Prepare to be whisked away on a journey into the precise and transformative world of plastic surgery with none other than Dr. Raj Ambay of Ambay Plastic Surgery. As we settle in, Dr. Raj unravels the trends that are redefining beauty and wellness, highlighting the shift from purely reconstructive to aesthetic procedures. Focusing on the nuances of 'mommy makeovers' and the allure of facial rejuvenation, he shares his expert insights on the rise of surgical options that promise lasting results. Every stitch and cut in the operating room tells a story of meticulous craftsmanship, a narrative deeply ingrained in Dr. Raj's three decades of surgical artistry.
But the scalpel isn't the only instrument that Dr. Raj wields with precision; his love for coffee and espresso adds an unexpected layer to our conversation. Imagine the adrenaline of a military trauma surgeon, accustomed to the urgency of saving lives in war zones, now channeled into the finesse required for the delicate work of plastic surgery. This episode peels back the curtain on a surgeon's life, one that balances the intensity of the operation room with a comprehensive care philosophy at his Wesley Chapel clinic, where patients receive end-to-end care that’s nothing short of remarkable.
Away from the scrubs and the surgical lights, Dr. Raj's life is a vivid tapestry of adventures, including mountain biking and skiing escapades, harmonized with a quest for AI-driven healthcare advancements. We savour the flavors of Tampa Bay's culinary scene, from the beloved pies of Amici's to the award-winning slices at Nona's Slice House. As he recounts tales of Tampa Bay's evolution and his own commitment to community, you're left with a portrait of a man whose impact extends far beyond the operating room, into the very heart of the community he serves. Join us for an episode that's not just about transformations of the body, but also of the mind and soul.
Dr. Ambay is a highly sought-after, board-certified plastic surgeon located in Wesley Chapel. Known for his unique talents and commitment to patient care, he and his team at Ambay Plastic Surgery offer a comprehensive array of cosmetic surgery procedures for the face, breast and body including hair transplant. In addition to using the latest technology and surgical techniques, he takes pride in providing the most personalized care. Dr. Ambay is a decorated military veteran having served 25 years as a trauma surgeon supporting US special Operations in Iraq and Afghanistan. Integrity and relationship are the cornerstone of Ambay Plastic Surgery.
Prepare to be whisked away on a journey into the precise and transformative world of plastic surgery with none other than Dr. Raj Ambay of Ambay Plastic Surgery. As we settle in, Dr. Raj unravels the trends that are redefining beauty and wellness, highlighting the shift from purely reconstructive to aesthetic procedures. Focusing on the nuances of 'mommy makeovers' and the allure of facial rejuvenation, he shares his expert insights on the rise of surgical options that promise lasting results. Every stitch and cut in the operating room tells a story of meticulous craftsmanship, a narrative deeply ingrained in Dr. Raj's three decades of surgical artistry.
But the scalpel isn't the only instrument that Dr. Raj wields with precision; his love for coffee and espresso adds an unexpected layer to our conversation. Imagine the adrenaline of a military trauma surgeon, accustomed to the urgency of saving lives in war zones, now channeled into the finesse required for the delicate work of plastic surgery. This episode peels back the curtain on a surgeon's life, one that balances the intensity of the operation room with a comprehensive care philosophy at his Wesley Chapel clinic, where patients receive end-to-end care that’s nothing short of remarkable.
Away from the scrubs and the surgical lights, Dr. Raj's life is a vivid tapestry of adventures, including mountain biking and skiing escapades, harmonized with a quest for AI-driven healthcare advancements. We savour the flavors of Tampa Bay's culinary scene, from the beloved pies of Amici's to the award-winning slices at Nona's Slice House. As he recounts tales of Tampa Bay's evolution and his own commitment to community, you're left with a portrait of a man whose impact extends far beyond the operating room, into the very heart of the community he serves. Join us for an episode that's not just about transformations of the body, but also of the mind and soul.
Dr. Ambay is a highly sought-after, board-certified plastic surgeon located in Wesley Chapel. Known for his unique talents and commitment to patient care, he and his team at Ambay Plastic Surgery offer a comprehensive array of cosmetic surgery procedures for the face, breast and body including hair transplant. In addition to using the latest technology and surgical techniques, he takes pride in providing the most personalized care. Dr. Ambay is a decorated military veteran having served 25 years as a trauma surgeon supporting US special Operations in Iraq and Afghanistan. Integrity and relationship are the cornerstone of Ambay Plastic Surgery.
