Meet Dr. Vincent Gardner

Announcer (00:02):
You are listening to Alabama the Beautiful with cosmetic surgeon, Dr. James Koehler and Kirstin Jarvis.

Kirstin (00:11):
Hey, Dr. Koehler.

Dr. Koehler (00:12):
Hey Kirstin.

Kirstin (00:14):
I here we have a very exciting special guest with us today. Is that true?

Dr. Koehler (00:21):
Little news that I'm going to share with everybody is that I am bringing on a partner and I'm bringing on a really great guy. If I was going to bring on somebody, I would only do it if I brought somebody on that I was like, okay, this person has the same kind of philosophy as me, believes in patient care and doing awesome work this guy does, and then some. And so, yes, I would like to introduce for the podcast our new addition to Eastern Shore Cosmetic Surgery, Dr. Vince Gardner. Welcome, Vince.

Dr. Gardner (01:01):
Well, thank you. Thank you very much. I really appreciate that. That was a very nice introduction and I feel the same. I think we are very much alike in how we think our philosophies about surgery and how we like to practice medicine. So yeah, thank you so much.

Dr. Koehler (01:17):
Don't worry, it's going south quickly. I'm going to tell you right now. So I was telling Kirstin earlier today, I said, you know what? Honestly, I've known Vince since 1999 and we did a pediatric general surgery rotation together at Children's Hospital in Birmingham. The way it worked when we were in pediatric surgery, I just happened to get assigned to the trauma guy and they had this rule. All the pediatric attendings would take trauma call, but after 24 hours, if the kid didn't go home, they came to me and Vince was like a magnet for trauma. I'd be like, oh, great, 24 hours from now, I got to get 10 more kids added to my schedule. Thank you so much. I'm going to be rounding at two in the morning now instead of three in the morning.

Dr. Gardner (02:05):
Yeah, that's funny. I remember when the first time I met you, I walked in to the resident's room, I guess it was the lounge, and I didn't really know anybody there, and we already had multiple pagers, and I remember trying to figure out who's on call. You had a call for general surgery, you had a call for a ped surgery and a call for trauma or a pager for trauma. And I just remember you're like, who's Gardner? And I raised my hand and you tossed me a pager. So I added a third pager to my belt and I was

Kirstin (02:38):
What's a pager?

Dr. Gardner (02:40):
Oh yeah.

Dr. Koehler (02:41):
This is nineties, Kirstin, what's a pager? Okay, listen, if you were to drug dealer or a doctor, you wouldn't know anyhow, so it doesn't even really matter. But oh man, those are the days. It was fun, but actually, yeah, I've known Vince since then and we reconnected and we need to have everybody know a little bit about you moving here from Chattanooga, but this is not a new area for you. So why don't you tell us a little bit about your journey back.

Dr. Gardner (03:09):
So I grew up in Birmingham. I was born in Texas, Lubbock, but raised in Birmingham and went to Mobile for my medical school training after college. So we loved that area. And it was funny because I remember we would go over to Fairhope after test blocks just to kind of unwind, and I know I've told you this, but our favorite place was Gambinos. And so we would all go and go to Gambinos after test blocks. And so we just have really fond memories of that area and we just really enjoyed it. You think, I'm going to medical school by the coast. I'm going to spend all this time on the beach. We never went to the beach. I mean, you just never, you don't have any time. But it was fun and we really enjoyed Fairhope, so it's great to be back or coming back to this area.

Dr. Koehler (04:01):
Yeah, Kirstin, I have to tell you something funny. So he's moving his stuff into his new place and everything else, and he was feeling a little nostalgic and he had to go get food from one of his favorite places. I'm like, well, where's that? And his wife's like, Whataburger.

Kirstin (04:20):
Oh, yeah. Well, we have a new Whataburger now.

Dr. Gardner (04:23):
Yeah, brand new. Yeah, I've got an app, so I get to scan it every time I go through.

Kirstin (04:29):
Yes. That's awesome.

Dr. Gardner (04:31):
Well, that was the other thing is I'd never heard of Whataburger until Mobile and we would go to the Whataburger in Mobile. It was near where we lived at two in the morning. It was a study break, so we would always end up there when we were done studying, and there were always four or five of us and we would just go eat burgers and fries and hang out for a little bit before we went home and went to bed. So it was, anyway, interesting. Most people probably wouldn't find that interesting, but it's just nostalgic for me to think about that.

Kirstin (05:01):
I love it.

