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Zander Perez was a surgical resident at Grey Sloan Memorial Hospital.

History[]

Time at Pac-North and Move to Grey Sloan[]

Zander came to Richard when a doctor asked him to do something he knew would trigger his gag reflex. Richard told him to go to do it anyway and he did.

Later, when Catherine came to the hospital looking for Richard, Zander asked her to wait so he could page Richard because Richard had been having coffee with his wife, meaning Gemma. Catherine informed him that she is Richard's wife. ("Let's All Go to the Bar")

When Pac-North was purchased and closed, Zander was hired to continue his residency at Grey Sloan. Bailey sent him and the other residents to do a skills lab with Richard Webber. However, Richard became discouraged during the lab and sent all the residents home early. ("A Diagnosis")

Covid-19[]

During COVID-19, Zander took shifts outside the hospital, taking patients' temperatures and directing them where to go. When one patient came in with a rash, Zander took his temperature and directed him into the ER. When he said he didn't want a Chinese doctor, Zander told him he could go back to the parking lot and hope he didn't die of anaphylactic shock. The patient decided to enter the hospital instead. (“All Tomorrow's Parties”)

Zander came to tell Bailey that Catherine was ready for their meeting. When he saw that Bailey was injured, he asked if he should tell her to wait and if so, could someone else tell her because he's not Catherine's favorite person. Bailey said she'd be there soon. ("The Center Won't Hold")

When a patient, Byron Gibbis, ran through the hospital nude because he was scared to have surgery, Zander saw him and pointed the doctors in his direction when they came looking for him. Later, he reminded everyone at Andrew's memorial that even though they were outside, they still needed to maintain their social distance. ("It's All Too Much")

Charlie's Overdoses[]

When Vic and Travis brought Charlie to the hospital after his second overdose in three days, Zander informed them that it was his third visit in a month. When they brought in Libby next, he wasn't surprised to learn that she was Charlie's friend. ("No One is Alone")

Meredith's Discharge[]

When it started to look like Meredith would get discharged, Richard asked Zander to prepare a clap-out, but keep it quiet as he wanted it to be a surprise. He did so, but when Meredith got discharged, she disappeared and Zander had to tell everyone she wasn't in her room. ("Tradition")

Gerlie Bernardo[]

When Meredith took over the residency program at the hospital, Zander was excited to learn from her. Inspired by Meredith, he asked to listen to Gerlie's lungs before she was discharged, as he hadn't gotten the chance to listen to lungs that had recovered from COVID. Starting in October 2020, Meredith cancelled grand rounds in favor of having the residents shadow her on Gerlie's case, as she suffered through multiple post-COVID complications.

In January, Zander was able to get his first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine along with the rest of the hospital staff. Meredith also had the residents still working on Gerlie's case, specifically trying to get Bailey to put Gerlie on the list for a double lung transplant. Finally, Bailey agreed and in April 2021, Gerlie got her lungs while Zander attended Maggie and Winston's wedding. ("Someone Saved My Life Tonight")

Surgical Contest[]

In order to inspire the residents and help them catch up on their surgical education, Richard had them all come in early one morning to start a surgical contest starting in the skills lab. He explained that they'd be judge in four areas: laparascopic, suturing, vascular skills, and endoscopic techniques. At the end of the day, the resident with the highest score would scrub in on a surgery at their skill level. They started with laparascopic skills. After that, they practiced sutures. He gave them 20 seconds to tie three square knots without moving the soda can where the ties were attached. When the time was up, Link declared Levi the winner. They also used a computer came to practice endoscopic skills, with Mabel beating Taryn when they went head-to-head. After that finished, with all points tallied, Richard declared Levi the overall winner and said he'd get to scrub in on Robin Jeter, who had a foreign body obstructing her intestines.

The extraction went well, with Taryn assisting, but when he went to close, he struggled. Bailey turned on the speaker in the gallery, where the other residents were watching, and they all offered up tips and with their help, Levi was able to finish the surgery and close. ("Some Kind of Tomorrow")

Grand Rounds[]

The residents were told they'd have a surprise guest for grand rounds one day. Right before it started, they learned that guest was Addison Forbes Montgomery. When they met, she quizzed Levi on a medical fact related to her case and when he got it right, told him he'd be presenting the case. She then took them to meet Tovah Freedman, who had had a hysterectomy due to placental abruption and then had lost her husband. She was there in the hopes that a uterine transplant could help her conceive and carry a healthy pregnancy. The residents all observed the surgery and answered questions as Addison asked them until the HVAC system went offline and some of them were called away to help move patients and cancel surgeries. Despite this, Addison completed her surgery and afterward, the residents followed Meredith and Addison and continued their gossip. When they saw them exiting the elevator with Addison crying, they assumed Meredith had said something to make her cry. ("Hotter Than Hell")

The Webber Method[]

Wanting to train up the residents quickly to avoid some of the fallout of the physician shortage, Richard deployed The Webber Method when he took back over as residency director. This involved having the residents take the lead on several cholecystectomy patients, operating on a staggered schedule so the attending could rotate through ORs to be available to help during the most complicated part of the surgery. Taryn faced a complication when her patient began bleeding profusely, forcing her to convert to an open procedure, but, with Bailey's help, she was able to finish the surgery successfully. In total, thirteen patients were treated using this method. ("With a Little Help From My Friends")

The residents enjoyed this new teaching method and eagerly awaited each day. ("Bottle Up and Explode!")

