Transcription:
Khadija Dugan MD - Focusing on Prevention & Wellness in Annapolis MD

Maggie McKay: Wouldn't it be great if there was a place you could go that concentrated on balancing health, wellness and beauty while also addressing sexual wellness? The good news is there is such a place and the doctor who founded it is our guest today. We're going to hear her fascinating story.

Our guest is Dr. Khadija Dugan, a board certified gynecologist, cosmetic gynecologist, and founder of the Dugan Aesthetics and Wellness Center. We're going to talk about focusing on prevention and wellness in Annapolis, Maryland and more.

Welcome to Top Docs Podcast. I'm your host, Maggie McKay. Thank you so much for being here, Dr. Dugan. Let's start at the very beginning. Can you tell us about your background and how you got into medicine and why you chose gynecology?

Khadija Dugan, MD: Sure. Thank you for having me. So how did I get into medicine? Well, to give you a little bit of a background, I'm from Philadelphia. And my interest in medicine got piqued from a microbiology course, believe it or not, in high school. So we watched a video, I don't know if you remember the movie called Outbreak, and I was fascinated by that movie. And I asked my teacher, "What field do you know that you need to go into in order to practice that type of work?" So she told me I had to be a doctor. So, you know, a doctor encompasses a lot of things. It could be a PhD, it could be anything. So, I decided to go ahead and just pursue that career.

So I went to Hampton University, I studied chemistry. I decided to apply to medical school. I didn't actually get in that first round, but I pursued that career. I did some research at the University of Pennsylvania in the School of Nursing. And the nurses there were actually trying to convince me to become a nurse, and, you know, I said, "If I'm going to continue with medicine, I might as well do what I initially planned to go into." so I decided to go ahead and apply again. And then, I got into Robert Wood Johnson Medical School, which is now called Rutgers University. And then, I decided to con continue there.

So as far as gynecology, I've always had a particular interest in women's health, and also while I was doing that research at the School of Nursing at University of Pennsylvania, there was a PhD candidate who was also a nurse midwife. So she would share stories with me about her experiences with women's health, delivering babies and things like that. So that also piqued my interest.

So I kept my options open while I was in medical school, but it got solidified when I did my OB/GYN rotation. I couldn't take my eyes off of, you know, the deliveries. And even when I was on my peds rotation, I'm looking back at them closing up the mom during the C-section instead of focusing on the baby. So at that point, I knew OB/GYN is the field that I needed to get into.

Maggie McKay: That's so cool. You also have an extensive range of skills from years of very specialized training and expertise. When you said you studied at Rutgers, anywhere else?

Khadija Dugan, MD: Yeah. So I did my residency at Sinai Hospital in Baltimore. So then, I went into private practice doing general OB/GYN. And while I was there, you know, I always had an interest in cosmetic gynecology, meaning more so of an aesthetic approach to helping with the appearance of the vagina and also tightening of the vagina and things like that.

So, in that practice, you know, it wasn't, I guess, celebrated to do non-traditional medicine. So, once I left that practice, I decided to take some other courses. I studied under industry leaders in cosmetic gynecology, Red Alinsod, Marco Pelosi. So I did different various training courses to learn the aesthetics of gynecology.

Maggie McKay: And so once you were at that point, what inspired you to transition from being a traditional gynecologist to a more wellness and prevention-focused practice?

Khadija Dugan, MD: Right. So while I was in the private practice, you know, patients would ask me all the time if I would have something to help them with decreased libido, which really there wasn't much of anything. They would also ask me, "During my c-section, can you take this extra fat off?" Like, "No, again, I can't necessarily do a tummy tuck at the time of your C-section." And then, also ask for something to help them to lose weight. So those were the top three questions that my patients would ask me when I was practicing general OB/GYN. The answer was always no, no and no. And it's because that's not something that we're trained to do as general OB/GYNs.

So, like I said, after I left that private practice and I started going down the rabbit hole of cosmetic gynecology, I also got introduced to all of the other world of non-traditional medicine out there. So, there are actually treatments for sexual wellness that don't fall in the category of traditional medicine. There's weight loss out there. I did actually initially get trained in liposuction in tummy tucks. I just don't offer that in my practice any longer. So, questions that patients had asked me about, you know, help with libido and things like that, I actually am able to say yes to all of their concerns that traditional medicine doesn't particularly cover, I'd say.

