San Diego California Plastic Surgery

Dr. Karl Nguyen

2775 Via de la Valle - Suite 101 | Del Mar, CA 92014 | Phone: 858.457.2888 | Fax: 888.347.0124

Meet San Diego Plastic Surgeon – Dr. Karl Nguyen

I was born into the communist country of Vietnam, where boys at the age of eighteen are required to serve in the Viet Cong army. My parents fled the country with my sister and I on a tiny boat carrying many others. When the boat's engine stopped running, we drifted for ten days and ten nights. From starvation, sickness, and no medical care, two people died on the journey. On the eleventh day, a U.S. Naval Carrier rescued and took us to the Philippines. After living in a refugee camp for seven months with minimal medical care and resources, we finally arrived in the United States in July of 1981. By the age of seven, I had regained my rights, freedom, and health. Through these experiences and thoughtful considerations, I decided to pursue a career in medicine.

I first became interested in plastic surgery when I saw my first TRAM flap as a surgical intern. The multidisciplinary culmination of science and art is what interests me the most about plastic surgery. More recently, my experiences with microsurgery, craniofacial, burn, and hand surgery confirmed my fascinations and solidified my desire to become a plastic surgeon.

To become a successful surgeon, one must have a strong work ethic, an intense desire to succeed, a sense of confidence, and the ability to relate and communicate with others. Since coming to America and not knowing the language or culture, I have worked hard to achieve excellence in both academics and athletics.  At the University of Florida, I graduated as Magna Cum Laude in Chemistry while organizing and participating in intramural sports and numerous social activities. During medical school at the University Of Florida College Of Medicine, I was involved in several clinical researches while maintaining high standards academically. During my general surgery training, I was fortunate to have the privilege of being trained by two prominent professors in plastic surgery, Dr. Tom Roberts and Dr. Luis Vasconez. Dr. Roberts and I also co-authored various articles in the Clinics in Plastic Surgery, a premier plastic surgery journal, under the title "Gluteal Augmentation." One of the published articles, "Universal" and Ethnic Ideals of Beautiful Buttocks are Best Obtained by Autologous Micro Fat Grafting and Liposuction, focused on large volume micro fat transfers from unwanted body areas to enhance the fullness of the buttock.

Over the past eight years, I have learned that the most important goal in plastic surgery is patient satisfaction. Therefore, my primary practice goal is to simply make my patients happy. I achieve this goal by listening carefully and aligning my patient's desires with realistic expectations. Honesty is my only policy and I pride myself on providing a thorough and straightforward surgical consultation.

Curriculum Vitae

Dr. Nguyen's Full CV is available upon Request.

KHANG “KARL” T. NGUYEN, MD

PLASTIC SURGERY   

University of California, San Diego
Division of Plastic Surgery
San Diego, CA

RESIDENCY               

Chief Resident, General Surgery
Spartanburg Regional Medical Center
Spartanburg, SC

General Surgery Residency
Spartanburg Regional Medical Center
Spartanburg, SC

General Surgery Internship
Orlando Regional Healthcare System
Orlando, FL                            

MEDICAL SCHOOL

University of Florida College of Medicine
Gainesville, FL
M.D. – May 1999

UNDERGRADUATE

University of Florida
Gainesville, FL
B.S. Chemistry, Magna Cum Laude
May 1995

PUBLICATIONS

Roberts TL 3rd, Weinfeld AB, Bruner TW, Nguyen K.  "Universal" and ethnic ideals of beautiful buttocks are best obtained by autologous micro fat grafting and liposuction.  Clinics in  Plastic Surgery. 2006 Jul;33(3):371-94.

Bruner TW, Roberts TL 3rd, Nguyen K.  Complications of buttocks augmentation: diagnosis, management, and prevention.  Clinics in Plastic  Surgery. 2006 Jul;33(3):449-66.

Gill SS, Dierking JM, Nguyen KT, Woollen CD, Morrow CE.  Seatbelt injury causing perforation of the cervical esophagus: a case report and review of the literature.  The American Surgeon. 2004 Jan;70(1):32-4

PUBLIC SPEAKING ENGAGEMENTS/SCIENTIFIC CONFERENCES ATTENDED

Breast Shape classification:  improving communication and setting realistic expectations.  Nguyen KT, Chasan PE, Dobke M. 
2007 Plastic Surgery Senior Residents Conference, Pasadena, CA.

Variations in the Surgical Management of Metopic Synostosis:  Endoscopic-Assisted, Minimally Invasive and Open Surgical Treatment.  Nguyen KT, Broder KW, Hayden M, Meltzer H, Levy ML, Cohen SR. 
Plastic Surgery 2006 - The ASPS/PSEF/ASMS Annual Meeting, San Francisco, CA,

SEATBELT INJURY LEADING TO CERVICAL ESOPHAGEAL PERFORATION.  Nguyen KT, Gill SS, Orseck, MJ, and Morrow CE
The Southeastern Surgical Congress, Savannah, GA, 2003.

PENETRATING CARDIAC TRAUMA AT A LEVEL-ONE COMMUNITY BASED TRAUMA CENTER.  Nguyen KT, Gill SS
The Southeastern Surgical Congress, Savannah, GA, 2003.

ABDOMINAL WALL RECONSTRUCTION.  Nguyen KT
Surgical Grand Round, University of Alabama, Birmingham, 2003

THE AESTHETIC MEETING 2006.  The American Society for Aesthetic Plastic Surgery Annual Scientific Meeting, Orlando, FL.

PLASTIC SURGERY 2005.  American Society of Plastic Surgeons, 74th Annual Scientific Meeting. Chicago, IL.

THE AESTHETIC MEETING 2005.  The American Society for Aesthetic Plastic Surgery Annual Scientific Meeting, New Orleans, LA.

PLASTIC SURGERY 2004.  American Society of Plastic Surgeons, 73rd Annual Scientific Meeting. Philadelphia, PA.

PLASTIC SURGERY 2003.  American Society of Plastic Surgeons, 72nd Annual Scientific Meeting. San Diego, CA.

AMERICAN COLLEGE OF SURGEONS, 89th Annual Congress, Chicago, IL, 2003.

AMERICAN COLLEGE OF SURGEONS, 88th Annual Congress, San Francisco, CA, 2002.

PROFESSIONAL ASSOCIATIONS

Member, San Diego Plastic Surgery Society
Member, San Diego County Medical Society
Member, California Medical Association
Resident member, American College of Surgeons
Resident member, California Society of Plastic Surgeons
Vietnamese Medical Association of the USA

PHILANTHROPY/VOLUNTEER

INTERFACE:  Plastic Surgery team trips to underserved areas in Mexico
UCSD School of Medicine Affiliation, San Diego, CA

Anatomy lab Instructor
UCSD School of Medicine, San Diego, CA   

Suture Lab Instructor
UCSD School of Medicine, San Diego, CA