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. Good afternoon, welcome to Meet the Doctor. Today my guest is Dr. Greg Greco. He's a plastic surgeon in New Jersey, and it's my honor to have him here today. Welcome, Dr. Greco. Dr. Greco (00:43): Thank you so much for having me. It's a pleasure to be here. And I'm, uh, looking forward to our conversation. Eva Sheie (00:48): I like to always start by saying, tell us about yourself. And everyone chooses to start that in a different place. So I'm curious to hear where you will take us. Dr. Greco (00:58): . Oh God. Like therapy start? Yes. . Well, let's start with the basics. My name is Gregory Greco and I'm a board certified plastic surgeon. I'm also a board certified general surgeon. And my practice, I have two practices, one that is in Red Bank, New Jersey, which I've been for my entire career, and also one on Central Park South in, uh, New York City. And practice-wise, we're about maybe a little under an hour apart, and I work out of both offices, but my predominant office is in, uh, New Jersey where I happened to also run a residency program, a general surgical residency program, and have been involved in medical education my entire career. My practice is predominantly cosmetic surgery with a focus on some implant-based breast reconstruction as well, but majority is, uh, face and body cosmetic surgery. Eva Sheie (01:51): What do you like to do when you're driving back and forth between the two practices? Dr. Greco (01:56): Oh gosh. Well, I love traffic , so , you know, I, I, there's a couple of things. It's interesting. It's a really good question. You know, certainly I am a, an NPR addict, so I, I listen to a fair amount of talk radio and I'm all over the dial, but I've, I've started getting into podcasts and, and I'm not saying this just because, you know, we're, we're taping a podcast, but, you know, there's a lot of escapism that I find in podcasts, which has really been just fascinating. And also it's just so informative. So depending on the mood, depending on the day, depending on what's happening, I can usually find something to either make me laugh or just kind of inform me. Eva Sheie (02:37): So you're an NPR addict. What is your favorite thing to listen to on NPR? Dr. Greco (02:43): Oh gosh. I mean, I love, Wait, Wait, Don't Tell Me. I have to say that, you know, for pure escapism, uh, Wait, Wait, Don't Tell Me is, is always informative, but there's a lot, you know, depending, you know, I start my day between five and five 30 in the morning, so there's always so much different on, so depending on either the five to five 30 commute is usually to the gym. And then the post gym commute is usually just starting with, you know, news hour and then, then the commute, once I finish my hospital rounds and doing whatever I have to do at the hospital, then I'm off to the office and that's usually the BBC portion of it. So, so I get a good mix in the morning, you know, depending on where I'm going. So Eva Sheie (03:23): It always gives you a lot to think about. Dr. Greco (03:25): Yes. Eva Sheie (03:26): And then even things to share with other people during the day, it just comes in handy. Dr. Greco (03:30): Oh absolutely. That's a good way tos at least stay somewhat informed when I can't get to a, a newspaper. Eva Sheie (03:37): I totally agree. And I love it too. I don't know if we'd have podcasting without nNPR. It's like they, they were the original podcast creators and it was just the radio. Dr. Greco (03:47): Yeah, no exact, exactly right. And I think that because we can now get this, you know, these contained snippets, it's so great and, and I think that people have figured out how to distill information into these little, I don't wanna call 'em sound bites cuz they're more in sound bites, but I'll tell you an embarrassingly, my first podcast I ever listened to was My Dad Wrote a Porno , and it's absolutely hysterical. Someone had recommended it and like, was taking a long trip. I'm like, you know what? And it was the, the satellite service wasn't working, the radio service wasn't working in the car. So, so we had just, I had downloaded it and this was years ago and it's absolutely hysterical. And it became a TV show as well. It was, uh, either produced on Netflix or something. It's absolutely, it's just laugh out loud funny. And, um, anyway, so that was my, my first embarrassing podcast. Eva Sheie (04:39): We'll put that in the show notes. , you've had an interesting year. You didn't mention this when I asked you to tell us about yourself, but I know that you're the President of the American Society of Plastic Surgeons right now, which for patients is not really something that they, maybe, I don't know that they care that much about that, but it's a big job and it's a lot of work. So what has that been like for you? Dr. Greco (05:05): You know, for being President of the American Society of Plastic Surgeons, A, it's such an honor because first off, we are the world's largest plastic surgery organized society. You know, we're, we're the, the country's largest society that represents board certified plastic surgeons, and we have 50 member countries throughout the world. You know, I I say it's a huge honor because it's an elected position. So I'm grateful to be trusted as the leader of the American Society of Plastic Surgeons. And you wanna leave