From NASA engineer to plastic surgeon: how I ended up in the operating room

I get asked this question a lot. How does someone go from aerospace engineering at NASA to plastic surgery in Houston? The short answer is that it was a deliberate decision. The longer answer is that the two careers have more in common than most people expect.

Where it started

I started in aerospace engineering. I earned both my bachelor’s and master’s degrees from the Georgia Institute of Technology in Atlanta, and during that time, I worked at NASA Johnson Space Center here in Houston. I was a rocket scientist — not a metaphor, that was the actual job.

I loved it. But during my graduate studies, while I was pursuing my PhD in aerospace engineering, I made a decision that surprised a lot of people, including some close to me. I decided to go into medicine.

The reason was simple. I wanted to work with people on an individual basis. At NASA, the work was meaningful, but the accountability was distributed across teams and timelines. I wanted to be in the room, directly accountable to one person at a time. Medicine gave me that.

Why plastic surgery

Within medicine, plastic surgery appealed to me because of the scope. I love being a surgeon — being in the operating room, working with my hands, solving a problem in real time. Plastic surgery specifically allows me to work on all parts of the body, which is rare. It is a field that requires both technical depth and aesthetic judgment, and that combination is something I find genuinely engaging.

I completed my medical degree and Master of Public Health at Emory University in Atlanta. Plastic surgery residency followed at Saint Louis University School of Medicine in St. Louis. From there I returned to Houston for two fellowships: microvascular reconstructive surgery at UT MD Anderson Cancer Center, and aesthetic plastic surgery at the Aesthetic Center for Plastic Surgery.

Two fellowships after residency is not the standard path. I took it because I wanted both: the technical foundation of a reconstructive surgeon and the aesthetic eye of someone trained specifically in how results should look. That combination is what I bring to every procedure I perform today.

What engineering gave me that I carry into surgery

In aerospace, you do not accept the current solution just because it works. You accept it only after you have asked whether it could work better, what happens when it fails, and whether a smarter design exists. That habit did not leave me when I left engineering.

It is why I questioned the traditional tummy tuck and developed a drainless approach. When I looked at the full patient experience — the tubes, the fluid management, the infection risk, the drain removal appointments — I asked the same question I would have asked at NASA: is there a better design? The drainless tummy tuck is the answer I arrived at.

It is also why I run consultations the way I do. I want to understand the full picture before I make a decision. That means your anatomy, your health history, your goals, and what a realistic outcome looks like for you specifically. That is an engineering mindset applied to surgery. Nothing is assumed. Everything is evaluated.

What this means for my patients

Patients who come to see me have often been consuming my content for a year before they reach out. They come because something in my videos made them think I would actually explain what I am doing and why. That instinct is right.

I am board certified by the American Board of Plastic Surgery, recognized as a Castle Connolly Top Doctor, and an active member of The Aesthetic Society and the American Society of Plastic Surgeons. My patients have trusted me with over 168 five-star reviews across Houston and beyond. I also speak French, which has opened doors to caring for patients from West Africa and the French-speaking world alongside my Houston practice.

But credentials are a starting point, not the whole picture. What I want my patients to experience is a surgeon who takes the time to understand their specific situation, explains his thinking, and holds himself accountable to the result.

That is what I was looking for when I left NASA. I am still doing it.

If you are considering plastic surgery and want to talk with someone who will take the time to understand your goals, I invite you to reach out. Virtual consultations are available for patients outside of Houston.