Today we’d like to introduce you to Dr. Christopher Zoumalan.
Thanks for sharing your story with us Dr. Zoumalan. So, let’s start at the beginning and we can move on from there.
I owe a lot to where I’m at in my career to my parents. I was raised in a very loving and supporting family, where education was very highly valued by my mother and father. I actually didn’t mind studying and found that it came easy, as I was always reading something. I loved my fiction books, history, and science books. We didn’t have cell phones, iPads, or Instagram to keep us distracted back then.
My father’s a scientist, and he really became an early role model for me as a child, where I absolutely loved science. He used to make me write reports on various topics (from earthquakes to the history of how bridges were built, to you name it), and also do science projects. I distinctly recall one time where we ended up burning up some coca-cola so that he could show me how the sugar material burned and the whole chemical process of manufacturing soda.
Let’s just say my mother wasn’t so thrilled with the smell in the house after that project, and as you can imagine, there was certainly no dull moment in my childhood. Once I enrolled in college, I gravitated toward medicine, and I guess it was a natural progression of putting my interests of science and medicine together. I loved my college experience at UCLA, and I then went to on to finish my residency training in Ophthalmology at Stanford University, and I absolutely loved that place. There was something magical, and so enriching about that University. I loved being a young doctor. I then completed my subspecialty training in Oculoplastic Surgery at NYU and Columbia University where I learned the art and skill of performing plastic surgery.
The opportunities to join a practice were quite limited after fellowship, especially back home in Los Angeles. I was motivated and wanted to start my own practice, and so I did. I began by renting some office space, and I distinctly remember my first patient over ten years ago and the thrill of doing my first surgery as a doctor out of training. It was a remarkably humbling and beautiful feeling. As my practice began to grow and become quite busy, I started to think about ways that I can contribute to my community of doctors and patients. How can I make my patient’s healing process better? I knew that there was a lack of advancements in scar creams and that there was little that was recently developed to help scars heal better topically. Using my science background, my skills as a doctor, and my motivation to become an entrepreneur, I clinically developed and tested this scar cream, and found that it worked nearly two times better than regular silicone cream. Flashforward two years later, Skinuva scar cream is now sold to doctors around the country and to consumers around the world.
As I continue to take care of my patients in my practice, I also continue to think of ways to help them heal better, and this is truly a great journey to be part of.
Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
I wouldn’t say the process of starting a private practice and then developing my own scar cream has been smooth process. Each patient requires individual attention, and each stage of developing a medical grade skincare product occurs one step at a time. Patience, hard work, discipline, and a good support system. Those were the keys to my success. My wife, who is a practicing dentist, has been incredibly supportive of me and my endeavors and thank her for always being there to support me.
Starting a private practice in the heart of Beverly Hills is no easy task. It takes a lot of hard work, patience, and doing what’s right. Nearly ten years later, I’m blessed to have taken care of so many patients that fly from all over the country and world to see me for their eyelid plastic needs.
We’d love to hear more about your practice.
I’m regarded as one of a handful of plastic surgeons that specializes in Oculoplastic Surgery. This is a specialized field of Ophthalmology which involves Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery. I primarily focus on cosmetic and reconstructive eyelid surgery, where my specialties include blepharoplasty surgery, ptosis surgery, Asian eyelid surgery, peri-orbital injections (upper and lower eyelid fillers for dark circles and under eye bags), and brow lifts. I also perform facial fillers such as lip fillers, cheek and chin augmentation as well. My specialized training around the eyelids allows me to rejuvenate eyelids, dark circles, and under eye bags either through minimally advanced surgery or at times without requiring surgery through nonsurgical treatments.
Do you look back particularly fondly on any memories from childhood?
We loved camping as kids, my siblings and cousins would spend every summer camping and just enjoying the outdoors, learning how to set up a tent, go fishing, and hiking. Those are memories I’d love to instill in my own kids too. I also loved playing tennis with my pops and my brother growing up. Our little sister would tag along and join us as well. Those were great memories! Funny enough, I now work alongside my brother, who is also a plastic surgeon and focuses on facial plastic surgery.
Contact Info:
- Address: 9401 Wilshire Blvd, Suite 1105
Beverly Hills, CA 90212 - Website: www.drchristopherzoumalan.com
- Phone: 3102784000
- Email: askus@zoumalanmd.com
- Instagram: @drchristopherzoumalan
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/DRCHRISTOPHERZOUMALAN/
- Twitter: @OculoplasticsMD
- Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/christopher-i-zoumalan-md-facs-beverly-hills-3
- Other: www.skinuva.com
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