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Oct. 31, 2023

Shahram Salemy, MD - Plastic Surgeon in Seattle, Washington

Shahram Salemy, MD - Plastic Surgeon in Seattle, Washington

Thanks to exceptional results and a unique style of patient care, people from all over the US and Canada travel to Dr. Shahram Salemy in Seattle for aesthetic surgery.

Since founding his private practice in Seattle in 2009, the patient experience has...

Thanks to exceptional results and a unique style of patient care, people from all over the US and Canada travel to Dr. Shahram Salemy in Seattle for aesthetic surgery.

Since founding his private practice in Seattle in 2009, the patient experience has been top priority, starting with finding the right staff, from the nurses, anesthesiologists, and surgical techs, to the front office.

Along with the full range of aesthetic procedures, many women seek Dr. Salemy’s expertise with breast revision surgery, either for updated results or to improve outcomes after a surgery elsewhere.

Away from the office, Dr. Salemy and his family travel the world to support his participation in ultramarathon races. Hear why he believes Washington state is better than Washington D.C., what he loves about the PNW, and why you’ll never find him dancing for a video from inside the operating room.

To learn more about Dr. Shahram Salemy


Follow Dr. Salemy on Instagram


ABOUT MEET THE DOCTOR

The purpose of the Meet the Doctor podcast is simple. We want you to get to know your doctor before meeting them in person because you’re making a life changing decision and time is scarce. The more you can learn about who your doctor is before you meet them, the better that first meeting will be.

When you head into an important appointment more informed and better educated, you are able to have a richer, more specific conversation about the procedures and treatments you’re interested in. There’s no substitute for an in-person appointment, but we hope this comes close.

Meet The Doctor is a production of The Axis.
Made with love in Austin, Texas.

Are you a doctor or do you know a doctor who’d like to be on the Meet the Doctor podcast? Book a free 30 minute recording session at meetthedoctorpodcast.com.

Transcript

















Shahram Salemy, MD - Plastic Surgeon in Seattle, Washington





























































































































































































































Oct. 31, 2023



Shahram Salemy, MD - Plastic Surgeon in Seattle, Washington









Shahram Salemy, MD - Plastic Surgeon in Seattle, Washington












Thanks to exceptional results and a unique style of patient care, people from all over the US and Canada travel to Dr. Shahram Salemy in Seattle for aesthetic surgery.

Since founding his private practice in Seattle in 2009, the patient experience has...































Thanks to exceptional results and a unique style of patient care, people from all over the US and Canada travel to Dr. Shahram Salemy in Seattle for aesthetic surgery.

Since founding his private practice in Seattle in 2009, the patient experience has been top priority, starting with finding the right staff, from the nurses, anesthesiologists, and surgical techs, to the front office.

Along with the full range of aesthetic procedures, many women seek Dr. Salemy’s expertise with breast revision surgery, either for updated results or to improve outcomes after a surgery elsewhere.

Away from the office, Dr. Salemy and his family travel the world to support his participation in ultramarathon races. Hear why he believes Washington state is better than Washington D.C., what he loves about the PNW, and why you’ll never find him dancing for a video from inside the operating room.

To learn more about Dr. Shahram Salemy


Follow Dr. Salemy on Instagram


ABOUT MEET THE DOCTOR

The purpose of the Meet the Doctor podcast is simple. We want you to get to know your doctor before meeting them in person because you’re making a life changing decision and time is scarce. The more you can learn about who your doctor is before you meet them, the better that first meeting will be.

When you head into an important appointment more informed and better educated, you are able to have a richer, more specific conversation about the procedures and treatments you’re interested in. There’s no substitute for an in-person appointment, but we hope this comes close.

Meet The Doctor is a production of The Axis.
Made with love in Austin, Texas.

Are you a doctor or do you know a doctor who’d like to be on the Meet the Doctor podcast? Book a free 30 minute recording session at meetthedoctorpodcast.com.













Transcript


















Shahram Salemy, MD - Plastic Surgeon in Seattle, Washington





























































































































































































































Oct. 31, 2023



Shahram Salemy, MD - Plastic Surgeon in Seattle, Washington









Shahram Salemy, MD - Plastic Surgeon in Seattle, Washington












Thanks to exceptional results and a unique style of patient care, people from all over the US and Canada travel to Dr. Shahram Salemy in Seattle for aesthetic surgery.

Since founding his private practice in Seattle in 2009, the patient experience has...































Thanks to exceptional results and a unique style of patient care, people from all over the US and Canada travel to Dr. Shahram Salemy in Seattle for aesthetic surgery.

Since founding his private practice in Seattle in 2009, the patient experience has been top priority, starting with finding the right staff, from the nurses, anesthesiologists, and surgical techs, to the front office.

Along with the full range of aesthetic procedures, many women seek Dr. Salemy’s expertise with breast revision surgery, either for updated results or to improve outcomes after a surgery elsewhere.