Dr. Koehler (05:03):
Tell us a little bit about what your favorite, I know you do everything, you do face, you do body. I mean you do all of cosmetic surgery, but I know you have some special interests, some things that you're kind of like, okay, if I could pick one thing or not one thing, but something that really brings me a lot of joy. Tell us a little bit about that.

Dr. Gardner (05:24):
I started out, when I was finished residency, started with a general surgery practice that was heavy in bariatrics, and this was back before there were fellowships in bariatric surgery, and there were very few people actually doing bariatric surgery. So I joined a group that was half bariatric, half general surgery, and I was the fourth person. And we did about, between the four of us, about 25 bariatric surgeries a week between two hospitals. And so I had a great experience with bariatric surgery, and this was when we were ruex en wise. The sleeve hadn't even come out yet, and it was great and I really enjoyed it. But one thing I noticed that patients just continued to complain of all of this excess skin after they had lost a hundred, 150 pounds and more. And so it was one of those things where it's like, well, we couldn't do anything about it.

(06:20):
We just said, well, I'm sorry, but you kind of traded one problem for another. I mean, obviously they were healthier and going to do better, but they were now trapped in all of this excess skin. So I really enjoy removing extra skin after massive weight loss. Those are some of my favorite patients. They are so grateful and happy, and I love post-op day one when you go in and you take down their garments and their dressings and you get to do the reveal and watch them just watch their expression and see their eyes when they get to see themselves in the mirror. So I really enjoy that.

Dr. Koehler (07:02):
Yeah, there's a story, I think I've told Kirstin before on one of our other podcasts, but I had a patient one time, it was a massive weight loss patient. This is a long time ago. It was probably almost close to 20 years ago. I can't remember the amount of weight she lost. It was a lot. It was 200 plus pounds. It was a lot. And she had so many medical problems and everything else, but all of it had pretty much resolved. Her diabetes, hypertension, all that stuff was all better. And so I'm in the consult and we're talking, and I thought was a nice thing to say, but I was like, oh, I said, you must be so happy that you've lost all this weight and congratulations and everything else. And she kind of looked at me and she's like, honestly, if I was to do, I don't know that I would do this over again.

(07:51):
I feel like I've got this loose, horrible skin and I hate that probably more than I did being overweight. And I was sort of shocked. I was like, oh man. So anyhow, we did did a few procedures on her, but obviously when we got her through, she was ecstatic and she was glad she had it all done. But I totally get what you're saying. It's like they lose a lot of weight and then they're like, what now? And I don't know that maybe it's better now, but back then, I don't know that they were really that prepared. It's like the surgeons are like, Hey, we're here to fix your health and make you feel better, but that's where the buck stops with us.

Dr. Gardner (08:30):
Yeah, it's funny because you're absolutely right. I mean, I've done a lot of consults for bariatric surgery and we never once said, Hey, by the way, you need to know when you start losing all this weight, you're going to get better, but you're going to have all this skin. And they come in and they flap their arms and what do I do with this? And unfortunately, we couldn't do anything for 'em. And so I think that's why I really just enjoy removing the excess skin because it just transforms. I mean, they're just different people.

Dr. Koehler (09:04):
So you went on to do a fellowship, and I mean obviously the weight loss surgery is still a passionate place for you, but you went and you're board certified cosmetic surgeon and you did a fellowship. And I guess we should add, I mean you also have some expertise and you have some experience with veins. Tell us a little bit about that.

Dr. Gardner (09:24):
Yeah, that's been a big part of my career. So I had an interest vascular surgery as well, and ended up doing a lot of vein training and ended up treating varicose veins for venous insufficiency for the last 22 or three years. And that's very rewarding as well because again, it's one of those things where a lot of those people don't even know they have a problem. They just have heavy, tired, swollen legs and they think that they're just getting older and that that's just what legs feel like when you get older, when really they have an underlying venous disorder that can be easily treated with in-office procedures. And again, those patients are some of the most grateful people because suddenly they have their, I always say they put the power back in their legs. They have energy. They're not just worn out at the end of the day. They don't just want to go home and put their legs up, but they just really enjoy the results and it's just great to be able to help somebody like that.

Dr. Koehler (10:26):
You think Kirstin might be a candidate to be evaluated for that?

Kirstin (10:30):
Yes.

Dr. Koehler (10:30):
We can take a look. I feel like she says she's tired and worn out at the end of the day. I dunno, maybe it's your legs.

Kirstin (10:38):
I was going to say, I don't know if my fatigue is due to my vein problem or my three child problem.

Dr. Koehler (10:45):
Yeah, well, three children will do it too.

