still doing hair transplants for smaller areas like mustaches, eyebrows, and isolated patches on beards, I avoid doing hair transplants for male pattern baldness. It was a bold decision, and I am happy about it. Although not doing hair transplants for male pattern baldness caused me financial losses, it helped me to spare time and focus on my core areas of expertise, especially hand injuries and diabetic foot infections. Today, 16 years after starting my hospital, we are doing the surgeries that are needed most by society, namely, hand injuries, diabetic foot infections, chronic non-healing wounds, burns, vascular malformation, congenital anomalies, and cosmetic surgeries like rhinoplasty and gynecomastia, which are really confidence-building surgeries. 

16 Years of Transforming Lives and Looking Ahead

The 16-year landmark has another significance in my career, such that I started my medical career as an M.B., B.S. student in 1993, and then after 16 years in 2009, I started my way of plastic surgery practice at Cutis Hospital. And now, in March 2025, I have completed another spell of 16 years at Cutis Hospital, doing the best possible efforts we could do for society. 

I am thankful to my teachers, Dr. Udayan Vyas sir, Dr. Santosh Raibagkar sir, Dr. Himanshu Vora sir; thousands of my patients, my family members, and friends; my staff; and numerous people without whom, it would not have been possible for me to contribute to society and I would not have dreamt what I am dreaming today for plastic surgery: “A state of the art Plastic Surgery Institute”.