Away from the office, Dr. Salemy and his family travel the world to support his participation in ultramarathon races. Hear why he believes Washington state is better than Washington D.C., what he loves about the PNW, and why you’ll never find him dancing for a video from inside the operating room.

To learn more about Dr. Shahram Salemy


Follow Dr. Salemy on Instagram


ABOUT MEET THE DOCTOR

The purpose of the Meet the Doctor podcast is simple. We want you to get to know your doctor before meeting them in person because you’re making a life changing decision and time is scarce. The more you can learn about who your doctor is before you meet them, the better that first meeting will be.

When you head into an important appointment more informed and better educated, you are able to have a richer, more specific conversation about the procedures and treatments you’re interested in. There’s no substitute for an in-person appointment, but we hope this comes close.

Meet The Doctor is a production of The Axis.
Made with love in Austin, Texas.

Are you a doctor or do you know a doctor who’d like to be on the Meet the Doctor podcast? Book a free 30 minute recording session at meetthedoctorpodcast.com.













Transcript


















Shahram Salemy, MD - Plastic Surgeon in Seattle, Washington





























































































































































































































Oct. 31, 2023



Shahram Salemy, MD - Plastic Surgeon in Seattle, Washington









Shahram Salemy, MD - Plastic Surgeon in Seattle, Washington












Thanks to exceptional results and a unique style of patient care, people from all over the US and Canada travel to Dr. Shahram Salemy in Seattle for aesthetic surgery.

Since founding his private practice in Seattle in 2009, the patient experience has...































Thanks to exceptional results and a unique style of patient care, people from all over the US and Canada travel to Dr. Shahram Salemy in Seattle for aesthetic surgery.

Since founding his private practice in Seattle in 2009, the patient experience has been top priority, starting with finding the right staff, from the nurses, anesthesiologists, and surgical techs, to the front office.

Along with the full range of aesthetic procedures, many women seek Dr. Salemy’s expertise with breast revision surgery, either for updated results or to improve outcomes after a surgery elsewhere.

Away from the office, Dr. Salemy and his family travel the world to support his participation in ultramarathon races. Hear why he believes Washington state is better than Washington D.C., what he loves about the PNW, and why you’ll never find him dancing for a video from inside the operating room.

To learn more about Dr. Shahram Salemy


Follow Dr. Salemy on Instagram


ABOUT MEET THE DOCTOR

The purpose of the Meet the Doctor podcast is simple. We want you to get to know your doctor before meeting them in person because you’re making a life changing decision and time is scarce. The more you can learn about who your doctor is before you meet them, the better that first meeting will be.

When you head into an important appointment more informed and better educated, you are able to have a richer, more specific conversation about the procedures and treatments you’re interested in. There’s no substitute for an in-person appointment, but we hope this comes close.

Meet The Doctor is a production of The Axis.
Made with love in Austin, Texas.

Are you a doctor or do you know a doctor who’d like to be on the Meet the Doctor podcast? Book a free 30 minute recording session at meetthedoctorpodcast.com.













Transcript






















Shahram Salemy, MD - Plastic Surgeon in Seattle, Washington





























































































































































































































Oct. 31, 2023



Shahram Salemy, MD - Plastic Surgeon in Seattle, Washington









Shahram Salemy, MD - Plastic Surgeon in Seattle, Washington












Thanks to exceptional results and a unique style of patient care, people from all over the US and Canada travel to Dr. Shahram Salemy in Seattle for aesthetic surgery.

Since founding his private practice in Seattle in 2009, the patient experience has...































Thanks to exceptional results and a unique style of patient care, people from all over the US and Canada travel to Dr. Shahram Salemy in Seattle for aesthetic surgery.

Since founding his private practice in Seattle in 2009, the patient experience has been top priority, starting with finding the right staff, from the nurses, anesthesiologists, and surgical techs, to the front office.

Along with the full range of aesthetic procedures, many women seek Dr. Salemy’s expertise with breast revision surgery, either for updated results or to improve outcomes after a surgery elsewhere.

Away from the office, Dr. Salemy and his family travel the world to support his participation in ultramarathon races. Hear why he believes Washington state is better than Washington D.C., what he loves about the PNW, and why you’ll never find him dancing for a video from inside the operating room.

To learn more about Dr. Shahram Salemy


Follow Dr. Salemy on Instagram


ABOUT MEET THE DOCTOR

The purpose of the Meet the Doctor podcast is simple. We want you to get to know your doctor before meeting them in person because you’re making a life changing decision and time is scarce. The more you can learn about who your doctor is before you meet them, the better that first meeting will be.

When you head into an important appointment more informed and better educated, you are able to have a richer, more specific conversation about the procedures and treatments you’re interested in. There’s no substitute for an in-person appointment, but we hope this comes close.