(813)406-4448 www.ambayplasticsurgery.com
Speaker 1:
This is the Good Neighbor Podcast, the place where local businesses and neighbors come together. Here's your host, Mike Sedita.
Speaker 2:
Welcome out there. Welcome to episode 158 of the Good Neighbor Podcast. I'm your host, Mike Sedita. Today we have the pleasure of being joined by Dr Raj Ambe of Ambe Plastic Surgery in Wesley Chapel. Dr Raj, how are you doing today?
Speaker 3:
I'm doing fantastic. How about you, Mike?
Speaker 2:
I'm doing great. This is going to be one of my funnest podcasts. I have so many questions we are going to just jump right into all of it. Before we do that, though, just so you know what the Good Neighbor podcast is and why we do what we do. Back in 2020, during COVID, when you couldn't see any patients because it was elective surgery and everybody else had to be socially distant, the Good Neighbor podcast started as a way for businesses to be able to convey what they're doing in the community to the residents, to the people in the surrounding area. It started in Southwest Florida. It's grown. Now we're in Denver, philadelphia, atlanta, everywhere in between. I'm lucky enough to be the person here in the Tampa market that gets to talk to business folks like you. So, with that said, first and foremost, tell us what Ambe Plastic Surgery is and what you guys do.
Speaker 3:
So we've been at Wesley Chapel for about 15 years and I've been practiced for 30 years and we do plastic surgery. We began doing reconstruction, doing lots of complex reconstruction for breast cancer, and then we've migrated into doing cosmetic surgery. So we're doing cosmetic surgery of the face, breast and body at this time.
Speaker 2:
So is there? I mean we live in Florida, okay. I mean there's a lot of augmentation that goes on, Would you say, out of 100 procedures that you perform, if you had to guesstimate, what is that percentage of breast augmentation versus resilient butt lifts, versus facelifts and other?
Speaker 3:
So most of my patient population is somewhere in the neighborhood of about 35 or 40 on up. So you know, my practice is really made up of, I think, more family folks, mature people. It's a different sort of subset of the plastic surgery market than, say, miami, which caters to a younger crowd surgery market, than, say, miami, which caters to a younger crowd, I'd say that. So because of that, my procedures tend to be more rejuvenating procedures rather than just a pure augmentation procedure. So you know, I would probably say that it's about 50% face and 50% body. So we do quite a bit of uh of both of them.
Speaker 2:
So, based on that and you talking about your demographic and it's not like the, the South beach you know, like a lot of those butt lifts and breast augmentation jobs but I would think that a lot of your stuff, based on the demo that you're talking about, would be like the, the mommy make, like almost like a mommy makeover plastic surgery, mommy makeover. I had two kids. I know that I'm in my mid thirties or early forties now and I want to get like a refresher and they get like a tummy talk and maybe a breast augmentation and a little bit of that Is that kind of the bread and butter.
Speaker 3:
Yeah, I'd say that's the bread and butter of the first 50%, and the second 50% is usually folks in their mid-50s and early 60s who their kids have gone to school. They've spent most of their life working. They've always wanted to do something for themselves, so they've decided to treat themselves. They've always had these issues that they wanted to work on, look younger, look more refreshed, and so that's the second half of the folks who need the facelifts and who go for. You know, people who do lots of fillers, who are now thinking I need something really done and this is my time.
Speaker 2:
So let me ask you this You've been doing this 30 years, okay. Have you seen it shift from like people getting I'm sure they're still out there but like traditional, like a facelift, like the full on pullback, that whole thing? Has it transitioned more to the people going to the fillers because it's less invasive? I mean it's more maintenance, right, like it requires more update. But has the trend gone from people that used to come in just to get a straight facelift and now they're doing more fillers? Is that fair or no?
