The Plastic Surgery Group of Memphis

Bios

• Dr. Allen Hughes

  Dr. Allen Hughes, a founding member of The Plastic Surgery Group of Memphis, P.C., is one of the leading plastic surgeons in the Mid-South. Dr. Hughes has been in practice since 1965 and has served on the University of Tennessee Medical School faculty in plastic surgery. He is well known in the Mid-South for his expertise and skill in cosmetic procedures, now limited to face lifts and eyelid surgery, as well as Botox and fillers. The philosophy of patient care for Dr. Hughes is best summed up in his own words: “The care and quality of care of our patients starts with the very first time we make contact with them and continues through surgery and the postoperative period, encompassing support from our office staff to our patients.” Dr. Hughes grew up in Memphis and is the son of James G. Hughes, M.D., former Physician and Professor of Pediatrics at University of Tennessee/Memphis Medical School. He graduated from East High School and from there went to Southwestern, now Rhodes College. After graduating from college, he selected the University of Tennessee Medical School because the institution presented him with the opportunity to play an active role in patient care and to have a more “hands on” learning experience. After medical school and a general surgery residency of four years, Dr. Hughes was chosen from a field of 100 applicants to be part of an intensive two-year Plastic Surgery residency program in Kansas City, Mo. He returned to Memphis to go into practice with Dr. Robert Reeder in 1972 and became Board Certified in Plastic Surgery in 1973. In 1991 he served as President of the Southeastern Society of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgeons. Hobbies Dr. Hughes today is as adept with a paintbrush as he is with a scalpel. He began painting as a hobby while a Senior Resident and is a decoy carver as well as a wildlife watercolorist. He has produced 50 limited edition prints and received numerous awards for his paintings. His artistic talents, creativity and dedication to excellence shine through in all his endeavors, as an artist and sculptor and as a plastic surgeon.

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• Dr. Lou Adams

  Dr. Lou Adams is a fifth generation physician who has been practicing plastic surgery in Memphis since 1985. He specializes in aesthetic surgery of the face and body. Breast surgery, both aesthetic and reconstructive also comprise a large part of his practice. His leadership roles include serving as chief executive officer of The Plastic Surgery Group of Memphis and as Medical Director of the East Memphis Surgery Center. He serves on a national quality assurance committee for safety in the performance of surgeries in freestanding surgery centers. Dr. Adams provides state of the art aesthetic surgery using current techniques including the use of silicone and saline breast implants, ultrasonic assisted liposuction and short scar breast reduction/lift surgery. Many of his patients come to him for breast reconstruction following mastectomy. In creating a new breast, Dr. Adams uses either breast implants or the patient's own tissue. Dr. Adams see patients from areas throughout the broad midsouth region. He also happily accommodates patients who wish to come to Memphis for his care from outside of this region. He is very accessible to all of his patients and works to ensure they receive attentive care from their first visit through the completion of their healing. His nursing and office staff are an important part of this complete care package. Dr. Adams is pleased to provide for his aesthetic surgery patients the CosmetAssure insurance coverage plan which helps cover unexpected expenses due to complications in the first 45 days after cosmetic surgery. He also is happy to endorse the Mentor Corporation warranty for their breast implants which covers the complications of implant failure and/ or capsular contracture during the first 10 years after implantation. Family Dr. Adams is a lifelong Memphian and has been married to Connie Dunavant Adams since 1983. He has three sons and a grandson. His family is always complimented by a Labrador or Golden Retriever, and he has been bold enough to always have at least one Jack Russell terrier in his menagerie to keep him humble and make him smile at least once a day. Hobbies Dr. Adams enjoys traveling and loves to commemorate his trips by purchasing local art from the countries he has visited. He also enjoys hunting and trout fishing in the MidSouth as well as the mountains of the West. He enthusiastically supports the Memphis Arts Community.

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• Dr. Karen Quigley

  Dr. Karen Quigley enjoys plastic surgery because it allows her to solve a wide variety of problems with innovative and often technically challenging procedures. Through the years her practice has evolved to include all types of breast surgery, as well as body contouring including procedures such as abdominoplasty, arm and thigh lifts, and liposuction. She also has a special interest in all types of facial rejuvenation surgery and rhinoplasty. Dr. Quigley stays current in her techniques by attending meetings and taking courses. A patient's needs are her number one priority. Dr. Quigley's consultations are times for her and the patient to get to know one another. In her opinion, as this is the starting block for a successful doctor-patient relationship.

