Dr. Joubin Gabbay, M.D. is a board-certified plastic and reconstructive surgeon who specializes in the art of aesthetic plastic surgery. He is also the Medical Director of Gabbay Plastic Surgery in Beverly Hills, California.
Gabbay was born in Iran in 1974. His family left the country in 1978 during the Iranian revolution. They then moved to Beverly Hills, California, where Gabbay was raised. He had a lovely childhood. Though from Iran, both of his parents pursued their studies outside of the country; his father got his Ph.D. in architecture in Florence, and his mother went to boarding school in Orange, New Jersey.
“From an early age, they showed my sister and me that a good education and broad understanding of the world were critical to making yourself better and being a complete person,” he shared. “I was so into the idea of learning something about everything.”
Gabbay is deeply rooted in the local community of Beverly Hills. He graduated with honors from the University of California San Diego, where he sought a well-rounded education in both cutting-edge molecular biology and practical and theoretical arts. It was early in his undergraduate education that Gabbay developed the philosophy that continues to drive his approach to patient care today: the best method to any question is a comprehensive one.
Gabbay received his medical education at The Medical College of Virginia, located in Richmond. While there, he continued his pursuit of comprehensive medical education by augmenting his medical curriculum with independent research performed with his medical school faculty.
Upon completing school, Gabbay returned to Los Angeles for training in both general and plastic surgery. While receiving training in general surgery at the Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, Gabbay took a sabbatical to perform plastic surgery research as the Bernard J. Sarnat Research Fellow at UCLA’s Division of Plastic Surgery.
Plastic surgery can be a touchy subject. It is easy for practitioners to fall down the slippery slope and do things for the wrong reasons. Gabbay’s goal, however, is to help people achieve something that is meaningful for them. “To that and before I ever touch the patient, it’s important for me to help them understand why they are seeking change, decide if that desired change is reasonable, and help achieve it in the safest and most predictable manner,” he said.
For Gabbay, it’s all about doing the right thing for the right person in the right way. “It’s all about giving my patients a positive experience that, ultimately, will make them happy with the change that they achieved coming to me.”
The considerable skills Gabbay has learned and refined from years of experience in plastic surgery have come full circle, as he continuously applies his comprehensive approach to patient care. With this hands-on perspective, his patients receive the most individualized care with total dedication to their health and wellness.
Gabbay knows that beauty and confidence are more than appearance. His insistence on excellence ensures that patients receive proven treatments and techniques to enhance their features with an emphasis on natural, lasting and beautiful results.
“Unlike many other fields of surgery, there is rarely a black or white answer in plastic surgery. Nobody is going to die if I don’t operate, so the onus is on me to explain and deliver them something that they want and are willing to accept. Even if it is something that will give them less than the maximal or ‘the best’ results, whatever that means. Sometimes people simply don’t want that! This is a contentious issue in the often overly paternalistic approach that many plastic surgeons take.”
Gabbay applies his broad skillset to each of his patients every single day. His unique background bolsters his abilities as a surgeon and enables him to offer his patients a well-rounded and thoughtful perspective, empowering them to make the most well-informed decisions regarding their surgeries.
He further explained: “I truly feel that the most critical factor in successfully delivering the results my patients seek is clear and detailed communication. It is critical that my patient and I are on exactly the same page before we ever step foot in the operating room. During our consultation, we go into detail to try to understand what it is that my patient is seeking. I also explain carefully what I can deliver and what their body will allow. It is at the crossroads of these details that the result they are looking for lives. Through this process, I’ve learned that sometimes my patients need to adjust their expectations, as do I. I often tell my patients that I would rather not operate on them than do the wrong thing, or give them something they do not want.”
Gabbay prides himself on taking complete care of his patients. His comprehensive approach ensures that all patients who walk through the doors of Gabbay Plastic Surgery receive the absolute best individualized care and the most successful results possible.