Speaker 3:
Yeah, I think there's a subset of people that are not really ready for surgery and they should have something that's temporary because they may not be fully committed to doing a surgical procedure, and that's a good segue into as soon as you've done enough fillers at a certain point, you don't want to keep spending the money and over and over again, and so now you can do something a little bit more permanent, like a facial implant. So instead of having three vials of filler put into your cheeks, you can get a cheek implant, you can get a chin implant and those last, those are what I'd like to say is semi-permanent, in that if you like it, you get to keep it forever. It doesn't go away, it doesn't wither away, and if you don't like it, it's a 15-minute procedure under local anesthesia to remove it.
Speaker 2:
To remove it. You know what always astonishes me? I mean, I've had some plastic surgery. You and I can get into that on my consultation when I come in in a couple weeks, come in in a couple weeks. But um, is the, the precision of this, the, not only the scalpel, but, like the, the suturing and the steady hand that it takes. When you were a kid I mean, I don't know how old you are, I'm about 52 were you playing that game operation where you got buzzed, or do you know what that? You don't even know what I'm talking about. You have to have the steadiest hands to do what you do. I'm assuming you don't drink a lot of coffee it's actually, unfortunately, quite the opposite.
Speaker 3:
I love coffee, I love espresso, I love love it is my thing. I literally tamp the beans, get them fresh, roast them.
Speaker 2:
I love it so you have a whole setup.
Speaker 3:
I, you know, I, um, I really love coffee, so, um, and then, as far as your, you know, playing operations no, I never did that. So so, to kind of take you back just a little bit, I was actually in the military. I did 25 years as a chief surgeon for US Special Forces. Wow, I did Iraq, afghanistan and Syria, and so I really cut my teeth on being a special operations trauma surgeon. So, let's, if I would have kind of given this to you in mechanics term, there are two types of people. There are people who are the jiffy lube, or maybe in plastic surgery we can call it jiffy boob. Yeah, jiffy lube. Or maybe in plastic surgery we can call it jiffy boob.
Speaker 2:
You weren't doing any jiffy boobs in Iraq. I don't do jiffy boobs. There's no jiffy boobs.
Speaker 3:
Right. But then there are people who are the master mechanic, right. The people who can take apart an engine and put it back together, the people who can fashion their own parts when there are parts missing, to make that car, that motorcycle, way better than it was at the start. So I look at myself as a plastic surgeon who is the master mechanic. I'm very comfortable, having done trauma in some of the most austere environments around the world in Syria, in Afghanistan, operating in a cave, in a burned out out building, in the back of a Land Rover. So I'm very comfortable with limited help, being able to cognitively use my skill sets to get to where I need to get to. So I employ all of those skills in plastic surgery. So it is more than just do I make an incision? Because anybody can make an incision, but there is, there is nothing that can happen in the operating room that I'm not going to be able to solve.
Speaker 2:
And then that's exactly what I was going to get to. When you're working in those environments where it's chaotic and crazy and not optimal, to say the least. When you're in a nice clean, sterile environment, if you have one thing that just doesn't go exactly as you plan because I would think I mean as many surgeries as you do there's I'm not saying always, but there's those times when something you kind of go into it with a plan, this is how we're going to go attack it, and something ends up happening, but in your case it doesn't. It never flusters you just because, no matter how much coffee you've drank, it's never as crazy of an environment as you're used to working in the military.
Speaker 3:
Yeah, that's exactly true. I mean, when I was in the military, you know, I was part of what they call a special operations ghost team. Ghost teams are essentially unnamed teams that go wherever the special operations so Delta Force, navy SEALs they all have ghosts that come with them, and that's someone like me who commanded a ghost team. We do everything. They get blown up. You lose limbs, you have. You have explosion injuries, you have gunshot wounds, you have. You do everything. And it's only me and one other person, so only the two of us. So we do everything, from our own anesthesia to our own heart surgery, to our own orthopedics to to stopping the bleeding. We usually get one to two hours with people and that's it, and we have to make a decision if they're going to make it, if we have supplies or if we shouldn't risk the lives of 18 other soldiers on a Blackhawk to transport somebody that is likely not going to make 30 minutes.
Speaker 3:
So when you go underneath those kinds of stresses and I practice in my own clinic and I have my own, or with my staff that's been with me for a number of years there's a calmness because I'm not getting shot at.