Dr. Gardner (10:47):
We'll set you up with some hose and see if it makes a difference

Kirstin (10:52):
Okay. In this industry cosmetic surgery. And it sounds like with veins as well, most of our patients that come here want to be here. They seek us out, and so they're happy when they come, and I feel like we have some of the best patients ever. Our patient population is amazing, so I'm glad you're here to join us.

Dr. Gardner (11:10):
Well, thank you. I'm excited about it. It's a great opportunity and I'm really looking forward to it.

Kirstin (11:15):
Well, Dr. Koehler keeps asking "doctory" questions. I want to know what you do outside of the office. What do you do for fun?

Dr. Gardner (11:23):
I like being outdoors. Doesn't really matter if it's the woods or the beach. I just like being outdoors. So do a lot of outdoor activities, bike riding, walking, don't really like to jog so much, but that I love watching college football. Not really watching the pros much, but I love college.

Dr. Koehler (11:43):
Who's your team?

Dr. Gardner (11:44):
Roll tide.

Dr. Koehler (11:44):
There you go. Roll Tide.

Dr. Gardner (11:47):
Yeah, in the state of

Dr. Koehler (11:48):
If you're an Auburn fan, I mean, we still accept Auburn patients. We won't talk football. But anyhow, continue.

Dr. Gardner (11:54):
Yeah. Yeah, no, growing up Roll Tide that I've got three dogs, and so those keep us busy. And then I am a project guy. I like making stuff. I like tinkering in the garage. So those are the kind of things that I like to do.

Dr. Koehler (12:11):
I thought you really liked to take a brush hog out.

Dr. Gardner (12:15):
So yeah. Here where we were, were in Chattanooga, we had 25 acres, and so one of my favorite things to do was to ride my 1965 Ford 3000 tractor with a six foot brush hog and mow the fields. It's great. I mean, it's just great. You get there, you riding around, nobody bothers you, and you just watch those rows. It's just great. Love it.

Dr. Koehler (12:45):
We'll have to find you a part-time job doing that somewhere.

Kirstin (12:48):
Well, I told my husband, I was like, Dr. Koehler said that Dr. Gardner's going to miss his brush hog, and I offered for him to come to our house, and my husband said, Kirstin, he's not going to want to ride my 1986 piece of crap tractor. I'm like, oh, but guess what?

Dr. Koehler (13:03):
Yeah, that's an upgrade for his.

Dr. Gardner (13:06):
That's a big upgrade. Does it have a bucket?

Kirstin (13:10):
No.

Dr. Gardner (13:11):
Well, mine didn't either. That was the only thing, but I didn't have power steering. And you don't want a bucket if you don't have power steering.

Kirstin (13:17):
I do have a question that's probably not related to this. I got my dog, do I say on Signal Mountain or in Signal Mountain?

Dr. Gardner (13:25):
Really? You got your dog from, okay, great. Well, what kind of dog?

Kirstin (13:31):
It's a goldendoodle.

Dr. Gardner (13:32):
Goldendoodle. Okay. Yeah. Wow, that's a small world.

Kirstin (13:36):
I was thinking to you the whole way up that stinking mountain. I was like, man, I wonder where Dr. Gardner's place is up up here.

Dr. Gardner (13:41):
Did you pass the spaceship house?

Kirstin (13:44):
Yeah.

Dr. Gardner (13:45):
Yeah. Most people don't know about that, but there's literally a house that looks like a spaceship. We should put a picture up. It's very interesting. And it's on the front, so there's three ways to get up and down off the mountain. Three different roads, and some of 'em are pretty steep and scary, but yeah, it's a interesting place to live.

Kirstin (14:04):
Yeah, people were flying everywhere, and my husband was white knuckling up the mountain. It was a good time.

Dr. Gardner (14:10):
If you're not used to riding along the edge with no guardrails, it can be terrifying. Yeah.

Kirstin (14:16):
Well, it was a very sweet place, and the mountains were beautiful, so we enjoyed our little time up there.

Dr. Gardner (14:22):
Well, good. That's interesting. We'll talk more about that.

Kirstin (14:25):
Yeah. What's something that you wish patients knew before they came to see you?

Dr. Gardner (14:31):
Gosh, I don't know. I mean, I'm saved, so God first, family and then my patients. I am a bit of a perfectionist and a little bit of ADD to go with it. So you kind of have to put up with that a little bit. I really enjoy my patients because I enjoy getting to know them. I just enjoy talking to them and finding out about them, because I think when people come to you, they're kind of like, well, what do you think I need? Well, it's not really what I think. It's what do you want? And let's see what we can do to together to try to get you to meet your goals. So it's a partnership, and I really enjoy the relationships.

