Get to Know a BHC Doctor

PierGiorgio Allegra, MD

Plastic and Cosmetic Surgery, Boone Health Medical Group Plastic Surgery

I grew up in Florence, Italy. My parents were both teachers. After I graduated from medical school, I started my residency in Plastic Surgery at the prestigious University of Padua in Italy, which was founded in 1222. I later transferred to the United States as a research fellow to pursue my lifelong dream to train as a surgeon in North America, starting with a General Surgery residency at the University of Missouri-Columbia. After 35 years, my return home to Columbia is the perfect conclusion for a wonderful professional trajectory.

Why did you get into the health care field?

Medicine has been an interest since my very early childhood. Thinking back, I must have had some imprinting by my family doctor, a wonderful and caring person. He was my godfather, and his name was Giorgio. As far back as I can I remember, I have always said I would be a doctor and go to the U.S. to train as a surgeon, which must have sounded peculiar coming from a little kid. Over the years my interest was reinforced at school by a strong inclination for science and human biology in particular. Eventually, life decides for us while we make plans.

What is the most challenging aspect of your job?

What makes it challenging is exactly what makes it so interesting and never repetitive — customizing protocols and clinical guidelines for every single patient. Each individual is unique!

What interested you in your particular specialty?

My interest in plastic surgery started as a totally abstract idea back in my high school years. In Florence at the time, there were no plastic surgery services, so I had no practical examples. I was, however, a good portrait artist. It made perfect sense to me that blending surgery with art would equal plastic surgery. When I started medical school, I bought a plastic surgery textbook, and I loved the creativity of the specialty.

What is the most rewarding part of your job?

One, I like being effective in making my patients’ lives better. Well-being is both physical and psychological. Yes, plastic surgery can help us treat conditions, but it can also help us feel better about ourselves by improving or correcting something that makes us feel insecure. This is very important for younger adults – a procedure not only changes forever how you feel about yourself but how you feel in relation to others. Second, as a plastic surgeon, my conversations with patients are not only about clinical exams and results. Learning about my patients’ wishes and personality helps bring us together into a closely knit team. The satisfying relationships with my patients make me feel like a doctor even more than when I literally saved lives in trauma and emergency situations but had no time to get to know my patients.

What do you see changing in health care in the next 5 to 10 years?

I hope that any amazing technological improvements are not counterbalanced with excessive dehumanization of health care and the loss of adequate contact between doctors and patients. Patients are human beings, not spreadsheets.

What advice would you give someone looking to become a doctor?

Be absolutely sure about the goodness of your motivations and follow that fire inside. Medicine is very hard work and must remain a vocation; otherwise, it’s going to be an empty, stressful life with a very high chance of burnout.

What do you enjoy doing outside of work?

Anything that satisfies my curiosity!

What advice would you give to someone who is going to be a patient in a hospital for a period of time?

If you can, choose your doctors carefully – then trust them! Second-guessing, internet shopping, and Googling for alternative treatments are a sure path to disaster. If a “solution” looks too easy and cheap to be true, it’s not true!