Speaker 3:
I've had my anesthesia machine shot at in the field, where a bullet came through and hit the anesthesia machine and we had to manually bag the patient.
Speaker 3:
And I joke with my patients my anesthesiologist can pass out and I'll keep you alive. So I have that level of confidence and I think that's what the military has given me. It's given me that level of confidence that, no matter what happens, I can keep people safe and I can pivot. So if this happens in the operating room, I can pivot. If a situation happens left or right, I can pivot. If I don't have an instrument, I'll bend it and I'll make it, and so at the end of the day, it's the outcome that matters, and I think that that has given my patients a lot of calmness. And I have a lot of patients that have looked at my bio and when they see all of this history behind me, they know that the operating room is the least stressful place for me to be so a couple questions that I have from that is number one your, your operation, your your clinic right now is in wesley chapel, right off 56.
Speaker 2:
Um, you know, right in that little corridor there behind the bmw dealership, um, you do everything there. So someone comes in with you right off the street. They do their consultation, you set their surgery date. Everything is done by your staff there. The operating room is there. You don't have to have privileges at one of the nearby hospitals. Everything's done out of that location, right?
Speaker 3:
That's right. So there's a couple of things that are sort of key to that. The first thing is you know my staff have been stable for many years, right, and that's hard to find these days where you start to see lots of turnover. So when you make a phone call, you'll talk to the same person who will answer the phone, who knows who you are. That's the first thing. The second thing is I spend an hour and a half with every patient, so I only see six patients a day, no-transcript.
Speaker 3:
I want what every other patient wants. I want time with my doctor, I want to get to know them, I want to know who they are and I want them to know me. So I spent an hour and a half with my patients explaining everything. They get to know every part of my staff. And then, when they go back to the operating room, I cross my staff between the operating room and the clinic so that they see a familiar face, so that when they are scared and they're about to go under, they're calm because they know that we all have their best interests at heart. And so then, having it done at a location where they're comfortable, that they don't have to go to another location. They're not having their surgery. At the same time, five other people are having their surgery. They have a board-certified anesthesiologist that sits with them in the room from start to finish. Anesthesiologist that sits with them in the room from start to finish. I think those are the little things that people take for granted, but are extremely important, especially when things don't go as planned.
Speaker 2:
And you have this staff for a long period of time. How many people are? What is the whole staff at Ambiplastic Surgery? How many folks do you have?
Speaker 3:
So we have nine people at Ambiplastic Surgery. And how folks do you have? So we have nine people at Ambiplastic Surgery.
Speaker 2:
And how many is it? Just you? You're the only doc doing the cutting, or is there another doc with you?
Speaker 3:
No, so I'm the. I'm the only doctor doing the cutting, but I have something I think is unique as well. So when I came back from Afghanistan, I realized how much I love doing surgery without getting shot at. That's really great.
Speaker 2:
It makes it a little easier to do it I mean, you get to listen to your favorite music while you're doing it.
Speaker 3:
Exactly. I mean, I used to operate with a weapon and boots and combat boots, and so it's a lot different. I have a plastic surgeon who is retired for 35 years. He's completely comfortable and neither of us have egos as to who we are and what we do. We only have one goal let's kick butt on this case, let's make this person super happy, let's go above and beyond and the two of us literally banter back and forth and talk about the case, and what that always does is it always makes you better when you one, don't let your ego get involved, thinking you are the best in the world, that you know everything, and, two, always have your mind open to new things that are coming up. But also remember that surgery is based on principles, on the human body. It is not a piece of clay. You can't do anything you want with it. You have to adhere to those principles so you don't get yourself into a situation where you've harmed the patient and you can't get out.
Speaker 2:
You know what's the nice thing about that is like, okay, you know, two heads are better than one, right? Even though you're the guy with the scalpel. Having another person there who you have, a perspective from, someone A you trust, your ego is not going to get in the way. Because listen, no offense surgeons probably have the biggest egos out of any of the doctors Podiatrists. They don't have a big ego. Surgeons have an ego. So to have another guy that you can use as a confidant to you say, hey, this is what I think he says, this is what I think he says, this is what I think and it may differ at times, because you don't want a yes guy that's just going to agree with everything you say. You want that different perspective. But to be able to take that feedback and go you know what maybe that is another way to approach it that only makes you better, more well-rounded and more all encompassing and looking at what might benefit the patient, which truly is.
