In 1962, my father Jagdish Prasad, married to my mom, Sharan Prasad with their two children, me and my sister Sunita, made a bold decision to leave the comforts of home and family in India and embark on a bold journey to travel to the United States. We traveled by ship, on a month-long trip via the Suez Canal. He decided to take his 16-year-old nephew, Kunj with him. Until recently, I never thought of my father as an entrepreneur because he worked as an electrical engineer for privately-held companies, but today I think of him differently, because of that bold decision and belief in himself. I am sure he had many naysayers along the way.

The main reason for that decision, as my mom recently reminded me, was to seek a solution for a healthcare problem in the family. Can you imagine that my family traveled halfway across the globe, seeking better healthcare and here I am, a surgeon practicing for 30 years, wanting to do the same for millions of Americans now? I know now that this is my purpose in life, and that nothing can stop me now!

In this world where it seems in vogue to blame all of your ills on your parents and upbringing, I always look back and know what I received from my parents was so precious. I had parents who stayed together. I had food on the table, shelter, and clothing and inherited a work ethic second to none! You see, my father was the hardest working person I have ever known. That is more than most have growing up.

I graduated Magna cum laude in Biochemistry from the University of Maryland. My dream was to go to Johns Hopkins medical school, but I fell short, being left on the waiting list. When I look back, that shortcoming ignited a fire within, to be the best at everything I do. I attended the University of Maryland medical school, completed a surgical internship at a Johns Hopkins affiliated hospital and went on to complete a residency in Otolaryngology Head & Neck Surgery (Ear, Nose & Throat) at Georgetown University Hospital. I then completed three fellowships at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center in Neurotology, Cranial Base Surgery and Advanced Head & Neck Oncologic Surgery. Much to the dismay of my academic mentors, I declined multiple offers at academic institutions and started solo private practice in the Washington DC area.

The practice Metropolitan NeuroEar Group was devoted almost entirely to otology, neurotology and cranial base surgery for the first 25 years. Conditions patients see me for include hearing loss, vertigo, acoustic neuroma, cholesteatoma, glomus tumor, mastoiditis, Meniere’s disease, stapedectomy or cochlear implant surgery and skull base meningiomas.

Helping tens of thousands of patients over a 30-year career was not enough. In 2014, I founded SurgiPrice, Inc. and subsidiaries SurgiQuality and SurgiConnect. The mission has always been to educate patients about their condition and help patients avoid unnecessary surgery and, when necessary, help patients connect with best-in-class surgeons who operate in a cost-efficient manner.