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As the child of two physicians—his father was a general surgeon and his mother was a pathologist—it seems only natural that facial plastic surgeon Jeffrey R. Raval, MD, showed an early interest in the medical profession. Though his first choices when he entered medical school at the University of Michigan were in cardiac, thoracic and vascular surgery, his plans changed as he began speaking with professionals in these specialties. “They all told me that it was tough, that it was very, very stressful and it wore on a person over time,” he says. “All of [these surgeons] had been in their fields for 15 to 20 years and couldn’t wait to retire.” When Dr. Raval had the opportunity to work with the ear, nose and throat department, he observed something different. “The doctors in that specialty seemed to enjoy it immensely,” he says.

Photography by Armando Sanchez