Speaker 2:
You're right, that is a unique thing to have because in my experience, again going back to, I've had multiple plastic surgeries. I actually look like Nicholas Cage under here. This is a whole face off thing. No, I'm just kidding. So like going in and meeting with surgeons, it usually is that hey, did you talk to everybody? Okay, sign off. Here's the initial. You know you meet the anesthesiologist, yes, and it's usually very quick. So to have multiple people brainstorming about what's best for me is definitely unique. And the bedside manner a surgeon with a bedside manner goes a long way in any line, which is fantastic.
Speaker 3:
Yeah, I think that's the skill that I feel so grateful about having all those years in the military, and particularly in the Special Operations Unit, is that we're 18 guys, each of us have our own skill sets, and yet we are confident in who we are and what we do, that the ego doesn't get in the way and we are open enough to listen to all sides before you make a decision, versus just assuming you know everything. And I think that is, in my mind, what really kind of helps you be better. And so the surgeon that operates with me. He knows that ultimately I'm responsible for everything that happens, but I want to hear his viewpoint. And you're exactly right, mike, we don't want, yes, people in the operating room.
Speaker 3:
We want somebody to be able to say, hey, you know what, why don't you do this? Or I know you're doing that, but why don't you try or consider this? At the end of the day, there's only one thing that counts, and that's the outcome for the patient, and if you get a home run on that outcome, how you got there doesn't matter.
Speaker 2:
And the other part of that. That's vital and it's two parts parts. Having that dialogue in the middle of having someone cut open. It can't be chaos, it can't be hey, did you do that? It can't be that environment when you're in the military. It has to be almost like a dialogue that we have here. Hey, doc, have you considered this if you cut this this way? But whatever that is, and it has to be in that calm and controlled manner and with that in mind, who gets to pick the music?
Speaker 3:
I'm assuming it's you, and what do you listen to when you're, when people are under so, yes, I, I generally pick the music, but usually, you know, all of us in the operating room are about I'm 58. We're all kind of like, hey, let's just do this. You know classic rock, let's do, you know. I mean, I love the Eagles, I love Coldplay.
Speaker 2:
Something about the Eagles. I've had shoulder surgery a couple times. This guy in Atlanta, the nicest guy in the world, I said. He said what do you like to listen to? I said I don't care. Whatever you like to listen to that will make you feel good while you're operating on my shoulder. I don't care what it is and it was the Eagles. It's something about that easy sort of folksy kind of gets you going. My girlfriend gets so pissed. She wants to listen to 90s Nirvana and I put on mellow 70s gold and she's like, oh my God, I can't listen to this. But it is something about that that just kind of makes you feel like easy going and go with the flow.
Speaker 3:
Yeah, yeah, and absolutely. I mean, you know, I like, I like it when we have a calm OR I never freak out about anything, and so, literally, we are just having a conversation, we're talking about what we can do for this patient, we are listening to good music, everyone is in a good mood, and when everyone's in a good mood, you put your best foot forward.
Speaker 2:
Yeah, it makes the whole environment much better. So let me ask you this We've talked about your military background. We've talked about what you guys do at the center, the people that you have there, the team that's been around forever. When you are not with a scalpel in your hand or meeting with consulting with for 90 minutes your patients and giving them that attention when you're out of the clinic, what do you like to do for fun?
Speaker 3:
So I do. There's two things I do.
Speaker 2:
Uh, one thing is I love mountain biking, so I'm out there and any is there any hills you have to go to, like Zephyr Hills in Dade city, to find a hill, or you just you go flatwoods, you go flatwoods and just drive on a flat surface.
Speaker 3:
So I've done flatwoods a number of time. I go to Bomboyette, I go to and Bomboyette is actually pretty good. I mean, there's some you know. But at the end of the day I can tell you this Like I love riding, I don't want to hurt myself. So I've already been hit by a rocket propelled grenade, so I've got a bunch of plates and screws in me. So I'm careful, I don't want to be stupid.
