Sheila Bond, MD - Plastic Surgeon in Montclair, New Jersey

Eva Sheie (00:03):
The purpose of this podcast is simple. We want you to get to know your doctor before meeting them in person. Why? Because you're making a life-changing decision, and time is scarce. The more you can learn about who your doctor is before you meet them, the better that first meeting will be. There's no substitute for an in-person appointment, but we hope this comes close. I'm your host, Eva Sheie, and you're listening to Meet the Doctor. Hello and welcome to the Meet the Doctor podcast. I'm your host Eva Sheie and my guest today is Dr. Sheila Bond, and she is a plastic surgeon in Montclair, New Jersey. Welcome Dr. Bond.

Sheila Bond (00:45):
Thank you for having me.

Eva Sheie (00:47):
How's the weather today in Montclair, New Jersey?

Sheila Bond (00:49):
Only cold.

Eva Sheie (00:52):
It's actually cold here in Austin too. How long have you been in Montclair? My cousin lives there.

Sheila Bond (00:58):
Well, I actually have lived in Montclair now for 31 years.

Eva Sheie (01:03):
Do you know my cousin? His name's Matt. No?

Sheila Bond (01:08):
I might.

Eva Sheie (01:10):
So let's start here. Tell us about a typical day in your world. What does it look like?

Sheila Bond (01:17):
Well, it depends on the day of the week. I operate generally every Monday and Thursday. My surgery schedule, I start at 7:30 in the morning and depending on the number of cases I finish up at around three or at five o'clock in the evening. Most of those cases are done at the hospital because they are the larger cases that I do. On Tuesday and Wednesdays, I see patients in the office from nine o'clock until five. And then on Fridays I do procedures here in my office as well as see patients. So it's a full week.

Eva Sheie (02:01):
Which day of the week is your favorite day?

Sheila Bond (02:04):
My operating days.

Eva Sheie (02:07):
And so you said larger cases. When you say larger cases, what do you mean by that?

Sheila Bond (02:12):
The cases that take four hours, five hours, six hours to complete.

Eva Sheie (02:20):
Body surgery like tummy tucks?

Sheila Bond (02:21):
Yes. The mommy makeovers, the tummy tucks, the breast surgeries, the surgeries that require general anesthesia.

Eva Sheie (02:31):
What kinds of things do you take care of just in the office without needing to go to the hospital?

Sheila Bond (02:36):
I have a smart liposuction machine, so I will do smart liposuction to the neck, to the arms, to a small abdomen, to the back. I'll also do upper leg blepharoplasty here in the office. Pretty much the smaller procedures.

Eva Sheie (02:57):
So when I think about you in the office, I see other people around you and I wonder if you could tell us about your team a little bit.

Sheila Bond (03:05):
Well, I have a team that has been with me for many, many years. I have a medical assistant who's been with me... I don't even know how long she's been with me. I have a receptionist and I have as well a patient care coordinator and another receptionist. And my nurse recently retired after being with me for 20 something years.

Eva Sheie (03:33):
Wow. That's like having a family member retire.

Sheila Bond (03:37):
Yes. Yes.

Eva Sheie (03:40):
So if I was a patient calling your office, who on that team do you think that I would reach first if I was calling?

Sheila Bond (03:47):
You'd probably reach either the receptionist or my patient care coordinator.

Eva Sheie (03:52):
And what are their names?

Sheila Bond (03:54):
Kathy and Ramona.

Eva Sheie (03:57):
So do you have an all female team too?

Sheila Bond (04:00):
Yes, I do.

Eva Sheie (04:02):
So as a female plastic surgeon, I think you have a unique perspective. What kinds of things do you find different as a female surgeon than you would your male counterparts?

Sheila Bond (04:15):
I think my patients and myself, we relate to each other better and faster. So we don't have to discuss as much as what the problem is because yes, I know what it means to have fat roll over your bra strap or have too much belly fat. And so it is just an easier conversation. We laugh a lot during our consults, so it's just pleasant here. It's a nice atmosphere. And that's one thing our patients say, they feel a nice vibe here in the office.

Eva Sheie (04:57):
I think when you have a staff that stays with you for that long, my favorite analogy for that is like when you take your kids to daycare for the first time, it's terrifying but if you know they've been there for decades, then somehow that makes it much safer and easier to do. They're not going anywhere.

Sheila Bond (05:20):
Right, that's correct.

Eva Sheie (05:23):
That stability is really important. So if I was to come for a consultation, how much time would you spend with me and who would be in the room?

Sheila Bond (05:33):
Well, generally my medical assistant, whose name is Angela, she sees you first. Well, actually my receptionist sees you first. You fill out the paperwork, say a form with your information is then given to my medical assistant. She looks it over. She kind of asks you questions about it. She will take your photographs at that time after giving you a gown and a photographic panties kind of thing. So she gives you those and then steps out of the room, goes back into the room, takes your photographs, and then I come in. I look over your paperwork also. I sit down and basically we have a conversation. I ask, "Why are you here?" And they tell me. And then we discuss the options and I examine you. I tell patients the pros and the cons and what my recommendations are. It's a pretty lengthy consultation as your first consultation. It may take between 15 minutes to 30 minutes. After that, you get dressed, you come out and you meet with the patient care coordinator, Ramona, to discuss fees and see if it's something that you're ready to start the process on.