Meet The Doctor is a production of The Axis.
Made with love in Austin, Texas.

Are you a doctor or do you know a doctor who’d like to be on the Meet the Doctor podcast? Book a free 30 minute recording session at meetthedoctorpodcast.com.













Transcript






















Shahram Salemy, MD - Plastic Surgeon in Seattle, Washington





























































































































































































































Oct. 31, 2023



Shahram Salemy, MD - Plastic Surgeon in Seattle, Washington









Shahram Salemy, MD - Plastic Surgeon in Seattle, Washington












Thanks to exceptional results and a unique style of patient care, people from all over the US and Canada travel to Dr. Shahram Salemy in Seattle for aesthetic surgery.

Since founding his private practice in Seattle in 2009, the patient experience has...































Thanks to exceptional results and a unique style of patient care, people from all over the US and Canada travel to Dr. Shahram Salemy in Seattle for aesthetic surgery.

Since founding his private practice in Seattle in 2009, the patient experience has been top priority, starting with finding the right staff, from the nurses, anesthesiologists, and surgical techs, to the front office.

Along with the full range of aesthetic procedures, many women seek Dr. Salemy’s expertise with breast revision surgery, either for updated results or to improve outcomes after a surgery elsewhere.

Away from the office, Dr. Salemy and his family travel the world to support his participation in ultramarathon races. Hear why he believes Washington state is better than Washington D.C., what he loves about the PNW, and why you’ll never find him dancing for a video from inside the operating room.

To learn more about Dr. Shahram Salemy


Follow Dr. Salemy on Instagram


ABOUT MEET THE DOCTOR

The purpose of the Meet the Doctor podcast is simple. We want you to get to know your doctor before meeting them in person because you’re making a life changing decision and time is scarce. The more you can learn about who your doctor is before you meet them, the better that first meeting will be.

When you head into an important appointment more informed and better educated, you are able to have a richer, more specific conversation about the procedures and treatments you’re interested in. There’s no substitute for an in-person appointment, but we hope this comes close.

Meet The Doctor is a production of The Axis.
Made with love in Austin, Texas.

Are you a doctor or do you know a doctor who’d like to be on the Meet the Doctor podcast? Book a free 30 minute recording session at meetthedoctorpodcast.com.













Transcript

Eva Sheie (00:03):
The purpose of this podcast is simple. We want you to get to know your doctor before meeting them in person because you're making a life-changing decision and time is scarce. The more you can learn about who your doctor is before you meet them, the better that first meeting will be. There's no substitute for an in-person appointment, but we hope this comes close. I'm your host, Eva Sheie, and you're listening to Meet the Doctor. Welcome to Meet the Doctor. My name is Eva Sheie and my guest today is Dr. Shahram Salemy, and he is a board certified plastic surgeon in Seattle. Did I say your name right or did I screw it up?


Dr. Salemy (00:42):
You got it perfect.


Eva Sheie (00:43):
Oh good. How long have you been practicing in Seattle? I think you've been there for a minute.


Dr. Salemy (00:48):
Yeah, I did my residency in Seattle, so I came here in 99 and then I was here through 2005 for my residency. And then I went to Washington DC with my wife for her to do her residency for four years, and then we came back in oh nine and been here since.


Eva Sheie (01:09):
When you were there doing your residency, what was your life like? I expect that that was probably a pretty interesting time.


Dr. Salemy (01:16):
Mean residency is, it's no joke. It's kind of you're all consuming, every moment of your life is basically that. It is a little bit different now. I think they try to find more of a work-life balance for the residents, which I think is good. It was really hard for us, but I was fortunate I didn't have kids. I wasn't married. I don't know how the residents do it with a family. It's crazy, but they're able to. But yeah, it's a great experience. The UDub is a fantastic residency program and I loved doing my training here and it definitely got me ready for life after residency, that's for sure.


Eva Sheie (01:53):
And was that general surgery at that time?


Dr. Salemy (01:56):
So what we do is we had a combined program, so that's three years of general surgery and then three years of plastic surgery.


Eva Sheie (02:04):
What kinds of patients do you see in that environment?


Dr. Salemy (02:08):
I mean, you see everything. What's great about the UDub program is there's more, but when I did it, there was four hospitals. So you have the main campus, which is all the really complicated tertiary care, really unusual care folks with weird wild stuff that come in there. And then you have Harborview, which is trauma and burn reconstruction and just sort of the most sick of the most sick, at least it's what I saw there. And then you have the veterans hospital, which is really a great experience working with the vets. And you saw a whole host of different types of issues. And then the children's hospital. So we saw a lot of craniofacial surgery and cleft lips and those types of things. So you kind of got all of plastic surgery in one box, and that's rare for programs. Not all residency programs can offer that, so were really lucky. It was very fortunate to be in this program, I think.


