On Wednesday, December 4^th, plastic surgeon Dr. Lee Gibstein visited the PC Pre-Med Club to give some insight into his career.  Dr. Gibstein completed several years of general and plastic surgery training, starting with five years of general surgery residency at New York University Medical Center.  He then continued his clinical education with a plastic surgery residency at Harvard, Brigham, and Children’s Hospital in Boston.  Dr. Gibstein also obtained fellowship training in aesthetic surgery at Mount Sinai Hospital in Miami.

At the beginning of his lecture to the Pre-Med Club student, Dr. Lee Gibstein gave some background information on the field of plastic surgery.  He stated that plastic surgery is a medical specialty concerned with reconstruction and cosmetics.  Dr. Gibstein emphasized that most of his surgeries deal with reconstruction of faces after trauma or reconstruction of the head and neck after cancer.  Contrary to common belief, only a small percentage of his surgeries are concerned with cosmetics.  Examples of cosmetic surgeries include tummy tucks, eyelid surgery, and breast augmentation.

Dr. Lee Gibstein then gave the PC Med Club students insight into his journey to becoming a plastic surgeon. Initially in Med School he thought he would become an orthopedic surgeon.  However, when he was completing his residency in general surgery, he discovered the “amazing” field of plastic surgery; he became so intrigued by this field that he decided to complete a residency in it. Later, he decided to continue his education in plastic surgery and pursue fellowships in craniofacial surgery, which deals with deformities of the skull, face, and jaw, and in aesthetic surgery, which deals with more details in plastic surgery.

Dr. Lee Gibstein then shifted his lecture into the actual procedures and surgeries he performs each day.  One surgery Dr. Lee Gibstein performs on patients is breast augmentation.  He said, “When performing breast implants surgery, I only make incisions that make the least amount of postoperative scarring and best aesthetic result.”  He then explained the different types of incisions he makes in patients and that each patient has a unique and different treatment plan.  Next, he showed us the different types of breast implants he uses in surgery.

Another surgery Dr. Lee Gibstein performs on his patients is liposuction, which is an operation that removes fat from many different sites on the human body.  Dr. Lee Gibstein brought in different tools he uses to perform this complicated surgery.  He told the students, “liposuction is very difficult to perform in that you must know when to stop removing too much fat or else it will result in various negative effects, including unusual lumpiness.”

The Pine Crest Pre-Med club was thrilled to have Dr. Lee Gibsein present about the field of plastic surgery. Make sure to look out for the next doctor-lecture hosted by the PC Pre-Med Club next year.