Zander was assigned to do an appendecomy one day. As he went to close, he asked the nurse which suture would be better to use. ("It Came Upon a Midnight Clear")

When The Webber Method led to the death of Devon Gomez, Zander attended the M&M conference designed to determine how his death could have been prevented. At the conference, when questioning targeted The Webber Method and its role in his death, Zander said that Richard was just thinking of their education.

That same day, Zander treated Lila Hanley in the ER. Lila had severe pain below her knee, which had previously been treated with cortisone shots. After a thorough exam, Zander tried to tell Link that Lila needed an MRI, but Link ignored him and told Lila that if she wanted a more permanent solution, she should try losing weight. This offended Lila, who got up and went to leave, which is when Link noticed she had foot drop, something Zander had already noticed. Lila got an MRI, which showed a herniated disk, which was causing her pain. Zander called Link out on this, saying Link should have taken the time to see beyond her BMI. Bailey backed him up, telling him to stop looking at patients' BMI, which was not a good measure of anyone's health. In Lila's surgery, Link let Zander do the discectomy. ("Living In a House Divided")

Hamilton's Surgery[]

After Levi quit, the other residents were only getting assigned simple procedures, which they considered a form of punishment. When Richard didn't show up for work, they questioned what they were supposed to do. Meredith, who was operating on David Hamilton that day, went to Hamilton and asked if she could use his surgery as a teaching opportunity and allow all hospital staff to observe. The residents were eager to be part of this. Before the surgery started, Meredith explained what they were doing and gave them time to ask questions. The surgery then proceeded and went well. ("Legacy")

Working with Bailey[]

When Owen Hunt stepped in to act as chief for the day so Bailey could operate and cover the shortage of surgeons, Zander scrubbed in with her on multiple surgeries, sharing in her joy of operating. Then he went to the gallery to watch Maggie operate on Fernanda Lima, who have traveled to Seattle from Boston with her family to have heart surgery. However, had to leave with Owen came in and told the residents they needed to leave to help cover the physician shortage. Specifically, he said that Zander was assigned to general so he should be assisting another surgeon in another OR. ("Road Trippin'")

Kidney Xenotransplant[]

Zander and the other residents were called to do grand rounds with Nick Marsh and Meredith Grey. They arrived to find Nick with the patient, Mason Taylor, who was brain dead after being struck by a drunk driver. His wife wanted to donate his organs, but UNOS rejected them, so she donated his body for research. Nick explained that they would be transplanting a genetically modified pig kidney into Mason's body in the hopes that they could perfect the technology, which would eliminate the wait for donor organs. He transplanted the kidney near the groin so they had better blood supply and could see the kidney as they waited to see if it would work. After the surgery, they celebrated that the kidney was producing urine. When the kidney later stopped working, Nick had them do a biopsy and sent the residents away to avoid screaming at them. Then he did everything he could to save the kidney, but started to lose faith. Meredith suggested using epinephrine, which worked and Jordan reported that the kidney was working again. ("Put It to the Test")

Medical Patches[]

Zander helped Winston and Maggie when they were testing a medical device Wendell Ndugu was attempting to sell. When the patch showed that the patient had no heartbeat, Winston tested it on himself and concluded that it didn't work when it gave the same readout. ("Should I Stay or Should I Go")

Program Evaluation and Shutdown[]

Zander was working the day that Jamarah Blake returned to the hospital to evaluate the program to see if it could remain open. He helped out with a blood drive they held that day in an attempt to mitigate the effects of the nationwide blood shortage. He then watched as Meredith and Nick attempted to remove Cora's tumor in an ex-vivo surgery. During this surgery, he accidentally informed Jamarah Blake that Meredith was leaving the hospital. ("Out for Blood")

Later, he and the other residents spread the word on social media that the hospital needed blood, drawing in several donors. At the end of the day, when the surgical residency program was shut down, he packed up his things. ("You Are the Blood")

Career[]

He is a surgical resident at Grey Sloan Memorial Hospital.

Notes and Trivia[]

  • He drinks Kombucha.[1]

Gallery[]

Episodic[]

Episode Stills[]

Appearances[]

References[]

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