A complex surgical problem calls for a plastic surgeon who works regularly with that specific condition. That has been the direction of my practice from the outset: reconstructive cases requiring subspecialty experience, including those other surgeons have declined.
I hold board certification in plastic surgery along with fellowship training in pediatric plastic surgery and vascular anomalies — a combination held by relatively few surgeons in the United States. It positions my practice at the intersection of reconstructive and aesthetic surgery, where complex cases require both technical precision and aesthetic judgment.
My operative experience includes impaired facial nerves, anatomy displaced or distorted by tumors, and congenital deformities in children. That background informs every case I take on. Whether the patient is a child with congenital facial paralysis or an adult seeking rhinoplasty, the method is the same: understand the anatomy fully, plan meticulously, execute precisely, and decline to accept a result short of what the case allows.
Education
Honors & Awards
Board Certification
Professional Memberships
Professional Activity
Selected Publications
Book Chapters
My commitment to patients doesn't end at the doors of my practice. Through Mending Kids, a nonprofit that provides surgical care to children worldwide, I have traveled on humanitarian missions to perform reconstructive procedures for children with no other access to that care.
Our mission in Armenia carries particular meaning for me. Operating on children with craniofacial conditions and other reconstructive challenges in the country of my heritage connects my professional training to something more personal.
These missions do more than treat individual patients. They build local surgical capacity and train physicians in underserved regions — work whose effects outlast any single operation.
Watch: The incredible legacy of Dr. Varaztad Kazanjian
Modern plastic surgery would not be what it is today without the revolutionary work of Dr. Varaztad Kazanjian. Renowned for his humble nature, Dr. Kazanjian served as an honorary major in the British Royal Army Medical Corps during The Great War (also known as World War I), treating soldiers who not only needed dental work but providing major reconstructive surgeries for devastating injuries. The overwhelming number of soldiers with massive craniofacial trauma became a proving ground for new reconstructive techniques never seen before. Dr. Kazanjian's creativity and humanitarian effort instantly made him a hero among the troops and here in the US, earning him the title "Miracle Man of the Western Front."
Dr. Kazanjian's foundational work in facial reconstruction led him to become Harvard's first professor of plastic surgery and helped establish the field as a recognized surgical specialty.
What I take from Kazanjian is a principle rather than a technique: that restoring form and restoring function are not separate objectives, and that both are in service of restoring the patient to his or her life. That understanding shapes how I approach reconstructive work and why I continue mission work through organizations like Mending Kids, treating some of the most complex challenges facing children in disadvantaged parts of the world.
TLC's About Face follows patients through facial reconstruction from initial consultation to recovery, documenting the surgical work alongside its emotional and psychological dimensions.
For me, the value of the series is straightforward. Most people have never heard of facial reanimation surgery, and many patients living with facial paralysis or neurofibromatosis have been told nothing can be done. The show demonstrates otherwise...that these conditions are treatable, and that patients have options worth pursuing.
Our practice is located in the heart of Pasadena, a sophisticated, tree-lined city at the base of the San Gabriel Mountains, just minutes from downtown Los Angeles. The office at 39 Congress Street provides a private, comfortable environment designed for the needs of both reconstructive and aesthetic patients.
For patients traveling from out of town, Pasadena offers world-class hotels, restaurants, and cultural attractions, making the surgical experience as comfortable as possible for patients and their families. Our team assists with travel logistics, accommodation recommendations, and local transportation.
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