Doctors have for generations, been the backbone of our healthcare system.
From treating a simple cold to performing life-threatening surgeries, doctors are vital in shaping the world.
As the world is in the recovery stage from the effects of the pandemic, the roles that doctors have played, contribute to the betterment of us all and shed light on the tireless efforts and dedication they put in.
Similarly, Dr Demetrius Evriviades, a Plastic and Reconstructive Surgeon from King's College Hospital London in Dubai, has dedicated his career to helping people live their best lives.
Coming from a military family going back three generations in the UK, Dr Demetrius decided to pick up the mantle and devoted his time to working as a military surgeon.
Joining the Royal Air Force right after medical school, he then spent 22 years including two tours in Afghanistan, working day and night tirelessly to help save the lives of many injured soldiers.
It is not an easy task, as he has worked to restore nerve injuries and give soldiers that have lost their limbs, their arms and legs back through replacement surgery.
One of the doctors that operated on Malala Yousafzai, the young Pakistani activist who stood up against the Taliban, after she was transferred to a hospital in Birmingham, United Kingdom in 2012, Dr Demetrius has also worked with many patients over the course of his career, some having since participated in the Olympics Paralympics.
Seeing how plastic and reconstruction surgery helped give new life to his patients and their families and helped increase their quality of life, after retiring in 2015 from the Royal Air Force, he decided to grow his plastic surgery practice and went on to train in the UK, Cyprus, Toronto as well as do charity work in Ethiopia on patients with facial deformities, and restored smiles to patients with facial paralysis.
Dr Demetrius has also worked on patients with cancer, where he treated those with breast cancer, by giving them a 'nip-tuck' surgery, which involves a tummy tuck and using the excess fat to restore breasts after single or double mastectomies have been done, helping ease their struggles on their cancer journey.
Now having relocated to work at King's College Hospital London Dubai, he aims to continue to bring confidence and happiness to all his patients in Dubai.
As plastic surgery is about coming up with solutions to the problem and helping fix it, Dr Demetrius uses his extensive knowledge from working in war zones to hospitals, as well as during the pandemic, to provide the best care possible.
"Happiness comes from other people and the greatest gift in my life is my friends, family and community." said Dr Demetrius, "I am the luckiest person because I can make a difference in other people's lives."
During his service in the military, he realised that he has the "potential to help make bad situations less bad" and, with all the experience garnered over the years, can help provide the right care to all his patients.
One of the revolutionary practices that Dr Demetrius brings to Dubai is lipoabdominoplasty, also known as the Brazilian tummy tuck.
The procedure combines liposuction and abdominoplasty and helps reduce the complications in the patient, giving longer and healthier results.
As mentioned by Dr Demetrius, complex surgeries can be done in any environment as the care is given by the right people, not the building.
Through his years of experience, Dr Demetrius has given many people a sense of normalcy after their lives were turned upside down, due to various factors, from war to cancer.
Dr Demetrius acknowledges and is grateful that being a surgeon, he gets to meet new people every day from different walks of life and gets to help make their life better.
As plastic and reconstruction surgery has the ability to change the trajectory of a person's life, it is transformative as well and gives patients a new take on life.
Dubai has steadily developed into a global hub, and as a result Dr Demetrius aims to continue to provide the best care and is contributing to helping the UAE achieve the status of having one of the most advanced healthcare facilities in the UAE.