your, your mark and, and leave the society in a better place. And the, the great thing about this is I'm working with so many bright and talented surgeons throughout the country, and I'm meeting so many people throughout the world who are incredibly talented. It's just, you know, just the opportunity for educational exchange. Just the, the social aspect of it is certainly fascinating culturally, the differences in plastic surgery throughout the, the world, it's been really fascinating. And, and like I said, I hopefully will advance the needle a little bit and help the public stay informed about the latest greatest as far as plastic surgery goes. And moreover, the importance of board certified plastic surgeons and patient safety, which is, you know, where organized plastic surgery really kind of comes together in order to protect the public from so much that's out there. So, and that's, you know, I think the proudest part of being a leader of organized plastic surgery, Eva Sheie (06:44): It sounds like there's an element of that work that is about advocating for patients. Dr. Greco (06:50): Yes, I think the patient advocacy portion is almost in the forefront because it's very confusing now in the past, people, the population in general has an inherent trust in doctors and physicians because, you know, you've gone through a lot to become what you've become. But the problem with plastic surgery is that there is some deceptive marketing out there. The word plastic surgery versus cosmetic surgery is confusing. And the general public just presumes that the person advertising or the person they're watching on Instagram is in fact qualified to be doing what they're doing. And trying to help people navigate that and advocating for patients to make sure that they do their homework and they truly understand that their physician is qualified to be performing the surgery that they're performing and that, you know, they're moreover following all the standards of safety. Whether it's a, in a nationally accredited operating room or a licensed operating room, depending on where you practice, you know, there's so much that goes into your procedure deciding to go have a procedure. So we wanna make sure that patients have the best experience possible. Eva Sheie (08:10): I think we just as humans, without medical degrees, fall into, um, using what we do know to make decisions and, and because we can't, we don't have the skills or the knowledge to make decisions about quality the way that you would about each other. And so I remember learning this sort of the hard way, like visiting an office and the, the outside doors were filthy and I thought this must be a terrible doctor. But then thinking about it later, like, you can't really judge someone's skill by the condition of the front door. So what kinds of elements do you think we as non-doctors can look for to get closer to the answer to the question about quality? Dr. Greco (08:51): So it's a complicated question, right? It as opaque is that front door sometimes. So the answer about quality when it comes to trying to understand your physician's qualifications, there are several things that are absolute. You can just very easily verify your physician's credentials through the particular board or agency of your state. So you can go to the ABMS, the American Board of Medical Specialties and understand what their board certification is. Then you can look on that board and determine that your patient, that your physician is in fact board certified and maintains their board certification. There's a physician database and you can understand whether they've been sued. Not that that necessarily means they're not a good doctor because lawsuits don't necessarily mean that your doctor's, it has nothing to do with competence sometimes, unfortunately. So I don't necessarily know that I would use that as a litmus test to go to a doctor or not. Dr. Greco (09:52): The other things are patient reviews. I think that, you know, they're fairly honest and I think that most of us are, we know how to navigate through reviews, whether it's for the place you're gonna grab a pizza or the place you're going to buy a dishwasher. And I think that we can navigate physician reviews similarly. So, you know, if your doctor has predominantly five star reviews and then there's a one, and then you look deeper and there's another one. I mean, there may be one-offs, if you will, but if they're consistent, then then I think it's says something. And sometimes they may, something, say something about the office staff more than the physician. However, you know, I think it's the total experience that you're looking for because regardless of what type of physician you're going to, you're going consciously, and it has to be an experience. It's the entire experience from the preoperative or the, the first visit, whatever it's for, until you're dismissed from care. So there's a lot that encompasses that experience and I think that you have to have a comfort with your physician from the moment you meet and the office staff. Eva Sheie (11:03): That's absolutely true. And the key driver of choosing a surgeon is actually the surgeon made me feel comfortable. So when we're in the moment at the consultation, if you make me feel comfortable, that's the the factor that's gonna have the most influence on my decision to move