Eva Sheie (03:03):
Does that make it a sought after program?


Dr. Salemy (03:05):
Yeah, I mean it was certainly sought after then, but I think now even it's considered, I'm not involved in all that stuff anymore, but I want to say it's one of the top two or three programs now in the country. So for those reasons and great faculty and a lot of them are still there for when I was there. And yeah, I mean it's kind of a powerhouse.


Eva Sheie (03:25):
So then you went to DC, which Washington is better, Washington state or Washington DC?


Dr. Salemy (03:31):
With all respect to the District of Columbia, it is no contest in my mind. I love the northwest, the mountains and the outdoor lifestyle. And the people are just, they're just different. They're more, I dunno how to put it, I dunno if the pace of life is slower, but I do think it's a little bit different. My wife from Seattle, so we kind of knew we were going to come back somewhere to the northwest.


Eva Sheie (03:58):
You don't think it's just low grade depression?


Dr. Salemy (04:01):
Could be that. I like that. It's not really hot too much. I like that. I think the humidity in DC is serious.


Eva Sheie (04:09):
I do like wearing a good hoodie.


Dr. Salemy (04:12):
Yeah. Eight months out of the year.


Eva Sheie (04:14):
Or at night in July.


Dr. Salemy (04:16):
Yeah, that's fine too.


Eva Sheie (04:17):
And sometimes during the day.


Dr. Salemy (04:19):
Yeah, it's funny, my kids are totally northwest kids. It gets above 75 and they look like they're melting. They're like, oh, it's so hot. Yeah,


Eva Sheie (04:26):
But they wear shorts in the winter still.


Dr. Salemy (04:28):
I have one that does. Yeah.


Eva Sheie (04:29):
Yeah, one loves to do that. I've never understood that about Washington kids. So how did you decide to move back to Seattle from DC?


Dr. Salemy (04:39):
Yeah, I mean we looked at a lot of places actually. We looked at staying in DC, we looked at Seattle, we looked at California. But kind of the stars aligned, like the jobs that were available here really fit more with what we wanted. We felt that since my wife had family here, that would be really great for the kids to have at least one set of grandparents close by. And then for me, just raising the kids in Seattle has been great. It's kind of a good balance. They have a lot of opportunity obviously, but it's also more realistic than maybe some other parts of the world. So it felt like it was the right fit.


Eva Sheie (05:15):
And her specialty, your wife?


Dr. Salemy (05:16):
She's an obstetrician gynecologist.


Eva Sheie (05:19):
Does she still deliver babies?


Dr. Salemy (05:20):
Oh yeah. She actually tells me that she's the only real surgeon in the house because she operates inside the abdomen, not just superficially. So we have a good go at that sometimes.


Eva Sheie (05:33):
Sounds like you're not competitive at all.


Dr. Salemy (05:35):
You know, I am, but I lose, so I don't know what I'm supposed to do about it.


Eva Sheie (05:41):
It's probably best that you lose to her.


Dr. Salemy (05:43):
Yeah, it's pretty regular actually.


Eva Sheie (05:46):
So now these days around Seattle, are there specific things that you're known for?


Dr. Salemy (05:53):
I guess I could answer that by looking at what patients that come to see me are looking for. So I do see a lot of patients for breast surgery, whether it's first time breast augmentation, breast lift, mommy makeover kind of things, or I do get a lot of patients who are coming in who wanting their breast surgeries redone. So either they've had their implants a really long time and they want to do something different with them, or maybe they've had an operation somewhere else and not had a great result and they're wanting to have it repaired. So I do a lot of that and I do a lot of body work, a lot of tummy tucks and liposuction. And it was interesting, as I'm getting older, I start, I'm doing more and more facial surgeries now too, more facelifts and eyelid surgeries. And so it's fun. The nice thing about plastic surgery is that you can kind of do all of it. So it's fun to be able to offer that to patients.


Eva Sheie (06:46):
Do you find that some women who've been to you for a mommy makeover or tummy tuck are returning to you 10 or 15 years later?


Dr. Salemy (06:53):
Yeah, it's funny actually. Again, as my practice gets more mature now, I guess since '09, what, 14 years, 15 years in town. So yeah, we get a lot of repeat business. So a lot of folks, like you did my augmentation when I was 25, now I'm 40 and I'm thinking I want my eyelids done. Or now I've had kids, now I want a tummy tuck or yeah, we get a lot of that.


Eva Sheie (07:16):
How do you approach the entire experience of for your patients? I've heard that you are particularly different in the Seattle area.


Dr. Salemy (07:26):
I hope that's a good different.


Eva Sheie (07:28):
It is a good, yeah, I've heard that it's quite the elevated experience there.