Kirstin (15:15):
I swear this is so crazy. It's like deja vu, because I swear Dr. Koehler said the same exact thing even in a podcast before. I think we've talked about that, how people just assume in your position, you may pick them apart, or they may come in and be like, well, what do you think I need? And he has said the same exact thing. He does not ever want to suggest something like that, because what if you can probably explain this a little better than me, but I swear he said verbatim the same exact thing.

Dr. Koehler (15:44):
No, I feel the same way. It's like, it's funny because I've just been, in some situations before, I'd walk in the room and I'd be thinking, okay, this person's here to talk about their nose or something. I'm like, no, they love their nose. That's not it at all. So it really comes down to what bothers people. And so it's like, it's not, oh, hey, you're not perfect. Nobody is. I mean, we can pick everybody apart, top to bottom. It's real easy to do. The only time I suggest stuff is if I think it will impact what the end result of what we're trying to achieve is. So for instance, a common example would be like, okay, somebody does come in and talk about their nose, but they have a really weak chin, and you're like, you know what? A chin implant makes sense to give your face balance. We can fix your nose, but if we don't address the chin, and I don't get pushy about it, it's like this is a suggestion, but that's the only time where I think the suggestion part really comes in. It's like when you're just trying to tie things together, but you don't want to come in there and just be like, because nobody needs anything that we have off to offer. It's all elective.

Dr. Gardner (16:49):
Yeah. Yeah, absolutely. My wife's a lot smarter than I am, and that's one thing she told me way back when. She says, don't you dare go in there and tell that person that they need this or this or this. And thankfully, I've listened to her, but she's right. I, and you're absolutely right. Something that I may point out or notice may be not on their radar at all, and now I've made them self-conscious. So it's a delicate thing.

Dr. Koehler (17:15):
Reminds me of a story. I dunno if I can tell it on this podcast. I'll just give the abbreviated version of it, but

Kirstin (17:24):
We want to hear it.

Dr. Koehler (17:26):
Well, I don't know that I can tell the whole thing, but anyhow, it was actually in residency and I can't remember what, I don't even remember what the surgery was. But anyhow, this lady had this big mole with hairs going out of it. The chief resident's like, wow, we got to cut that off. That just needs to go. They took it off, but it wasn't on the consent form. It turned out her husband really, really liked that particular mole and just was like, anyhow, I was like, it wasn't my patient and I didn't cut it off, but just so you know, you can't make assumptions about what you think somebody thinks is beautiful or not beautiful or whatever. Everybody's got their perspective, so.

Dr. Gardner (18:10):
Absolutely.

Dr. Koehler (18:10):
I mean, I think you could have trimmed the hairs a bit, but I dunno, you need to, oh

Kirstin (18:14):
Oh my gosh.

Dr. Koehler (18:19):
So you're going to be starting with us in October, middle of October. For people listening. I mean, I would just tell you that I've known Vince for a really long time, certainly long enough to know that he and he lectures at national meetings that I am at, and I know he does great work. Obviously, like I said, I wouldn't even consider having him join unless he was like that, and he's fantastic, so especially for the weight loss people, but of course he does everything, but you can start calling and setting up a time to meet with Vince. We did have a little bonding moment at the last annual meeting, the pre-course for the national meeting, they had this, it was sculpting for surgeons. It was a course that was before the meeting. It was just kind of a thing if you wanted to do it, and it's run by a surgeon, but it's a sculpting class, and so we had to sit there with the clay and basically construct this human figure from the ground up and just the way that you had to do it and all this stuff. It was all new to me. I'd never done it before. You hadn't done it before, had you?

Dr. Gardner (19:28):
No, no, never. And I mean, it's funny, I was never in art class or doing any of that in high school or in any school, and so that was completely new. I actually really enjoyed that. I thought it was interesting, and at the end, we have our little 12 inch clay model, and obviously some look different than others, but it was fun. I really enjoyed that. I might do that again.

Dr. Koehler (19:56):
Yeah.

Kirstin (19:57):
Did y'all keep your little men that you made?

Dr. Gardner (20:01):
I still got it.

Kirstin (20:01):
We just talked about it actually. I actually just tossed mine out. Actually. I had some more clay. I was planning on doing more with it, and I'm like, my office was just, it needed to be cleaned up, and I'm like, okay. I keep saying I'm going to do this, but am I really going to do it? I'm like, all right. It just has to go. I was a little sad parting with it, but I think Vince and I had the two best sculptures in the class. I'm just going to say that I'm a little biased, but

(20:25):
I mean, obviously,

Dr. Koehler (20:27):
Obviously.

