Richard E. Kirschner, MD, FACS, FAAP, joined Nationwide Children’s Hospital March 22 as chief of Plastic Surgery and director of the Cleft Lip and Palate Craniofacial Center. He comes to Nationwide Children’s from the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP).
Dr. Kirschner is nationally recognized as a leading authority in cleft lip and palate and hemangiomas/vascular malformations. He has been widely published in numerous professional publications, is co-editor of the text, Comprehensive Cleft Care, and is actively involved in research and teaching. Dr. Kirschner has taught educational symposia in several countries, and is co-founder and medical director of Casa Azul America, Inc., a non-profit organization for the delivery of cleft care to underserved children in central Mexico.
During his tenure at CHOP, Dr. Kirschner held the Mary Downs Chair for Craniofacial Treatment and Research and served as director of both the Cleft Lip and Palate Program and Plastic Surgery Research. He also was the program director of Plastic Surgery at The University of Pennsylvania.
Dr. Kirschner completed his medical training at the University of Miami, School of Medicine, graduating with research distinction in microbiology and pediatrics. He pursued his surgical training at Cornell University Medical Center, where he also completed a research fellowship. He then completed his plastic surgery residency at The University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine prior to serving as a fellow in Pediatric Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery at CHOP.
Nationwide Children’s Hospital Plastic Surgery provides comprehensive care for all plastic surgical problems in children, including congenital anomalies (such as cleft lip/palate, craniofacial anomalies, hand abnormalities and hemangiomas/vascular malformations), acute traumatic injuries, skin tumors (such as moles and cysts) and reconstruction following burns and other traumatic injuries.
NOTE TO EDITOR: Dr. Kirschner is a resident of (Gahanna 43230).