Dr. Salemy (07:32):
Well, I mean I think that it starts with the people. So I have a great staff. My team is phenomenal and we spend a lot of time trying to find the right people for it. They really are the unsung heroes of the patient experience. The surgeons great and we do our thing, but really the staff from the office managers, the nurses, the anesthesiologists, the surgical techs, like all the front office person, our front office person is just lovely and incredibly patient and accommodating to people. So I think it starts with that. I think that what I try to do is, and God, I hope that this isn't unique or special, but I don't go into it with a preconceived notion of what the patient should have. It's really about what they want to have. And you'd be surprised how often if you just, doctors are terrible at listening to patients, if we just shut up for a minute and listen, you'll be amazed at what you learn, what they want and what they don't want. And it's different for everybody. So I think that's part of it. And then I think the other part is having been fortunate enough to go to some really good schools and really good training and have some great partners along the way, especially when I was younger, to help me learn the craft and kind of the nuances of what we do. You add that plus 14, 15 years of experience, I think it's kind of a good mix for patients. I think they get a lot there.


Eva Sheie (08:59):
Go back to your staff for a minute and tell me who I might expect to meet on the way in the door.


Dr. Salemy (09:04):
So our receptionist is Brittany. She is amazing. She doesn't miss a day. She's super kind, super patient, always has a smile on her face. That's one of the cool things about our staff. And we all have our own kind of personal lives and ups and downs and all that, but you don't know if you're a patient, if someone's having a bad day. They're just really great at that. We support each other and commiserate and talk about, we spend a lot of time, all of us talking about our families and partners and all that. But if someone's having a rough day, the patient usually has no idea. And then my right hand is Rebecca, she's my patient care coordinator and manager. She's been with me for, I want to say it's certainly over 10 years. I think it's coming on 12 years now. And she runs the show.


(09:51)
She's the wizard behind the curtain making it all happen. And then we have Robin, who's my nurse manager for the operating room. We have our own operating room and I think that that's a really nice thing for patients. They know where they're getting their surgery. It's just our operating room, it's our team, our anesthesiologist. They don't have to go to another surgery center with people that don't know me and work with me. And then Dr. Marshall is our head of anesthesia and she's fantastic and incredibly caring and bright. So we just have a really cool crew. And the nurses are great. I mean there's too many to name, but they're, they're all wonderful. And it doesn't really matter who you get on a specific day. They're all wonderful people.


Eva Sheie (10:34):
How do you think they would describe you?


Dr. Salemy (10:37):
I think they would probably say he has a very intense side when it's in the operating room, but outside of the operating room, he is kind of a regular person. He wouldn't know if I'm walking in the building, you wouldn't know. I'm a plastic surgeon. I'm usually either wearing a workout gear or scrubs or my regular Pacific Northwest vest. Everywhere I go, the vest I always have one on. I don't know why. It just has lots of pockets that make my life easier. But I think they would say that I think that he caress about us. I think they'd probably say that he does genuinely care about his staff. He doesn't want turnover. He wants people to stay and have a long career with him. But then when it's showtime in the operating room, he's very direct and serious and he's somebody who knows how to do the operation and wants it done a very specific way and doesn't veer from that.


Eva Sheie (11:32):
So it's probably fair to say we're not going to see any videos of you dancing in the OR.


Dr. Salemy (11:37):
No. I know that that's popular among some folks. I think I had one video where at the end of a case I high-fived my surgical tech. But that's about as much of an outburst you're going to get. We say we like our operating room extremely dull. And I think that's what patients want. They don't want a lot of excitement in there. We want it to be a routine experience that there's what we say in surgery uneventful. We don't want an event. And I think patients don't want that either. They want you to doing what you do and do it the same way and do it well. But sometimes, yeah, well I've done a high five once or we'll do some videos in the OR of before and afters. I think patients like to see that. But no dancing. No.


Eva Sheie (12:22):
It's also true. I think that the longer you have a team that stays together, the easier it is to do surgery together because the variables don't change much at that point.


Dr. Salemy (12:32):
That is a hundred percent accurate. And I would take it one step further. I think it's a better experience for the patient. And I'll tell you why my anesthesiologists have now seen me do, I mean over years and years and years of working with me, probably hundreds if not thousands of the same surgery. So they know how long it takes me to do a breast augmentation, how long it takes me to do a breast lift, how long it takes me to do a tummy tuck. And they can even look at the patient's particular case or ask me, is this going to be anything different on this one? And I'll say, Nope, it's going to be the same. Or Yeah, they have a lot of scar tissue, it's going to take me a little longer or something like that. But what that means for the patient is that they can really titrate the anesthetic level.


