my philosophy of plastic surgery

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Plastic surgeons have a uniquely broad range of skills and the ability to treat a nearly limitless number of conditions by translating core principles into creative solutions. Often, these are conditions that other medical specialists don't have a solution to. This means doing work that isn't glamorous, such as treating wounds. But the beauty of plastic surgery is that even if the problem isn't beautiful, the solution can be. 

I believe our craft was meant to serve the needy by treating vulnerable patients with conditions that would otherwise "slip through the cracks" of the healthcare system.  

This website is here to document this exciting field, through a combination of case presentations, interviews, videos, and articles.  The case you see above is a child with a severe burn scar contracture who I treated in Africa (along with my talented colleagues Drs. Kelly Currie and Francis Tegeta).

By showcasing my personal work and philosophy, I hope to help our specialty "take back" its own image from the sometimes vulgar, "sales-oriented" image projected by cosmetic profiteers on social media and TV.  

Learn about the birth of plastic surgery as a reconstructive specialty during World War I

Plastic surgery is a uniquely exciting field in medicine.  It's very visual, so it's easy for people to engage with and get excited about its spirit.  It's a creative specialty where coming up with solutions can mean truly out-of-the-box thinking that most people would never associate with medicine or surgery. 

I have long felt that too many plastic surgeons, focusing only on cosmetic surgery, have effectively "lost their way" as physicians.  Please let me be clear - cosmetic plastic surgery is not wrong, and the majority of cosmetic plastic surgeons are master physicians and surgeons doing good work.  But plastic surgeons who dance on Tik Tok and spend all of their efforts converting social media into cash pay revenue simply have a different vision of what it means to be a doctor than I do.  I often wonder, if they were to interview for medical school again today, and describe their version of "ministering to the sick," whether they would be accepted!

I try to live differently.  As a trauma victim myself who required reconstructive surgery, my daily life is an effort to give back.  This is why my practice is 100% reconstructive, and insurance/hospital based.  I try to take care of patients with difficult or unusual conditions, as you will see on this site, who often feel they have fallen through the cracks of the medical system.  I view plastic surgery as a malleable specialty with a diverse skill set that is able to innovate in order to solve problems that fall in between traditional medical specialties.  This is the secret sauce that keeps me focused on helping the vulnerable. 

While working at Washington University in St Louis, I started the first plastic surgery clinic at the Shriner's hospital for children with lower extremity congenital and burn-related disorders.  I donated all of my time there and never charged for surgeries. 

I also  participate in mission trips to St. Joseph's hospital in Kagondo, Tanzania.  This is a project I am passionate about and I was introduced to it by an incredibly beneficent orthopedic surgeon, Dr. Wendelin Schaefer.