Speaker 2:
I was stupid actually when I was jumping out of airplanes for special operations. When I raise my hand, it's not volunteer for this mountain biking, so yeah, but you're not doing it like. You're literally not like one of these dudes that has the gopro on that. You're on this tiny little ledge. I watch those videos online. I get like claustrophobic or like freaked out, like I'm gonna drop off the hill. Besides the mountain biking, what else?
Speaker 3:
and actually I have. I have an artificial intelligence company, so I do AI. So what happened was? The brief history is this After I got hit by a rocket-propelled grenade, I showed up back in the United States in a wheelchair and I was in the ICU and I had multi-organ failure. I had kidney failure. What year is it? What?
Speaker 2:
year are we talking about?
Speaker 3:
This is around 2015. Okay, and so there was this thing that I was going to lose my right leg and I had just gone through a whole bunch of things. What I saw in the healthcare is how broken the system was. So I was a patient now and not a surgeon, but I understood what was happening in the background. So while I was in this ICU bed, I had a lot of time to think about what I would do if I were to change things. So what I did is I started building an AI program and I connected with this guy who knew how to program and I said can we take this program and can we build it in my office? And I want to test it. Well, we tested it and we started finding out how do we make things easier, right? How do we take out all these mundane things from practice so that we streamline our operations and gives us more time to spend with patients? So that's what we started doing. And then we went to a local radiology which has many centers in Tampa Bay and we showed it to one and we tested it and they loved it and it extended to all 19 of their locations. And then we went to other states, and we extended that and now we have about a thousand locations that are using our AI.
Speaker 3:
And then I thought, the one thing I want to do I want to help veterans right, I want to help people like me laying in that ICU bed how do I make it better for them and their families? And that became my mission. More than anything else, that became my number one mission. And so then I went to the VA and the DOD and I said I'll give it to you for free, I don't even care if I don't make any money on this, but I want this to benefit veterans. Um, and so I started expanding, and now I do. I do, I've got contracts with the VA, with the DOD, and I provide artificial intelligence services in a way that streamlines operations and improves the patient outcome, and that is my true mission in life.
Speaker 2:
Listen, Doc. The question was what do you do for fun? I do that for fun. Okay, I just want to make sure we're clarifying what the question was and what the answer was. It is incredibly noble and amazing work that you're doing that and helping veterans. We always love that on this show, Anything that's first responders and veterans we're big into that. But the question was what do you do for fun? So mountain biking was number one. The question was what do you do for fun? So mountain biking was number one. And then creating an ai solution that streamlines patient experience was a fun option. Number two got it? So you don't. So you're not. You're not a chess player. You're not a skydiver anymore. You already did that in a past life. Um, did that? Are you into? I mean, are you into like? Are you a foodie? Do you go out to eat? I mean, what part of town do you live are? Are you up in the Wesley Chapel area as well?
Speaker 3:
Yeah, I'm actually in Lutz and I am a foodie, I love traveling, I love skiing, so I like anything where I could be outdoors. Right, I was a special operations guy. I love being outdoors, the more I could be outdoors. That's part of mountain biking for me, right, but outdoors, that's part of mountain biking for me, right, but that's part of skiing for me. And sometimes just to go in the forest and look around for a little bit and to kind of and just take it in, right, I mean.
Speaker 2:
But but yes, I, I I'm a foodie. Okay, so you're a foodie, you live in the Lutz area, so they're kind of in that little corridor there. Where's the last place? Okay, we're going to take this in a different direction for a second. The last place you went to dinner, where you had an experience that you would highly recommend for listeners. What's the place you went to? What did you have and why would you recommend it?
Speaker 3:
I went to a place called Noble Rice in Channel Side, so I don't know how long it's been around. It looks like it's fairly new in that area. Great place, they make, they make, they do sushi, but even outside of sushi, they make a phenomenal salmon. I mean, they grill an incredible salmon and I'd say it was probably the best salmon I've ever had. It was probably the best salmon I've ever had.
Speaker 2:
And the whole experience. I mean, besides the food, was incredible, the location. Is it similar to like Noble Crust? Is it like under that same umbrella, or is it just a total coincidence? It's Noble Rice.
Speaker 3:
No, no, it's a total coincidence. Noble Rice is a sushi place, a seafood place, and Noble Crust. I love their. By the way, they have great pizza. I love their pizza. Noble Crust and Noble Crust. I love their, by the way they have great pizza.