(13:10)
So the patient has the same level of anesthetic, but they wake up easier, they're less nauseated, they have a much more pleasant experience. We also worked with our anesthesiologist on a non-narcotic pain management protocol. And in the interest of full disclosure, this is not something that we developed or anything like that. It's been out there a long time, but we tried to tailor it a bit for what we do. And it's been a really great thing from the feedback we get from our patients is that their pain control is even better than it was with narcotics. And we can still give them narcotics if they need it, but most of 'em prefer not to have it and they just feel better without it. So that type of collaboration with a group of anesthesiologists and nurses that work with one or two doctors, that is a really, really special thing for the patient experience.


Eva Sheie (13:57):
Do you do any of those extra things for pain control like Experel?


Dr. Salemy (14:02):
Yeah. Yeah. So that's part of the pain management program. It works great. A real, it really has been in my practice, it's been a real game changer in terms of post-op pain, especially for tummy tucks.


Eva Sheie (14:13):
Yep, I've heard that. What part of downtown are you in?


Dr. Salemy (14:18):
We're on First Hill. We're just right across the street from Swedish. Our building actually used to be attached to Swedish by SkyBridge, but since they're redoing this whole side of Swedish was demolished, so at some point I'm sure they'll reattach it.


Eva Sheie (14:32):
What do you think that patients can expect when they come to see you for the first time?


Dr. Salemy (14:38):
Well, they can first they can expect to see me. It sounds weird, but there are some practices that patients don't necessarily see the doctor at their consult, which seems unusual. I guess it's okay if they know that going in, but I see everyone for their consultations. I always apologize for if it's a wait, because sometimes I'm coming out of the operating room and sometimes surgeries take a little bit longer than we thought and then I apologize for wait for surgery. Sometimes there's a wait to see us to get scheduled for surgery, but we want to talk about kind of what they want. We want to listen to them what their goals are really, and then tailor the plan to what their goal is. They'll spend some time with my nurses, they'll spend some time with Rebecca and we kind of put it all together for them and try not to waste their time. And sometimes I say no. There's a fair number of times where a patient wants something that I don't think is achievable or is not realistic. And we have kind of a delicate conversation where I say, look, I get it. I know why this is bothering you, but an operation is not going to work to get you that result. Here's some other options perhaps, but don't go and spend a bunch of money on something and have permanent incisions and not look better. We don't want that for you.


Eva Sheie (15:55):
Do people find you from outside the Seattle area? Do they come from places like Alaska and Hawaii or Montana?


Dr. Salemy (16:02):
Yep, all those. We get a lot of folks from Alaska, Montana, Canada gets a lot of folks from Vancouver and Hawaii, sometimes Idaho, Oregon, they come up and then we'd also have a contingent that kind of find us nationally. We've had patients come from places where I think they have really great surgeons, so I try to encourage 'em not to because I think it's a lot of money and time. But we've had patients come from the east coast, we've had patients come from Southern California. I dunno why someone would come from Southern California for me to do a breast surgery for them.


Eva Sheie (16:32):
We don't have enough surgeons in Southern California.


Dr. Salemy (16:34):
I know, but they do sometimes. And I'm flattered. So yeah, we see folks from outside of Seattle. Yeah, fair amount.


Eva Sheie (16:41):
I think sometimes that it seems like it doesn't make sense. It speaks to how comfortable you make them feel.


Dr. Salemy (16:48):
Well, we try don't always succeed. We try our best. But I think that patients do want to have somebody who's down to earth. I don't have a $3,000 suit. If I did, I wouldn't wear it to see a patient. I think that would make


Eva Sheie (17:01):
It would look strange with your vest, I think


Dr. Salemy (17:03):
It would look strange with the vest and I think it would make them feel pretty uncomfortable. I mean, I think most people who come to see us, they want the doctor first, not a showman and not a show off. They just want a real person. And when you're married to an OB, GYN and you have three kids, it gets real pretty quick. You're not going to see me driving some fancy convertible sports car in Beverly Hills on my day off. None of that would work with our practice schedule for soccer. The kids, I'm always driving them everywhere.


Eva Sheie (17:39):
In a Subaru?


Dr. Salemy (17:40):
I do not have a Subaru, but it's a more practical car. It's a fun car. But no, it's not a Subaru.


Eva Sheie (17:49):
Is there anything that we haven't covered that you think people should know about you?


Dr. Salemy (17:55):
I think that what I would say about, not necessarily about me, but I think in general, this is what I would say about our community of plastic surgeons and also when they're looking for one. So I think we're really fortunate in Seattle that there are a lot of really good people doing this. That's not the case in every community. I think in Seattle there is, there's a lot of good board certified surgeons and there's people that I send patients to. If there's something that I see that I'm like, this is not something I do regularly, lemme tell you who's a great person in town to take care of this for you. And I think that's pretty standard for most of us. There are some people in town, unfortunately who are not plastic surgeons who are practicing plastic surgery. And that makes it difficult for the patients certainly.


