We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Lauren Umstattd a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Lauren, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. We’d love to hear the backstory behind a risk you’ve taken – whether big or small, walk us through what it was like and how it ultimately turned out.

Establishing my own solo, cosmetic surgical practice is risky. In the financial sense that is. It’s extremely rare for a surgeon to go out on their own and build a private surgery center.

Why? Because the world of healthcare is extremely complex and costly. From construction to engineering to supplies to state licensing to staff, every piece of the puzzle has to setup just perfectly to ensure the environment is one in which patients and the surgeon succeed.

Complexity and healthcare go hand in hand. Most of the time, it’s to ensure safe and effective care is being delivered each and every time a patient is treated. Other times, it’s governmental oversight that proves to be more bureaucratic red tape that anything else.

The cost of healthcare, for everyone, is climbing. That includes hospitals, practitioners, and most importantly, patients. Designing, building, and licensing an independent surgery center is a large investment for a young professional.

But for me, the complexity and cost were simply hurdles I was required to address and overcome in order to deliver the safe, quality, and effective care that I felt patients deserved.

Lauren, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

My name is Dr. Lauren Umstattd and I am a Facial Plastic Surgeon. I specialize in plastic surgery of the face, nose, neck, and everything else in between the hairline and the collarbones. I’m also a wife and mother and passionate about patient advocacy and medical education.

I completed the majority of my medical education and surgical training at the University of Missouri and then went on to complete additional training in cosmetic surgery of the face inn Tennessee.

When it comes to treating patients, my primary role is educating on every aspect of surgical intervention. What I see, what their anatomy will allow, which surgical approaches we can utilize to achieve their specifics goals, what they can reasonably expect long-term as far as their surgical outcomes, and what they can expect along the way in terms of recovery. I think being a female and having undergone several cosmetic procedures myself allows me to sympathize and better connect with patients.

We’d love to hear a story of resilience from your journey.

As a female surgical trainee, I came up in a very male-dominated field. There were several “bumps” along the road in terms of dealing with some of those male figures. Surgical training in itself is challenging. Through in a little gender bias, both overt and subconscious, and it becomes even more challenging.

My experience during my 6-year surgical training period has definitely shaped the way I treat patients and staff. I hope to never make a patient feel less than, dismiss their concerns, nor recommend a treatment simply for financial gain. Similarly, I take the approach that I work for my employees, not the other way around. Without going into detail, my negative experiences with more senior male colleagues has certainly shaped the way I practice and communicate with those in my pactice.

If you could go back in time, do you think you would have chosen a different profession or specialty?

100x over. And I get asked this quite frequently from younger students on my various social media platforms. I love medicine and I love surgery. I love the challenges it brings, the complexity it provides, and the gratitude I have for being able to help patients address their cosmetic concerns.

Contact Info:

• Website: faceleawood.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lauren_umstattd_md/
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lauren-umstattd-md/
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/LaurenUmstattd
• Other: https://www.tiktok.com/@lauren_umstattd_md