Eva Sheie (06:53):
Is there a certain kind of patient or person who you find is drawn to your style that comes in? Is there a pattern in the kind of people that are coming to see you that you've ever noticed?

Sheila Bond (07:08):
Well, I find that patients are very well-informed. They've read my reviews. They know who I am. They may have been following me for years, so they come in almost feeling like family. It's kind of strange. And I've been in practice so long that I do people's aunts and cousins and friends. So I have a large network of word of mouth. So patients do sort of already feel like they know me before they come in the door. So that's kind of nice. So it's that kind of person that comes to my office. They usually have known someone that I have taken care of in some regard.

Eva Sheie (08:00):
Is there a specific website or piece of content that they refer to a lot? Like, "I saw your YouTube video," or, "I saw something?"

Sheila Bond (08:09):
Yeah, they usually go to my website. That's probably the most common. I mean, we do have a presence on social media, but everything goes back to my website.

Eva Sheie (08:22):
Okay. So here come the really tough questions. What made you decide to be a doctor?

Sheila Bond (08:30):
Oh, well, I decided to be a doctor very young in life. At the age of 14, I worked as a candy striper in a nursing home, and that's when I realized that I wanted to be a doctor. So even when I was writing those essays to enter college, I wrote that I wanted to be a doctor and I went to a public high school in New York. And then I went to Dartmouth, which is one of the smaller Ivy League schools and studied biology and took all my courses and took my MCATs and then went off to medical school. I first decided to go the general surgery route during the third year rotation.

Sheila Bond (09:20):
I was at Columbia College of Physicians and Surgeons in New York, and that's when I knew I wanted to be a surgeon. So I applied for a general surgery after that and I was accepted into a general surgery program, which back then you needed five years of general surgery before you were able to get into a plastic surgery program. So I did my five years of general surgery and then my two years of plastic surgery. It was a long, long road, but it was definitely worth it to do something that you love and have been doing now for over 20 years.

Eva Sheie (10:02):
When you were doing that five years of general surgery, were there a lot of other female doctors around?

Sheila Bond (10:08):
Actually, we had a program... I was at Montefiore Medical Center in the Bronx, and we were one of the few programs... I had two other females, actually three other female residents in my general surgery program and one fellow resident in plastics and one female resident ahead of me in plastics, which was very unusual. But they were great role models and very supportive because by that time, I was married, I had one child.

Eva Sheie (10:47):
Oh, you were? While You were doing this work you had-?

Sheila Bond (10:48):
Well, yes. I had my first child during my last year of general surgery residency. And between you and me, they were not pleased.

Eva Sheie (11:01):
I'm sure.

Sheila Bond (11:02):
But it turned out fine. And having the other women as role models, it was very supportive.

Eva Sheie (11:11):
So interesting. So did you all kind of stick together during that time?

Sheila Bond (11:16):
Oh yes.

Eva Sheie (11:17):
Yeah, just trying to imagine because even today there aren't that many female plastic surgeons.

Sheila Bond (11:24):
No, but our numbers are definitely increasing.

Eva Sheie (11:29):
Yeah, it's really remarkable that you were on that path.

Sheila Bond (11:34):
But when you enjoy something, it's really tough going through it, but when you look back on it, it doesn't seem like it was too terrible. But going through it, it was horrible of course, but it was worth it.

Eva Sheie (11:49):
I wonder these days if younger women even know what a candy striper is, because I don't think that's a job anymore. People don't wear the outfit that got them the name Candy Striper.

Sheila Bond (12:03):
I don't know if it still exists. The world has changed.

Eva Sheie (12:08):
Was there anything about being around nursing home patients at that time that stuck with you?

Sheila Bond (12:14):
Their vulnerability. I remember they needed so much help and so much care. That touched my heart. And I remember that there was an LPN and I was helping her make a bed and I was thinking that, "I could do this, I could become a doctor." And I still remember that day. It really stuck with me.

Eva Sheie (12:45):
So we know you love to work and we know you love to do surgery, but what do you like to do outside the office?

Sheila Bond (12:53):
I enjoy cooking. I enjoy playing golf with my husband. We call it like our date time.

Eva Sheie (13:01):
Who usually wins?

Sheila Bond (13:02):
Oh, he does. Oh my gosh. I like playing golf, but he loves playing golf and I love to read.

Eva Sheie (13:14):
So these days, it seems like technology keeps moving faster and faster and some of it's a fad. I think there's an element of people really being into whatever's new and then that has to be balanced with techniques and procedures that are proven and that we know produce results. So are there any trends that you're seeing today that you think are going to stick or is there anything you can think of that maybe is going to come and go quickly? What comes to mind when I ask you that?