(18:36)
But I think you're in a good place if you're here. And by Seattle, I mean Seattle Bellevue, kind of a whole little area. And then I think when you're looking for someone, you want to look at a few things. Certainly their training and their board certification. Those are important. I think it's important also to find people that not only have years of experience, but years of experience doing what it is that you want them to do. And I think that's really an important distinction. And there's ways of doing that. Asking them about it I think is important. Word of mouth is important. And then looking at their websites and looking for photos and kind of getting a sense of do they have a lot of different photos in the area that I want to talk about and do I like what I see from those photos?


(19:16)
So I think those things are helpful. I encourage patients to talk to more than one surgeon. If they aren't sure who they want to go to, I'm happy to give 'em names of people I trust and I would send my family to. So I think those types of things are important and be patient with us. If it's a long wait for surgery, it's not always a bad thing. It tells you that we're usually pretty sought after, but that's a tough thing for patients sometimes. And I feel really bad. I don't think I could operate any more than I do now. I think my wife and kids would be pretty upset and I'd be upset miss 'em. So I think we try our best to get everybody in as much as we can, but sometimes it's a really long wait.


Eva Sheie (19:55):
Is there or there in your office?


Dr. Salemy (19:57):
Yeah, it is. And so it's great, but it's kind of humming all the time.


Eva Sheie (20:03):
Are you in there five days a week?


Dr. Salemy (20:05):
I'm not in my, or five days a week. I'm in there three days a week. I have a partner who takes the other two days a week, but three days a week to operate for most surgeons is a lot. I think there's probably some folks that maybe try to do four days a week even. I think that'd be quite a bit.


Eva Sheie (20:24):
Yeah, that's a lot. I think especially when you do a lot of body surgery, it's pretty physical, isn't it?


Dr. Salemy (20:32):
Physical. Yeah. Yeah, it is. I mean that part of it, but I also think you want to give patients your best. You don't want to be, for me, maybe others are different. I'm not judging anyone, but for me, I like to start a big long operation at five o'clock at night. That's a totally elective operation. That's not life saving. Especially what we do, which is all elective cosmetic surgery. We try not to do anything like that. We really want to give them our best. And patients agree. I mean, they get it. They don't like having to wait a long time, but they understand why we can't schedule their elective operation to start it.


Eva Sheie (21:05):
Somehow, that seems like it would be a red flag. We can schedule you at 5:00 PM on Thursday.


Dr. Salemy (21:11):
There are places that they do it, and again, they probably, they know what they're doing and they do well with it. I just know me personally, I would be, it'd be just too much. But also I'm kind of a stickler for getting out in the afternoons to spend time with the family.


Eva Sheie (21:26):
Before it gets dark at four o'clock.


Dr. Salemy (21:29):
Well, I'm usually the daddy driver to all sporting events, so I don't want to miss any of that.


Eva Sheie (21:36):
Okay. What is your coffee order?


Dr. Salemy (21:39):
It's changed recently. It is now a tall Americano with two Splenda. Are we ordering coffee? That'd be fantastic actually. If you could get some over here.


Eva Sheie (21:51):
I too am a tall Americano, but with nothing,


Dr. Salemy (21:55):
Nothing's all right. I used to have a little coconut milk in it, but now it feels, it just tastes too sweet now.


Eva Sheie (22:01):
So you're backing off the sweet. Yeah.


Dr. Salemy (22:05):
Yeah. I do these ultra distance races, not because I'm any good at 'em, but because they're just a good challenge to do. But one of the things I noticed that all the runners are much smaller than me in a good way. I'm like, man, it must be a lot easier for that guy to get up a mountain when he is 155.


Eva Sheie (22:24):
Where do they store their calories though?


Dr. Salemy (22:27):
Well, if you kind of look at their body types, they're pretty remarkable. I think ultra running is one of those sporting events that probably doesn't get as much credit. These are some of the world's greatest athletes. And actually outside of the running world, no one would know this, but the world's best female ultra distance runner is an American, and she's incredible. I follow her on social media, just in awe of what she's able to do, but.


Eva Sheie (22:54):
She's not a Seattle native, is she?


Dr. Salemy (22:56):
No. Her name is Courtney Dauwalter. I don't know where she's, I want to say she's from Colorado, but I could be totally wrong. I have no idea. But she's like a legend. I mean, she's an incredible runner and it's an American, which this is usually a sport dominated by Europeans, but she's kind of destroying everybody. And most of the men, probably 99% of the men she beats pretty easily.


Eva Sheie (23:17):
Wow. How did you get into that?


