Biography

I grew up in a medical household. My dad is a pediatrician who was involved with medical research at the National Institutes of Health throughout my childhood. He later became chairman of Pediatrics at Duke University. My mom was a nurse who ran the geriatrics ward at the local VA medical center. Both of them were committed to helping people, and I’m sure it rubbed off on me. I spent five years at Rush University in Chicago training to be a general surgeon. The training taught me how to operate but also, how to make decisions. The hardest thing to master as a surgeon is knowing when not to operate. I also learned that the exhilaration of seeing people get better before my eyes was intoxicating. Unlike general surgery, where patients were often at their lowest after a diagnosis of cancer, trauma, or while in pain from a chronic disease, plastic surgery offered primarily healthy patients who were happy and appreciative of my work. I was hooked.

Board Certification(s)

American Board of Surgery (ABS)

Location

Provider's Gender

male