Dr. Gardner (20:27):
Obviously blue ribbons. Yeah.

Kirstin (20:31):
Dr. Gardner, do you want to talk about church or your faith or anything like that?

Dr. Gardner (20:35):
Yeah, that'd be great. I think that's first and foremost for me. I like to pray with my patients. Ultimately, we can cut and sew and do all the right things, and ultimately we just put it in God's hands and let him do the healing. Like I always like to say, we don't heal any people. We cut and we sow and incisions will get better, but ultimately we don't do the healing, and so a firm believer there, and it just guides me and my family and just looking to find a really good church here in Fairhope.

Kirstin (21:15):
Well, no pressure, but everybody in this office that attends church goes to the same church, and I think we all go to the same service too, actually. Cuz, we can't get out of bed in time, so we all go to 11.

Dr. Koehler (21:26):
Yeah. Yeah. We'll give you some guidance there.

Dr. Gardner (21:28):
Yeah, that sounds great. That sounds great.

Kirstin (21:32):
Dr. Gardner, where can we find more information about you?

Dr. Gardner (21:34):
We'll be uploading a lot of before and after photos to the website shortly, working on that right now, and I have an Instagram and I have a TikTok, but the Instagram is Dr. Vincent Gardner, and we'll be able to see all the work that I've been doing over the last many years.

Kirstin (21:56):
Awesome. I love it. Guess what, Dr. Koehler?

Dr. Gardner (21:59):
What?

Kirstin (22:00):
We're getting you a TikTok.

Dr. Koehler (22:02):
Oh, God. I am not dancing. I'll just tell you that right now. If you asked me

Kirstin (22:06):
He doesn't dance.

Dr. Koehler (22:06):
Who doesn't? Vince?

Kirstin (22:08):
Dr. Gardner.

Dr. Koehler (22:10):
He's not dance. He won't dance either, so you can take that TikTok. We're not going to do it.

Kirstin (22:15):
I keep trying to tell him that he can have a TikTok and not do dumb stuff. I know that. I have seen your TikTok and your Instagram.

Dr. Koehler (22:22):
I've looked at TikTok. Everything on there is dumb. How can it not be?

Kirstin (22:25):
He gives informational little ten second talks and shows before and afters.

Dr. Koehler (22:31):
Vince does on, you do that on TikTok?

Dr. Gardner (22:32):
Yeah. Yeah.

Dr. Koehler (22:33):
Oh, I didn't know that. Okay. Well then I'll do that. I'll do that. But I'm not dancing. I don't actually have a TikTok. I've never even downloaded it, so I actually don't even really know what I'm talking about.

Kirstin (22:43):
We're going to get him converted. We're going to put him a little bit more on social media, and I'm glad you're here and you can talk our boss into a little bit more of a social media presence.

Dr. Gardner (22:53):
I'll work on him.

Kirstin (22:56):
Alright. Do you have a burning question for Dr. Koehler or Dr. Gardner or me? You can leave us a voicemail on our podcast website at AlabamatheBeautifulpodcast.com. We'd love to hear from you. Thanks, Dr. Koehler and Dr. Gardner.

Dr. Koehler (23:11):
Thanks, Kirstin.

Dr. Gardner (23:11):
Thanks Kirstin.

Dr. Koehler (23:12):
Thanks, Vince.

Dr. Gardner (23:13):
Thank you.

Dr. Koehler (23:13):
Thanks for joining us.

Dr. Gardner (23:14):
Yeah, thanks James.

Kirstin (23:16):
Go back to making Alabama beautiful.

Dr. Koehler (23:18):
Working on it.

Announcer (23:20):
Got a question for Dr. Koehler. Leave us a voicemail at Alabamathebeautifulpodcast.com. Dr. James Koehler is a cosmetic surgeon practicing in Fairhope, Alabama. To learn more about Dr. Koehler and Eastern Shore Cosmetic surgery, go to easternshorecosmeticsurgery.com. The commentary in this podcast represents opinion and does not present medical advice, but general information that does not necessarily relate to the specific conditions of any individual patient. If you enjoyed this episode, please share it and subscribe to Alabama the Beautiful on YouTube, apple Podcast, Spotify, or wherever you like to listen to podcasts. Follow us on Instagram @EasternShoreCosmeticSurgery. Alabama the Beautiful is a production of The Axis, theaxis.io.