Dr. Salemy (23:20):
Oh, it's a long story. I had a good friend of mine was having a bachelor party as part of the party. This is when I was, I think I was like 41, 42. He said, we're going to do this obstacle race, which was 14 miles long. And I was like, I can never do that. And so we trained and we had a great time. We did it. And then I started doing obstacle racing. I got into that and then that kind of dovetailed into longer distances. And then I said, well, there is this race I've been hearing about that's in France, that's this iconic race called the Ultra Trail to Mont Blanc, and it has different distances. I said, that'd be really great to try to do something like that after a few years of training and I qualified to go run it. And I just want to be really clear, I am not a good trail runner. I'm finishing very much toward the end of the tail of the pack. But for me, it's more about just the accomplishment of trying to do it. So I went and did a 50 kilometer one, which was great and just had a really good time. And by ultra trail standards, that's a short distance. That's like the big boys and gals are doing a hundred mile races and crushing it.


Eva Sheie (24:30):
How many miles a week are you running right now?


Dr. Salemy (24:32):
Well, I'm just about to start. I took a couple of months off of really doing something hard. I had a not great experience this summer trying to do a race in Andorra. It didn't turn out so great. So I took a couple of months to kind of reassess, but I'm feeling much better now. And it'll start cranking up to 50, 60, 70 a week.


Eva Sheie (24:52):
So are you fitting that in early in the morning?


Dr. Salemy (24:55):
Yeah, it's kind of the early morning. And then the other dad trick is when my take my kids to soccer practice while they're practicing, I'll go run. And then that way I try to be efficient with it, try to.


Eva Sheie (25:09):
That's remarkable. Is there anything else that you like to do away from work?


Dr. Salemy (25:14):
Honestly, I'm really boring. I'm all about, it sounds weird, but I love doing things for my kids. I just love it. And my wife and they're awesome. My wife's a superstar, so we do a lot of traveling together as a family. And one of the things she told me is if I'm going to do these nutty races, then they better be in cool parts of the world so we can all go. So I've gone to France and we've gone to Italy and some other places to do these fun races and see these really cool little pockets of the world that otherwise I wouldn't have had any interest in seeing. But it's been amazing. They're really, really beautiful.


Eva Sheie (25:46):
It sounds like a reasonable compromise.


Dr. Salemy (25:48):
It has worked out, I think pretty well for everyone. We have some great pictures of the kids in hiking and the Dolomites and having lunch in some little village.


Eva Sheie (25:59):
And do they watch you on the course? Do they come out and cheer?


Dr. Salemy (26:02):
So they don't do that. They come to the finish line and just see me there. No, the courses are kind of up in the mountains. It would be very different.


Eva Sheie (26:10):
There's nobody out there.


Dr. Salemy (26:12):
In France, it was kind of cool because the people who live in these little villages, because you're running from village to village, they would come out and cheer and bring out snacks and stuff. I mean, it was really an amazing experience. Really hard to, they're not like that in the us. The trail races, they're not as sort of accepted. So in France and Italy too was like that. France in particular though, was just so beautiful and people just loved it and are super supportive of you. And they would look at your little running bib and it has your country on it, and then they would cheer you on in that language, which was kind of fun. So they knew like, oh, you're Spanish. And they would say, or you're French, it's, and if you're American, they would say, go, go, go. And it makes you feel like you're supposed to run fast, but you're so tired you're going pretty slow anyway. At least I am. But it is a fun experience and the kids really have got to see some really wonderful parts of the world in different cultures. It's been fun for them, I think.


Eva Sheie (27:11):
How long does it take to recover from a race like that?


Dr. Salemy (27:14):
I mean, I guess recover feel normal. It's probably a few days, but in terms of being able to go and run hard again, it's a few months. You can't really do, I can't, like the Courtney Dauwalters of the world can, but the average person can't go and run two big races like that back to back. I usually need a few months in between them.


Eva Sheie (27:35):
Well, it's a good thing you have other things to do between races.


Dr. Salemy (27:38):
Yeah, I got to work.


Eva Sheie (27:42):
If someone's interested in coming to see you, where should they go find more information about you?


Dr. Salemy (27:47):
Best places would be our website, dr salemy.com, or they can find me on social media, on Instagram, we have a bunch of before and after photos or they just call the office and say, Hey, I want to come see this guy. And we do sometimes virtual ones too for folks from out of town just to save them a trip. If they would rather just talk over the phone or zoom or something before,


Eva Sheie (28:06):
We'll make sure we put all those links in the show notes so they're easy to find.


Dr. Salemy (28:09):
Oh, thanks.


Eva Sheie (28:10):
Thank you for joining us today. It was really a pleasure to get to know you.


Dr. Salemy (28:14):
Thanks Eva. I really appreciate it. Thank you so much.


Eva Sheie (28:20):
If you are considering making an appointment or are on your way to meet this doctor, be sure to let them know you heard them on the Meet the Doctor podcast. Check the show notes for links including the doctor's website and Instagram to learn more. Are you a doctor or do you know a doctor who'd like to be on the Meet the Doctor podcast? Book your free recording session at Meet the doctor podcast.com. Meet the Doctor is Made with Love in Austin, Texas and is a production of The Axis T-H-E-A-X-I-S.io.