FARID KAZEM, PLASTIC SURGEON

At the age of 7, plastic surgeon Farid Kazem of Kazem Aesthetica already aspired to a career in the medical world. With a doctor for a father and a physicist for a mother, he learned certain things at an early age. For example, little Farid dissected his stuffed elephant with the instruments from his father's doctor's bag and examined this 'body' out of interest. MASTERS also likes thorough research and investigates: who helped Farid during his career?

Text: Mical Joseph
Image: Kazem Aesthetics

What was your very first job?

“As a child I moved from Egypt to the Netherlands and attended pre-university education. In the early 1970s I wanted to buy a very nice transistor radio and my father said: 'then you either have to pay for the radio with your pocket money or you have to get a part-time job'. No sooner said than done, I started filling shelves in Nijmegen at the Albert Heijn, after which I had my own newspaper route.”

How did you end up in your current job?

“My father was head of the oncology department at Radboud University and my mother was a physicist. Initially I wanted to become a heart surgeon, but I finished my medical studies fairly quickly and had a waiting period. During that period I did an internship in heart surgery for a few months and discovered that I found it very interesting, but this was not for me. I missed contact with the patient. General surgery caught my attention and it was there that I met New Zealand plastic surgeon David Tolhearst. He operated on burn patients once a week and did all reconstructions.

Coincidentally, I was his assistant every time and was able to watch this process very closely. From that moment on I knew I wanted to become a plastic surgeon. In 1994 I set up my own plastic surgery practice in Hoorn. I also observed at the private clinic of a deceased friend in Valkenburg. The latter gave me a lot of experience in the field of entrepreneurship and running such a clinic.

I opened Kazem Aesthetica in Leimuiden, in 2002 I decided to go completely private due to the increasing demand for aesthetic surgery and I left the hospital.”

Who was your wheelbarrow in that?

“To be honest, I find the word 'wheelbarrow' abrasive and has a negative connotation. A wheelbarrow sounds like someone who gave me everything I didn't have to fight for.”

Okay, in other words, who was your mentor and/or inspiration?

“My father is and was my first inspiration and mentor. He still does a number of second opinion cases and now lives in Florida. My second mentor is David Tolhearst, the plastic surgeon I met at the burn center. Because I watched him every week, I became fascinated by plastic surgery. Afterwards I did various surgeries, such as: hand surgery, transgender surgery and congenital defect correction. I met my third inspiration in Pennsylvania, America. I came into contact with Professor Manders. I did research with this plastic surgeon and learned to think freely and be critical. He gave me a lot of energy and ideas. The final inspiration is Jaap Kraaijenhagen. He was my mentor in the field of aesthetic surgery.”

What is your greatest passion in your profession?

“The greatest passion is creating, bonding with the patient and making something instead of 'destroying' something. By this I mean that as a surgeon I removed the organ if it was not good. As a plastic surgeon I make something 'more beautiful' and 'better'.”

What has been the biggest learning moment in your career?

“I used to be very idealistic and thought I could help everyone, but that is a misconception.  Some people cannot be made happy and then the psychology comes into play. It was a learning moment for me to look carefully during the first consultation to see what the motivation is behind someone's decision to have a certain procedure.”

What have you learned during this corona period?

“I was positively surprised that we could do a lot with online consultations and that we therefore maintained a lot of contact with the patients. This insight also gave me much more contact with international colleagues, which allowed us to become one zoom conferencing organized where patients listened and asked questions.

Despite the turbulent period, we have also moved to our new location at Schiphol-Rijk five weeks ago. I am very proud of this clinic. We had a delay of one year, but everything is in order and successfully. The practice is actually un-Dutch. Everyone who visits thinks it has just as good an appearance as a clinic in London, Paris or New York.

What advice would you give to your 18 year old self?

“Always believe in yourself, keep dreaming and make your dreams come true and follow your heart. Looking back, I was an insecure and shy boy, but with ambition. As a child, security had to grow and this was achieved.”

Who have you been an inspiration to?

“I am now at a stage in my life where I enjoy coaching and inspiring young people. In addition to my work as a plastic surgeon, I give a lot of lectures and training, which fits in nicely with what I have in mind: guiding young people, the pearls of this generation, in the clinic. Together with a colleague I am working on one center of excellence to set up. Transferring knowledge, feeling and passion are aspects that give me energy and what I want to convey.”