forward. Dr. Greco (11:22): But I can, I can also make you feel comfortable because I'm a nice guy and doesn't mean that I have quality results. So the other thing that I always offer all patients, number one, in plastic surgery, it's easy. Their befores and afters and, and normally they don't lie. The other thing is I offer every patient the opportunity to speak to my patients, you know, and I tell everybody, you can speak to one or you can speak to a hundred patients, whatever it takes for you to feel comfortable, listen to or hear it from my patients, not from me. Uh, because I think that they can share, you know, very truthful information about what made them make the decision, what was the impetus to walk in our front door and have whatever surgery they may have had or procedure, whether it was non-surgical. And I think that's very helpful. And it's also, there's nothing to hide. You know, I think I've been in practice for 22 years and there's more than enough information in the community about who I am, what I represent as a physician. I think my, my ethics and my morals. So I think, you know, I don't want to say it speaks for itself, but it's certainly I'm not, I'm not hiding anything from anybody. I think everybody gets very truthful answers during their consultations. Eva Sheie (12:39): There's another one factor that I like that's similar to those, which is, if you ask your doctor for a second consultation, the answer should always be yes to that. Dr. Greco (12:50): Of course, Eva Sheie (12:50): And if you don't get a yes to that question, that's kind of a red flag. Dr. Greco (12:55): You know, my, my job is to inform my patients and let them make a qualified, educated decision to proceed forward, because we're doing a lot together. And you have to trust me, I have to also trust you because there's a lot that goes into the postoperative experience and the intraoperative the preoperative experience. And it requires that the whole team, meaning all of my nurses, my, my receptionist, my, my medical assistants, that were all working together for your outcome. And everybody needs to participate. So I've had patients I've seen for a decade before they've gotten on an operating room table, you know, that, you know, they come in once a year for the same consult and you just do the consult again, and, and one day they'll, they'll move forward. So again, you have to be comfortable. I'm not your, your gallbladder doesn't have to come out. We're not in that business. So, so it's different. And this is just purely elective surgery for the most part. So I need patients to be comfortable or it's not gonna be the right experience, Eva Sheie (14:03): Although I bet you could take their gallbladder out because you're trained in both general surgery. Dr. Greco (14:08): I could and I've taken out hundreds Eva Sheie (14:12): Along with feeling comfortable. And it's clear you're a very patient person with your patients. What else can people expect from you when they come to see you? Dr. Greco (14:25): You know, I, I think the one thing that everybody gets is a hundred percent of me and my practice. I think the one thing that people have to understand is you're never gonna get a machine. You're never gonna get a recording. There's a real person answering the phone every time you call this office. There's no voicemail, it doesn't exist. So you're not going to a voice box mailbox, you're getting a call back from a human. Eva Sheie (14:52): Even at night? Dr. Greco (14:54): That you're getting a call from me at midnight. Absolutely. So, and that's what you're getting. You're getting me and you're getting all of me. So, and, and for however long it takes, you know, and I think I, it's really important because we understand that patients, we want you to feel comfortable to bring any concerns to us. Because I think what happens is that when you have a physician experience, especially when it comes to having surgery and, and it doesn't matter what surgery it is, you have to feel comfortable that if you're having a concern, a question, especially with cosmetic surgery, most people have never had cosmetic surgery. You know, it's something that it's their first foray and they just don't know if what's happening is normal because, you know, we took them from being healthy, we made them sick to make them healthy again, right? Dr. Greco (15:45): So the surgical process. So I need people to be able to bring any concerns to me without feeling like they're bothering me because we know what they're thinking, that everything went terribly wrong. , the swelling is distorting them. We've heard it all. So I wanna be able to have those conversations with my patients and I want them to feel comfortable voicing any concerns that they have about their procedure or about possible something that a, actually may be harmful to them. So that's what they're getting, they're getting 100% of this practice for as long as they need it. Eva Sheie (16:23): Is there a particular area of the body or the face that you focus on? Dr. Greco (16:30): I think the specialty as far as the practice goes, you know, I, I do a lot of post baby contouring, if you will, mommy makeover. So, you know, breast and body after pregnancies. And it's interesting, I probably have a bimodal distribution as far as my surgery and my practice. It's the mommy makeover and then it's the, the