As a youth, becoming a doctor was a distant dream for me. I spent my early years in western Pennsylvania near Pittsburgh. My mother taught me a great appreciation for music. My father led the way in the beauty of wildlife, nature, sports and photography. Both had the greatest appreciation of intensive academic achievement. My mother was a pianist, so I became a pianist and considered that as a career. A liberal arts education with a degree in chemistry at Allegheny College and a Doctor of Medicine degree at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine followed.
After obtaining my M.D. degree I interned in surgery at Stanford University School of Medicine. Once at Stanford University, I was in awe of the plastic surgical genius of Robert Chase, M.D. and Donald Laub, M.D. Over a five-year period following my internship, I completed a residency program in Plastic Surgery. After Stanford there were two years in the U.S. Air Force in the Philippines (Clark Air Force Base). This was my first experience in making people’s lives better by applying the skills I learned through my many years of education. There I performed over 500 procedures on burned children and children with cleft lips during the two years.
On return from Air Force life, I established a plastic surgery practice in Palo Alto and was a clinical faculty member at Stanford. Today my position as an adjunct assistant professor of surgery at the Stanford University Medical Center (Plastic Surgery) allows me the joy of working with residents. Surgery is my true passion, and I continue to find great joy in improving people’s lives through cosmetic surgery.