Dr. Emilio Justo

Description

Learn more about Dr. Emilio Justo, the medical director and founder of the Arizona Eye Institute and Cosmetic Laser Center. Born in Cuba, he fled the country as a refugee with his parents in 1965. Dr. Justo pursued his education in medicine and completed his undergraduate and medical school training at the University of Michigan. He started his practice in 1989 in Arizona, where he still lives with his wife.

[00:00:04.720] Hi. Welcome. [00:00:10.680] This is Dr. Emilio Justo, the Medical Director and Founder [00:00:14.600] of the Arizona Eye Institute and Cosmetic Laser Center. [00:00:18.360] I was born in Cuba, and my parents and I, as Cuban refugees, [00:00:24.640] left Fidel's communist country back in 1965 when I was three years old. [00:00:32.320] I've been blessed throughout my life having wonderful parents [00:00:35.880] who raised me to the best degree possible with having little means. [00:00:41.600] In my high school years, one of the interesting things is [00:00:45.480] that my ambition was truly to be a professional baseball player. [00:00:50.400] Cuban refugee parents who emphasized education, [00:00:54.560] they gently talked me out of that, [00:00:57.160] and encouraged that I pursue a more traditional path. [00:01:03.440] Frankly, I'm extremely pleased [00:01:05.800] that I had such well-guided parents because I did choose medicine. [00:01:11.640] I did have a strong interest in medicine and in science from an early age. [00:01:15.760] I worked very hard in high school. [00:01:17.440] Very proud of it, became valedictorian, and went on to the University of Michigan, [00:01:23.640] where I did both my undergraduate college training as well as medical school. [00:01:28.960] After the University of Michigan, I went on to do a year of internship [00:01:33.520] at St. Vincent Hospital in Indianapolis, Indiana, [00:01:37.400] followed by my ophthalmology residency [00:01:39.760] at the Washington National Eye Center in Washington, DC. [00:01:44.200] Immediately following residency, [00:01:47.200] I wanted a change of weather, so I decided to move to Arizona in 1989. [00:01:54.240] Since that time, many years have gone by, although it seems like only yesterday. [00:01:59.640] When I first started practice in 1989, I was only 27 years old [00:02:05.440] and I was so young, so naive in many ways, [00:02:09.120] but I had so many opportunities [00:02:11.320] and so many wonderful staff members and mentors along the way. [00:02:16.760] Over my time here in Arizona, again, I've had a very blessed life. [00:02:22.560] I met my wonderful wife, Allison. [00:02:25.240] We have three beautiful children, [00:02:28.400] two boys and the young girl, also known as the princess. [00:02:33.040] Over the years, I have performed thousands of procedures, [00:02:37.880] including both functional and medically necessary procedures, [00:02:41.960] as well as cosmetic surgeries. [00:02:44.320] As one of my interests all along has been [00:02:47.240] cosmetic surgery to help the esthetics of other people. [00:02:51.520] You get to do a variety of surgeries. [00:02:54.320] You get to have a life-changing impact on individuals, [00:02:58.720] both as far as their vision, [00:03:01.360] as far as their esthetics, as far as their self-esteem. [00:03:05.960] It's really a blessed profession and I'm proud to be a small part of it.