The rigors of a medical residency are daunting. Long hours, little sleep, fatigue, stress. The last thing you would want to do is add a puppy to that mix, right? Not for Dr. Demitri Franzoni, a fourth-year resident in the department of plastic and reconstructive surgery and his wife, Dr. Jessica Franzoni, a fourth-year resident in gynecologic surgery and obstetrics.
Married for three years, the Franzonis are navigating their residencies with hard work and dedication to their training, to each other, and to their two dogs. Says Jessica about the recent addition of their puppy, “We didn’t have enough things going on!”
For Demitri, his path to plastic surgery was unconventional, at best. Beginning his undergraduate education at UNLV as a hotel management major, he switched to finance. His senior year, he decided that it was actually medicine that he wanted to pursue.
“My junior year, I started volunteering in the emergency department here at UMC [University Medical Center] because I had a hunch that I wanted to pursue medicine, but I wanted to be sure before making the switch from finance,” he says. “Once I started medical school I knew right away that I wanted to go into a surgical specialty. I enjoyed learning full body anatomy and the challenges that came with having to know every aspect of the human body. I'm also very meticulous, so that all kind of pointed towards plastic surgery.”
Beyond that, Demitri appreciated the wide breadth of the types of surgeries that can be done in plastic surgery. “You could do anything from moving tissue from one part of the body to another as a free flap … once that's done, you could do a skin graft, then you could do a cosmetic type facelift. You could do all those in the same day, which not a lot of specialties have that wide breadth of surgical cases.”
That wide breadth also offers the fulfillment of helping so many patients in need of urgent plastic surgery. “We get consulted on a lot of trauma in terms of facial fractures, facial lacerations, or complex extremity wounds and it feels good to be able to help these patients on questionably the worst day of their life,” he says.
It also feels good that he and his wife both matched in residencies at the Kirk Kerkorian School of Medicine at UNLV. “We ended up together, which was what we wanted over anything. We are very happy here and happy that we stayed.”
His wife, born and raised in Las Vegas, completed the majority of her education in her hometown. “Fun fact,” she says, “I was born at UMC, and now I deliver babies at UMC.”
Unlike her husband, Jessica knew early on that medicine was the field for her. “Growing up, I always had an interest in science, specifically the biological sciences. I was always involved in leadership activities and was on a lot of teams and so I knew that I wanted to apply my love of science to something that involved working with people,” she says. “I figured medicine was the perfect way to combine all my interests.”
Out of that combination, she also found her interest in gynecology and obstetrics.
She continues, “I just feel like it's so unique that as OB-GYNs we get to see women throughout their entire lifespans. Take care of them in really joyous moments of their life like giving birth and then the opportunity to be there for the hard times, as well. It’s so important to have a provider who is compassionate and does their best to not only care for them at that time, but guide them through it in a kind and compassionate way. I wanted to be that for other women during such intimate parts of their lives.”
She also notes that the shortage of physicians in Nevada is especially critical in obstetrics and gynecology. “I definitely hope to give back and try to lessen the shortage we have here.”
Both residents praise the support and assistance of the office of graduate medical education, as well as that of their faculty and fellow residents for helping them stay the course in their respective residencies. Outside of this school support system, they rely on each other.
“He's a huge support,” says Jessica of her husband. “Every time I have a hard day, it's kind of nice because I am able to vent about my day or just decompress about it and he understands. I am so grateful that I have such a good partner and that we can kind of share this experience together.”
The gratitude is also there for the scholarships they received as members of the second graduating class. “That was incredibly beneficial for our future,” says Jessica. “Mine was with the Engelstad Foundation and I’m just so grateful for their generosity and we’re very fortunate to get that opportunity.”
The gratitude continues for the school of medicine staff. “The medical school staff is incredibly supportive,” she continues. “They really want the best for you. We were also very close to our classmates because we had a smaller class size. I'm very, very grateful for the opportunities I've had here in Las Vegas.”
Demitri shares that feeling of gratitude. “I'm very grateful for all the faculty members, all my co-residents. I believe I’m getting great training here. In terms of surgical experience, I think Las Vegas is second to none in terms of the wide breadth of surgical cases we experience as residents. I'm really looking forward to completing my training here and then going into practice here, as well.”
To schedule an appointment with one of our faculty physicians — and the residents training under their supervision, like Drs. Demitri and Jessica Franzoni — visit unlvhealth.org.
