By Haddon Libby
Born in New York City and raised in Parsippany, New Jersey, Dr. Suzanne M. Quardt (also known as Dr. Q), was encouraged by her parents to study hard. While her father, an educator, simply wanted Suzanne to be happy with whatever she did in life, her mother pushed her to do more with her life. As an example, instead of becoming a nurse, she pushed Suzanne to become a doctor.
Starting her education at Rutgers University in Biology, Dr. Q trained as a doctor at the New Jersey Medical School before interning at Columbia University where she sub-interned for Dr. Oz. It was Dr. Oz’ letter of recommendation that helped her land her residency at USC. After ten years of surgical training and two years in the research lab, she determined that she wanted to find more balance in her life as she was seemingly working 24/7 for years. At this point, she went back to school to become a plastic surgeon.
With seventeen years of education, Dr. Q came to the desert in 2006 and slowly but surely built a thriving practice. One of her mentors, the nationally renowned plastic surgeon, Dr. Brodie offered her this advice, “Just do good work; the rest will come.”
Dr. Q blends her personal interest in the arts with her chosen profession to enhance her patients’ experience. While she is extensively-trained in all aspects of cosmetic and reconstructive surgery her particular emphasis is on breast surgery, liposuction and liposculpture techniques.
Dr. Q says that the greatest compliment that she has received while building her practice is that of serving as the doctor to nurses and doctor to the families of doctors. That peer recognition is the type of validation that energizes Dr. Q as she works at providing every patient with a superior experience.
With Dr. Q’s hard earned successes, she is currently reinvesting in her practice by building her own Operating Room at her offices and adding a MedSpa.
Board-certified by the American Board of Plastic Surgery and a member of numerous national medical societies, in addition to breast surgery and reconstruction and liposuction, she specializes in facial rejuvenation, body contouring, spinal cord injuries and complex wound management. Compared with many in the plastic surgery field, her experience is deep and varied.
When asked what advice she would give to someone looking to follow in her footsteps, Dr. Q offers, “follow your passion” and reminds aspiring doctors that success does not come overnight and that “preparation goes into being successful.”
After a life focused toward studies and work, Dr. Q finally began enjoying life a little more when she married her husband Rick in 2007. Looking back, one of the sacrifices Dr. Q notes is that she did not take the time to have biological children. Now that she is more settled into her career, she and Rick are planning on adopting children just as her parents adopted her. Along those lines, the happy couple recently adopted TJ and Simon, their canine children, from Loving All Animals.