next, the facelift population. So kind of maybe a decade and a half to two decades apart. And then, so it's breast and body and then face eyes for the, that next two generations later. I'll be kind. Eva Sheie (17:04): And so if you've been going in practice for 22 years, do you have a lot of patients who start with the mommy makeover and then return for the facelift? Dr. Greco (17:12): We have an awful lot of 'em, which is really nice to see. So yes, that's the other thing that we, you know, I think one of the things that as a practice, one of the great things is to see the continuity of the longitudinal care that we actually see with our patient population. I think as an educator, I have medical students and I have residents and they're really shocked when they see us in the room with a patient that we've been seeing for 5, 10, 15, 20 years, that we know everything about their lives. Because we see our patients, whether it's for injectables, we're seeing 'em every, you know, four to six months. Uh, you know, we see them more than they're internists. So you become an integral part of so many people's lives and you know, you are their first phone call when something goes wrong. If they need medical care, you know, they know that they can turn to this office and we're gonna direct them in the right direction. Dr. Greco (18:06): You know, I, I've unfortunately gotten phone calls from people in parking lots after they've left their doctor and gotten a terrible diagnosis. You know, what do I do next? And it's an honor to know that, you know, they trust me to direct them. But you know, it's also unfortunate that they couldn't have that conversation with their own doctor. So, but like I said, I think the surprising thing is that people don't realize that the plastic surgeon is not just the temporary walk in the door walk out and we kind of have this long-term relationship with so many of our patients, which is just wonderful. Eva Sheie (18:39): I think you just figured out what's wrong with most of medicine right there. Dr. Greco (18:44): Completely. Eva Sheie (18:46): Those of us who work with you and are honored to work with plastic surgeons every day, we also go out into the world and say, why isn't all of medicine like plastic surgery? It should be, it should be better. You know, we should have relationships at least. Dr. Greco (19:02): I think if you've had the probable unfortunate circumstance in your life, either with a loved one or personally, and you've been through the healthcare system, you understand how confusing it is to navigate if you've, you know, I personally have had to do it for a loved one and as a physician and even with the nurses in my office coordinating care and, and trying to put all the pieces together, it was complicated. So for the average layman out there, it's really complicated. So we understand that and it's one of the reasons I think that we try to really go the extra mile for our patients regardless, you know, what it's about. Whether it's about preoperative pats, getting their blood work done, making sure, you know, if we need to call a lab, if we need to call an internist office, whatever we need to do, cuz we understand it's complicated and it's not easy anymore. You know, we wait on those phones as long as the patients do in order to get through to their, their physician's offices to get preoperative clearance. Eva Sheie (20:06): Well, we've certainly gone down a rabbit hole. Dr. Greco (20:08): , . Eva Sheie (20:10): Um, what other problems can we solve for the world today? Let's see, I've sort of noticed since I started doing this podcast that when I ask this question, doctors really fall into one of two buckets. So either when I say, when did you know you were gonna be a doctor? The answer is usually either, I never didn't know. I've known my whole life since I was a little tiny kid that I was gonna be a doctor. Or something really unusual happened that made them pivot. So, and in those stories they're usually very successful at something else and then they hit a wall and then they pivot into being, becoming a doctor. So now that I've built it up too much, I wanna ask you the question. Dr. Greco (20:59): Right, it was when my TV series got canceled. ? Eva Sheie (21:01): Oh, you were a famous TV star. Dr. Greco (21:04): Exactly. No, I was always gonna be a vet, so I always wanted to be a vet. And so it kind of propelled me in that direction. So in high school I started working for a vet and it was great because it was a real mom and pop shop, so it was kind of the everything vet, you know, he was like the country doctor vet, if you will. And it just kind of also really modeled what kind of almost what what I am now as a physician. It was that same type of, you know, the, the patients who've been there or the clients who've been there with their pets for years and years, you know, multiple animals later and just, you know, you, you were always their resource. And anyway, so he kind of con convinced , he convinced me not to go into veterinary medicine. Dr. Greco (21:47): He's like, listen, I love this and I know you love it, but this was many years ago, but he's like, you gotta week and $300 to get anything better . So, you know, so he was being facetious obviously, but it kind of compelled me into at least medicine and it was great cuz I, I'm there at 16, 17 years old at