Maggie McKay: And so what makes your office different from others? What are some of the procedures that Dugan Aesthetics and Wellness Center offer that maybe some others don't? Or is it more that you have such a varied menu of options?

Khadija Dugan, MD: Well, I do have a varied menu of options, so things that I would say aren't covered by traditional medicine. So, for example, I mentioned to you, people asked me with help with decreased libido. So there's one pill on the market, I believe, that is covered by insurance. But in order to help with decreased libido for women, you have to take one pill every day to achieve a half of orgasm a month, which is, I mean, what is that?

So, yeah, so there are a host of things that I offer. So sexual wellness is one thing. We also have help with bioidentical hormones, so help with libido, low energy, low testosterone for men. Also with men, help with erectile dysfunction, as well as men who are looking for an increase in size and girth.

Going back to women and men, there is a weight loss program. It's called the hCG Diet, which I offer. So the bioidentical hormones are also available for women and men. And in addition to the cosmetic gynecology, which is surgical, there are nonsurgical options to help women with vaginal tightness, dryness, sensation issues, difficulty with orgasm, incontinence and things like that. And to top it off, I also offer facial rejuvenation, nonsurgical facial rejuvenation as well.

Maggie McKay: I just want to make an appointment right now. For the facial, the bags, you know. So those are some emotional topics, I would think. And you know, sometimes women have a hard enough time asking their female gynecologist or provider these questions. And I imagine when men have to talk to you about these things, it's got to be kind of touchy. How do you put them at ease? Because a lot of your patients have mentioned how compassionate you are and what a good listener you are. How do you just kind of take the stress out of talking about it?

Khadija Dugan, MD: Well, for one, I'd say that I am a great listener at work and outside of work. So, I always start my consultation with saying, "Let's talk about how we can make you your most attractive and vibrant self. So I'll let you start." So I just let my patients start with what they've come in to see me for, what concerns they have.

Most people actually open up, believe it or not, because they've been wanting someone to ask. So I would say in traditional medicine, it's not that their physicians don't care. It's just that there's no good solution out there. So, you tend to not ask about a problem that you may be having if I don't have any way to help you.

So I feel like overall patients are pretty open. If there's some people who are shy about what they have to say, you know, I tell people, "I guarantee you, you can't tell me anything that I've never heard before." It's very, very rare that someone says something or shows me something that shocks me or that I've never seen before.

So I just try to put people at ease, like "Your situation is actually very common. Hence that's why, you know, I have this practice because it's more common than you know." And then, you know, if there's still some difficulty, you know, I have ways of pry things out of people.

Maggie McKay: What do you love most about your job? What's the most rewarding?

Khadija Dugan, MD: I'd say the most rewarding thing is actually being able to help people where they feel hopeless. Sexual health is really important for the individual. It's healthy for couples, it's healthy for your overall health and wellbeing. So, people saying to me like, "You've changed my life. You've saved my marriage," that's really touching because I consider myself a steward of good health and wellness, and sexual health is a huge part of a patient's overall wellbeing. So it makes me very proud that I'm actually, you know, able to make a difference in people's lives, because that's actually why I went into medicine.

Maggie McKay: Dr. Dugan, when you're not treating patients, how do you like to spend your free time?

Khadija Dugan, MD: So I am a wife and a mother of two small children. I have a four-and-a-half and a two-and-a-half-year-old and. I guess I'll say three, my dog, she's the eldest, so I have three, you know, human children are one four-legged child, so they keep me on my toes. So when I do have time outside of that, I would like to travel. Before having kids, I did travel a lot. COVID kind of put a hamper on that. But we're trying to get back to traveling, to spending time with family and friends and spending time with my children.

Maggie McKay: And what's your ultimate goal when it comes to treating patients at the center?

Khadija Dugan, MD: So my ultimate goal is to have healthy patients, number one, also to assist people with living their best lives. So whether that's in your personal life, with your family, your work life, definitely your health and your intimate life, anywhere that I can help be a steward of good health and wellness, that is my ultimate goal so that people can live their best life.

Maggie McKay: Thank you so much. Your story has been really inspirational and it's an honor to get to know you today. Thank you for your time.

Khadija Dugan, MD: Thank you. Very nice meeting you, Maggie.

Maggie McKay: To find out more or to contact Dr. Dugan, please call 443-353-9002 or visit duganaesthetics.com. That's D-U-G-A-N. This is Top Docs Podcast. Thank you for joining us. I'm Maggie McKay. Be well.