Sheila Bond (13:52):
I think that it's funny you should ask that question because the salesmen just come into my office unannounced trying to sell the latest, greatest, "This works almost as well as surgery device," almost, because surgery's the gold standard. So I think at this point, we aren't at that point, we don't have anything equivalent to surgery. As much as we wish we did, it doesn't exist now, but I think at some point it will as technology improves. But I think that one day will be the goal because people want the results of surgery without surgery. And who wouldn't? Who wouldn't want a magic wand? I would love to have a magic wand, but we also have to do our part.

Sheila Bond (14:57):
We have to stop eating so much, we have to exercise more. When I look at the patients, and I've been in practice for quite a number of years now, the BMIs, the body mass index and the weight of patients has just gone up and up and up and what used to take me three hours to do a tummy tuck, now it takes me four because I have to liposuction and defat as well as what I used to do before. So it's going to be a combination of us and technology to get us there, I think.

Eva Sheie (15:35):
For sure. Other than eating too much and not exercising enough, is there anything else that's causing that, do you think?

Sheila Bond (15:45):
I think if we could more so control our calories and increase our activities and probably some more self-control.

Eva Sheie (15:57):
Well said. Are there non-surgical things that you do in the office?

Sheila Bond (16:03):
Yes. I do have the sculpture machine, which heats up the fat cells so that the fat comes out of the cells, you metabolize the fat and the fat cells die and that reduces the fat by about a quarter of an inch. So it's for areas that are not too large that you want to improve.

Eva Sheie (16:27):
What about things like injectables?

Sheila Bond (16:30):
Oh yes, we do Botox, fillers, liquid face lifts. Yes.

Eva Sheie (16:37):
And you do all that yourself?

Sheila Bond (16:39):
Yes.

Eva Sheie (16:41):
Have you done anything to yourself?

Sheila Bond (16:43):
Well, I demoed the sculpture machine.

Eva Sheie (16:46):
Oh. And what did that feel like?

Sheila Bond (16:50):
Well, I'm a chicken, I'll tell you that. I don't like needles. So I had them turn the power down and it was okay. I have tried Botox, but again, I'm a chicken. I had to put on Emla and kind of breathe and meditate and get myself through the five little injections.

Eva Sheie (17:15):
Weren't doing it to yourself though?

Sheila Bond (17:17):
No. My nurse was giving me the injections, but still I'm a chicken. I don't like it. So whenever I do anything in the office, I always use lots of topical. When I do my procedures in the back, we give Valium and Vicodin and try to make people as comfortable as possible.

Eva Sheie (17:39):
I think the silver lining there is you have a lot of empathy for people who are also chickens.

Sheila Bond (17:44):
Yes.

Eva Sheie (17:46):
I love it. Well, you had a friend recently tell you that you should do your own podcast. Why did she say that? What made her think you would be a great podcaster?

Sheila Bond (17:57):
Because of my personality, because I'm easy to talk with.

Eva Sheie (18:02):
I was just going to say that. You're so accessible.

Sheila Bond (18:05):
Thank you. Thank you.

Eva Sheie (18:09):
Is there anything you're looking forward to this year on the horizon in plastic surgery? Is there anything coming that's got you excited for your patients or your patient base?

Sheila Bond (18:19):
I think for my patient base, what I'm trying to do is make my practice more inclusive of what they want as a, I don't want to say a one-stop kind of location, but I'm thinking of offering more medi spa sort of services. We do do hydrafacials and chemical peels, we do the lymphatic massages, but I'm thinking of adding some other services that I keep hearing that the patients are looking for. And I think the medi spas are offering things that are a little, I don't want to say unregulated, but maybe not to standards that perhaps people should be at. New Jersey is very tough about their standards, but even here, things go on that probably shouldn't be going on. So I would rather take care of my patients in that regard, then have them go and get into any kind of dangerous situations.

Eva Sheie (19:41):
I think the advantage you have that is impossible to find anywhere else is that experience that you have as a female plastic surgeon for so long and having taken care of so many people that a med spa in a strip mall down the street with a laser and someone who has only used it a few times is not going to compete with what you have to offer.

Sheila Bond (20:08):
Yes. I would hope they would appreciate that.

Eva Sheie (20:12):
I hope so too. Well, thank you for taking the time to talk to me today. I really enjoyed getting to know you.

Sheila Bond (20:20):
Well, thank you. I enjoyed it. It gave me some points to reflect on as well.

Eva Sheie (20:26):
Oh good. I'm glad. If someone's listening today and they want to reach out and connect with you, where should they look and how should they find you?

Sheila Bond (20:36):
Well, my website is available and they want to call the office, I'll give you the office number as well.

Eva Sheie (20:45):
Sure.

Sheila Bond (20:45):
It's 973-509-0007.

Eva Sheie (20:52):
The website is bodyandfacenj.com.

Sheila Bond (20:55):
Yes.

Eva Sheie (20:58):
If you are considering making an appointment or are on your way to meet this doctor, be sure to let them know you heard them on the Meet the Doctor podcast. Check the show notes for links including the doctor's website and Instagram to learn more. Are you a doctor or do you know a doctor who'd like to be on the Meet the Doctor podcast? Book your free recording session at meetthedoctorpodcast.com. Meet the Doctor is made with love in Austin, Texas and is a production of The Axis, t-h-e-a-x-i-s.io.