MidAmerica Plastic Surgery is thrilled to be celebrating a major milestone: 10 years in business! September 1, 2021, marks the tenth anniversary of board-certified plastic surgeon, Dr. Ryan Diederich, opening the doors to MidAmerica Plastic Surgery. A lot has changed at MidAmerica over the last ten years. In 2016, MidAmerica outgrew it’s smaller offices located inside Anderson Hospital, and moved into a beautiful new facility just minutes away in Glen Carbon, IL. What started out as a small team of three, has grown into a large team of over twenty employees and continues to expand year after year. With the introduction of The Spa at MidAmerica, a wider range of spa procedures has allowed our facility to expand our services to a larger market.
As we reflected back at all of the milestones and accomplishments over the years, we thought it would be a great opportunity to sit down with Dr. Diederich and discuss what has inspired him and what he has learned about the cosmetic and plastic surgery industry over the last decade.
Q: The original mission statement for MidAmerica Plastic Surgery was just two words: Exceed Expectations. Can you tell us what your inspiration for that was?
“I think it’s common for people to just do what has been done before. When individuals become leaders in their field, the difference is innovation, which is what inspired me. Not just to do what others had done before, but to do it better and think outside the box. It’s a combination of listening to patients, observing other industry leaders, and continuously striving to provide the best patient experience. Once that is done, I do it again and again, continually growing and providing services that exceed our patient’s expectations.”
Q: You’ve since added to the original mission statement. A segment that stands out is, “we strive to understand the goals, hopes and fears of our patients and seek to join them on their journey.” Can you expand on that statement?
“A lot of people are understandably scared of surgery, it’s a realistic fear. However, there is nothing wrong with trying to improve yourself in areas that are beyond your control. We now have the ability to make these improvements and improve quality of life. If you have excessive skin from weight loss, or pregnancy has changed how you look, or simply something you’ve always been self-conscious about, we’re here to help. I find that the final follow up is the most rewarding part of the journey, I know what it took for the patient to get here, and I get to see the emotion that comes with the realization that “This is me now, for the rest of my life.” It’s truly life changing.”
Q: How would you say you’ve personally changed in your role as a plastic surgeon over the last ten years?
“I find that I am much more emotionally involved and form better connections with my patients than I did when I first started out. When you’re in and out of rotations in residency, you don’t typically see things from the patient’s point of view. I appreciate that I can now take a step back and see things from their perspective. Calling my patients, checking in on them, being available not only during the day, but on nights and weekends, is really important to me. Whether good or bad, I want to be here for my patients.
Q: What has been the most surprising discovery on your journey so far?
“How invested and emotionally connected we’ve become in our patients. When training, you meet the people and get to know them, but ultimately, you’re just learning and trying to figure it all out. Once you’re in a practice and you’re doing it full time, you become genuinely interested and emotionally connected with their outcome. I never realized how powerful that connection could be.”
Q: If you could go back in time, what is one thing you would tell your younger self?
“I would tell myself to just enjoy the journey and live in the moment. Get to know your patients and form those connections. I would also tell myself to see and learn everything. Whether it’s a world-famous plastic surgeon or someone completely new, you never know who will have some skill or ability that you have yet to learn.”
Congratulations to Dr. Diederich on achieving such an important milestone. Through his hard work and dedication to his practice, his employees, and most importantly, his patients, Dr. Diederich has redefined the standard of patient care in the cosmetic and plastic surgery industries.
As we continue to celebrate our 10th anniversary, we also want to acknowledge how grateful our team is to our patients and local community. Our success would not be possible without the unwavering loyalty and immense support that we have received over the years. We look forward to seeing what the next ten years will bring!
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