Speaker 2:
I love their pizza. Noble Crust you like Noble Crust? Yes, I like. See, listen. Look, now we're going to get into my topic is pizza. Okay, the best place in Wesley Chapel to get pizza is Amici's on Wesley Chapel Boulevard. Are you familiar with Amici's? Yes, they make a great pizza.
Speaker 2:
That place is great, but I will tell you, the best pizza in all of Tampa probably the best pizza I've ever had in Florida, being a Northeastern guy is a place called Nona's Slice House in Safety Harbor. So if you're ever out and about heading to the beach or doing what you're doing, you go out towards Clearwater. Nona's Slice House is award-winning. It's the best pizza. I live in Tampa Palms palms, and I like to drive out there just to grab a slice of pizza, but it's a whole, it's a day ordeal to go do that. So I have to eat a whole pie when I'm out there, or else it's just not worth doing it. You gotta go bigger. Go home, doc. That's what you gotta do absolutely, absolutely.
Speaker 3:
Actually. There's another place called best new york pizza. I love new york style pizza.
Speaker 2:
I love New York style pizza Right on Dale Mabry.
Speaker 3:
It's in Carolina. It's amazing. They have great pizza and my two favorite foods are pizza and barbecue. Every time I go to Texas barbecue, Every time I go to St Louis barbecue, and so I always look for a great barbecue place. I like Four Rivers. That's great, especially their burnt ends. There's another place called Harry's that's been around in Lutz since the 1970s Great place.
Speaker 2:
Yeah, there was a place in Atlanta called Fat Matt's Rib Shack in Atlanta when I lived there. That was really good. So you're definitely a foodie, so you like that stuff. So have you ever been to? Like I mean I know you were in the military and you traveled. I mean how long have you been in this location? For 15 years have you been in Tampa? How long have you been?
Speaker 3:
in Tampa. So I've been in Tampa for about 15 years but I was kind of in and out deploying right, and so I was in Iraq and came back and then I felt like I was new to Tampa again. Then I was back in Iraq, came back and it was new and in Afghanistan back. So I really never kind of got a flavor of Tampa until 2015, where, you know, I got hit by a rocket. Now I had all sorts of time on my hands, yeah you got plenty of time.
Speaker 2:
It's funny it's the same thing Like in Tampa, especially here. I mean, I've been in Tampa since 2019. And even in the five years that I've been here it has changed. Especially where you are over, where your location is in Wesley Chapel, that whole area has drastically changed. I mean, you had to love it when they finally cleaned up the 75, 56 exchange. You could actually, if you live in Lutz and we're driving up that way, that had to be just a complete and total mess. But it is beautiful up in that area and it's only getting bigger with more and more stuff coming in.
Speaker 2:
Further east you go down 56. I mean, I truly love the Tampa area, but I lived in Atlanta for a long time and you want to talk about. I lived in Atlanta in the early 90s, before the Olympics moved back to New Jersey and when I moved back in 2008, it was like a whole new city or two had grown up in Atlanta. So it had to be crazy coming back in and out of deployments and all of a sudden it's like a whole new road or a whole new way to go somewhere and a whole new little area pops up.
Speaker 3:
Oh, absolutely I mean. But you know, wesley Chapel is such a great area and they're expanding north to 52 and even 50. There's great restaurants. There's almost not a lot of need to come all the way down to Tampa because you can pretty much find everything, and so I almost like trying out these new restaurants. Getting back to being a foodie, I always like trying out these new restaurants getting back to being a foodie yeah, me too.
Speaker 3:
I always like trying these new restaurants and every week we'll talk to people, I'll talk to my patients, and this is part of getting to know people, right, hey, where's the best this type of food? And oh, you got to try this and try that dish. And I really go there and I do try it, love it, love the place and this place is. You know, tampa is a great place. I mean, even when I'm flying out, I do. I mentioned to you I do a lot of work with the federal government, dc and with the contract, so I fly out to DC. I love the airport it's amazing.
Speaker 3:
They've done a great job at the airport. Phenomenal, phenomenal, and it's just that it's gotten more crowded. We need to expand our highways a little bit. We need to ease congestion, but that work is underway and Tampa is a phenomenal place.