least getting to watch in the operating room and then getting to take care of these animals. So I knew that I loved medicine. I know that didn't bother me. It didn't gross me out. And then in college I kind of gravitated towards becoming a doctor. So I went in as pre-med and the rest is history. And plastic surgery, during medical school, I had the great fortune of meeting one of my mentors in plastic surgery and he was just a, a again, another gentleman and, uh, just a real true, I wanna say gentleman and a scholar because he did the same thing, you know, as a private practice. His patients really loved him and he was just, once again, just, just did everything right. You know, you don't have to know that something's wrong, but you certainly can recognize it, but you know when things are right and I think that's, you know, me and my naivete at the time, I, I didn't know anything about plastic surgery. I just knew that I wanted to emulate this person. As far as, you know, their qualities and the way that they interacted with their patients, Eva Sheie (23:14): Are either of them still around? Dr. Greco (23:17): So the one, the plastic surgeon is still around. His name is Joe Reichman and I, I will say it out loud. And the other gentleman, his name is William Herbald. He died, uh, recently, maybe about two years ago. But I've always had the opportunity to thank them and just, uh, appreciate them. Eva Sheie (23:34): Did you become an animal lover too? Dr. Greco (23:37): Oh yeah. Always have animals. Just always tons of animals. Dog. two dogs right now, two little rescues. Just Eric and Hoot, Eva Sheie (23:45): Hoot, the dog, not Hoot, the owl? Dr. Greco (23:49): Hoot the dog from Texas. She's from McAllen, Texas. Eva Sheie (23:52): Oh that's cute. Dr. Greco (23:53): I got her during Covid. She's about four, they're both about four years old. Eric's from Puerto Rico and Hoot's from Texas. Eva Sheie (24:00): There's no animals to rescue in, in New Jersey, so Dr. Greco (24:05): That's right. Eva Sheie (24:07): All over the place. Yeah. So you're like the country plastic surgeon. I think that's, Dr. Greco (24:11): I suppose. Eva Sheie (24:13): What do you like to do away from work? I suppose this year it's, you're just doing ASPS but. Dr. Greco (24:19): Yeah, this year's been a lot of travel, but you know, I'm a scuba diver, scuba diving, boating, you know, kind of all water related activity. And also living in New York City as well as in New Jersey. New York City, culturally is just wonderful. So, you know, going and there's just so much to do. It's, you can't get bored in New York City. Eva Sheie (24:40): No, definitely not. Dr. Greco (24:42): Travel is, you know, one of the luxuries, you know, having to explore the planet is truly amazing. And, and one of the great things is that scuba diving brings you all over the world. There's so many amazing dive sites throughout the world that are so isolated and they just bring you into the far reaches of the globe. And seeing the planet underwater is absolutely one of the most beautiful things you can do. Eva Sheie (25:07): Okay, so three travel questions. Where's the last place you went? Where's the next place you're going? And then what is your favorite place to scuba dive? Dr. Greco (25:17): The last place I went was interesting was Dubai, which was about three weeks ago. Uh, but the real last place was San Francisco, which was about a week ago. The next place I'm going is Connecticut . And then after that to Whistler out in, um, British Columbia, which would be the, the four days later. And the most fascinating place I ever dove, uh, it's kind of a tie, so for different reasons. Number one is Palau, which is this tiny little island, one degree north of the equator. And its just a, it's so hard to get to and it's the entire island is a marine preserve. And, uh, a lot of the, uh, World War II was fought in that area. Um, so it's just fascinating because there's so much marine life. There's no coral bleaching, so it's so hard to get to that, you know, we haven't destroyed it yet, so. And the other is The Galapagos, which I, it was my last trip before Covid and seeing the Galapagos underwater for a week straight was fascinating. Eva Sheie (26:21): How do you get to Palau? Dr. Greco (26:23): A lot of planes, uh, , it was, um, about 22 hours of flying and you go, go from, you know, the states to one of the Asian countries, then you have to go to a small, some place called Truck and then you go to Palau and, um, Eva Sheie (26:40): Sounds like a long day, but worth it when you get there. Dr. Greco (26:42): It was worth it. It was absolutely worth it. Eva Sheie (26:45): Well, if someone's listening today and they don't already know where you are or how to find you, where should they look for more information about you? Dr. Greco (26:56): Thanks for that. Um, there's plenty of places you can look online at our website, www Dr. Gregory greco.com. You can find us on Instagram at Dr. Gregory Greco. We're also on Facebook at, gosh, I, I think I'm just Dr. Gregory Greco on Facebook as well. , so, and Google works as well. And, uh, 732-842-3737. Eva Sheie (27:20): I'll make sure we put all those links in the show notes. Thank you so much Dr. Greco. Dr. Greco (27:25): Thanks. It was a pleasure talking to you. Eva Sheie (27:31): 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.