I love what I do as a plastic surgeon. My primary focus is on breast reconstruction and complex body reconstruction. My desire for financial freedom is not to get out of what I do at work. It is instead to know that I am working because I want to, not because I have to. That may seem like a small mindset shift, but for me (and I think for most of us) it makes all the difference in the world. Anyway, this is not a post about finance. It’s a post about plastic surgery and its perfect analogy.

My secret (intermittent) TV obsession

At various times in my life, I’ve fallen obsessed with a certain TV show. I’ll watch episode after episode and just keep going, never getting tired.

And that show is Chopped.

For those who aren’t familiar, Chopped is a show on the Food Network. The basic premise is that in each 30 minute show, 3 contestant chefs compete in a 3 round showdown. In each round, they have to make a meal course (appetizer, entree, and dessert) that incorporates 4 mystery ingredients. In each round, one contestant is eliminated by the celebrity chef judges until only one remains after the dessert round and wins a cash prize.

The main draw for me is seeing how each contestant takes these usually random and sometimes downright starve or gross ingredients into a coherent and successful course.

While I’m not currently on a Chopped kick, I undoubtedly will be again soon. And when it has a hold on me, forget about it.

It took me awhile to figure out why it appealed to me so much.

But then it’ll started to make sense…

Chopped is the culinary equivalent of plastic surgery. It is actually the perfect analogy for what I do in plastic surgery every day!

As a reconstructive plastic surgeon, my job is to fix a problem using whatever “ingredients” are available to me. And sometimes the ingredients are not ideal. As a microsurgeon, most of what I do is move around tissue to correct a defect – whether the nature of that defect be congenital, oncologic, iatrogenic, traumatic, or otherwise. The ingredients available to accomplish this goal all depends on what the patient’s particular problem is and what their body has available to “steal from Peter to pay Paul” so to speak.

What drew me to plastic surgery was the ability to operate throughout the body and the necessity of being creative to solve difficult problems. And all to help patients restore form and function that has been taken away.

There is no “cookie cutter” solution in plastic surgery. And there is no “cookbook.” You don’t just follow the same steps every time. That’s what I didn’t like about some other surgical specialties. Of course all surgeons work with what they have to do the best for their patients. But plastic surgeons truly are the Chopped contestants of the medical field.

One last aspect of this perfect analogy for plastic surgery

In just about every episode of Chopped, one contestant gets into some trouble or has some issue with one of the 4 mystery ingredients in a round. Something goes awry and they have to make do.

Now, some contestants fall under this pressure and never recover. But this is not why it is like plastic surgery.

The best chefs persevere in these situations and get even more creative. Their Plan A has failed. So now they need to find a Plan B. And all within a time limit. Or it’s game over. The stakes are high. This is a situation that every reconstructive plastic surgeon can relate to. That’s why we are always thinking of our back up plan before we even begin with Plan A.

And the best plastic surgeons figure it out to help their patients!

I guess it’s a little bit like personal finance as well…

The doctors who successfully reach financial freedom persevere, get creative when needed, and deal with the ingredients that the stock market throws at them. Ok…so, it’s not a perfect analogy in this case. But here are some resources to help you successfully navigate your own path to financial freedom:

• Our Complete, Updated 2024 Written Financial Plan
• Stress Free Stock Market Investing Is Easier Than It Seems!
• 10 Steps to Financial Freedom for Young Attending Physicians
• 12 Why’s and How’s of Financial Freedom for Healthcare Professionals

What do you think? Is this the perfect analogy for plastic surgery? What is the TV equivalent of your speciality? How do you relate to your job outside of medicine? Let me know in the comments below!