Speaker 2:
I'll tell you, coming from growing up in the Northeast where it was congested. I mean I grew up in Bergen County, new Jersey, which is one of the most densely populated areas in the United States, and then I moved to Atlanta and again I was there in the 90s and then I moved back from 08 to 2019. When I came here and people were complaining about traffic, I'm like I lived in Atlanta, like there is this, is it stinks going up Bruce B Downs at 4 o'clock in the afternoon, but it is nothing compared to Atlanta traffic. It is nothing. I mean, it's just the services that are available and the thing that's really nice, especially where you are. Look, I love Pasco County. I'm a Wesley Chapel Rotarian, I'm in the Rotary Club, I'm involved in Pasco County deeply. My roots are there, friends of mine are there. My friend is the director of sales at the Hilton Garden Inn, right across the street from where you are, pasco County. The services are so underserved at this point Police and fire, like we have so many people moving into that area that they really need to do stuff, not only infrastructure but with the services in the area, because it's only going to continue to grow.
Speaker 2:
I mean, I've lived like you said, like going in and out. I lived in New Tampa originally. I lived in Pinellas for a little while, then in Pasco and now I'm back in Tampa. There's so many new things to always like. It's just new people come in and new buildings are there and new restaurants are there and new businesses are just popping up. It is a vibrant time to be in the Tampa market. What would you say for you? I mean, look, I usually ask business owners about a hardship that they've experienced. You've already talked about all of that stuff. If I am looking for a plastic surgeon which I am, and we'll get into that offline but why do I come to you? Is it the 90-minute consultation, the handheld and customer service? What would be the one thing If I said to you above all these things, what's the one thing why I need to come see you versus anybody else?
Speaker 3:
We have integrity, so we have integrity. I didn't survive all of those things only to come back and be a shyster, right? So there's a reason why I'm seeing fewer patients because I want, you know. I always tell patients, you know, that, look, you're here to see what. You're here to see whether you like me or not, and if you don't like me, you're not going to let me out.
Speaker 2:
It's an interview. It's a two way interview.
Speaker 3:
But if I don't like you, do you want me to operate on you?
Speaker 2:
Oh right, Exactly.
Speaker 3:
Right, because no matter who you are, what you do for a living, if I like you and you like me, we respect each other right and you always root for people you like. That's human nature, and I'm a human being like everybody else is. So I look for patients that I like, that I want to hit a home run for, but I tell people right at the. My practice is based in relationships, not transactions. Integrity is the most important thing, and I'd rather go home early and not do a surgery than to do the wrong surgery for people. That is who we are.
Speaker 2:
You know what, doc? You said something there that I base everything I do in business on and everybody talks about I'm in this business, I'm in that business, I'm in accounting, or I'm in HVAC or I'm in car dealerships Every business is a relationship business. Every business is a relationship business, no matter what you're doing. If you like, know and trust the people that you do business with, life is just better. I mean, look, I have cut clients loose that I just don't want to work with because it's addition by subtraction, because I know my life will be lessened in the experience and my life is too valuable to put my emotional state in the hands of somebody else that I don't want to work with. And that truly is the epitome of being a good neighbor, and we do appreciate that. What is the best way for a patient that wants to come see you? What's the best way to get a hold of them? It's ambiplasticsurgerycom. What's the best phone number to reach you?
Speaker 3:
The best phone number is 813-406-4448, 813-406-4448.
Speaker 2:
Or you can just send an email to info at ambaplasticsurgerycom. So, folks, if you're listening to this, if you're looking for a doctor who has been kept on this earth with a purpose to provide integrity back to his practice, you need to contact Dr Raj Ambe Ambe Plastic Surgery ambbeplasticsurgerycom. They're right there in Wesley Chapel in the heart of Pasco County, 813-406-4448. Dr Raj, thank you for being on the Good Neighbor Podcast. I appreciate your time.
Speaker 1:
Thanks, mike. Thanks for listening to the Good Neighbor Podcast Pasco. To nominate your favorite local businesses to be featured on the show, go to GNP Pasco dot com. That's GNP Pasco dot com, or call 813-922-3610.