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• Dr. George Burruss

  Dr. Burruss graduated from The University of Tennessee Center for the Health Sciences and has practiced Plastic Surgery practice for over 28 years. He has served as Assistant Professor of Plastic Surgery at the University of Tennessee, Memphis and as Chief of Plastic Surgery, Acting, at the Veterans Administrative Medical Center. Dr. Burruss believes plastic surgery means many things to each of us. Whether it is the reconstruction of a child’s cleft lip or an adult with excess eyelid skin, Dr. Burruss feels that plastic surgery can help restore the joy of life. He has had the opportunity to practice plastic surgery in an academic environment and now in private practice with the Plastic Surgery Group of Memphis. Dr. Burruss' specific interests include cosmetic and aesthetic surgery of the face, eyelids and ears, surgery of the breast and reconstruction of the nose after skin cancer. As a director of the local Cleft Palate-Craniofacial Team, he enjoys the challenges of pediatric cleft care. Dr. Burruss considers it a privilege and great responsibility to be entrusted with providing this specialized surgical care for his patients. “We restore, repair and make whole those parts which nature has given but fortune has taken away, not so much that they may delight the eye, but that they may buoy up the spirit and help the mind.” - Gaspar Tagilliacozzi, 1597

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• Dr. Robert Chandler

  Dr. Robert Chandler has been in practice for 19 years. A Tennessee native, he graduated from the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, the recipient of a 4 year ROTC scholarship, and was commissioned as a Second Lieutenant in the Air Force upon his commencement in 1984. He graduated from medical school at the University of Tennessee, Memphis in 1988 on an Air Force Health Profession Scholarship and was selected to the Alpha Omega Alpha Medical Honor Society. He completed his five-year general surgery residency at the University of Tennessee, Memphis in 1993 and his three-year plastic surgery residency at Wilford Hall Medical Center at Lackland Air Force Base in San Antonio, Texas in 1996. After completion of his training, Dr. Chandler practiced at Madigan Army Medical Center in Tacoma, Washington from 1996 through 1998. He was transferred back to Wilford Hall Medical Center where he advanced to the rank of Lieutenant Colonel and became chief of plastic and reconstructive surgery at the Air Force’s largest medical center until the completion of his military scholarship obligation. Dr. Chandler was then asked to join The Plastic Surgery Group of Memphis in 2004. Dr. Chandler has led or participated in seven Air Force humanitarian civic assistance plastic surgery missions to the countries of Honduras, Peru, and Paraguay, performing over 350 reconstructive procedures. He also performed nine manning assistance missions to Yokota Air Base, Japan, Lakenheath Royal Air Force Base, England and Ft. Wainwright in Fairbanks, Alaska providing plastic surgery support to active duty personnel, dependents and retirees. He has received both the Army Commendation Medal and the Air Force Meritorious Service Medal and completed the Air Command and Staff College. Dr. Chandler has extensive experience in cleft lip and palate reconstruction, burn reconstruction, facial surgery including blepharoplasties, brow lifts, face lifts, breast surgeries including breast reconstruction, breast reduction and breast augmentation and body contouring procedures. He also has experience in microvascular free flaps for reconstruction. He is board certified by the American Board of Plastic Surgery. As a member of the Christian Medical and Dental Association, Dr. Chandler has a deep seeded faith in Jesus Christ with a strong commitment to his family and church. He uses this faith in helping care for his patients in a kind and thorough manner with an emphasis on integrity and commitment to excellence. His favorite scripture is Proverbs 3:5-6, Trust in Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge Him and He shall direct your paths. NKJV

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• Dr. Ellis Tavin

  Dr. Ellis Tavin joined the Plastic Surgery Group in 2006 after ten years in solo practice in Charlotte, NC. He built his North Carolina practice on the principles of attending to the needs of the individual patient and striving to create natural looking results. Dr. Tavin continues to care for his patients with the individual attention of a solo practitioner enhanced by the added resources of a large group. Dr. Tavin received his Bachelor of Science degree in Biology cum laude from Yale University. He attended medical school at Albert Einstein College of Medicine in New York City. After a general surgery internship at Einstein and Montefiore Hospitals, he completed a four year residency in Otolaryngology (Ear Nose and Throat). This was followed by a fellowship in Head and Neck Surgery at New York University. Dr. Tavin worked as an assistant clinical professor of Otolaryngology at New York Medical College, before training in Plastic Surgery at the University of Rochester. Dr. Tavin is board certified in both Plastic Surgery and Otolaryngology (Ear, Nose, and Throat). He performs the full range of plastic surgery with special interests in short scar breast lift and breast reduction, body contouring after pregnancy or weight loss, Brazilian butt lift, nose reshaping, and male breast reduction. He does breast reconstruction with a special interest in reconstruction after partial mastectomy (lumpectomy). Dr. Tavin performs breast augmentation using round or shaped implants placed above or below the muscle depending on the individual woman’s goals, breast shape, and size. Augmentation can be combined with breast lift. In select cases breast enhancement may be done using only the patient’s own fat. Dr. Tavin was one of 125 doctors invited to present a paper during the scientific session of the 2013 meeting of the American Society of Plastic Surgeons in San Diego. The Meeting is attended by thousands of plastic surgeons from the US and other countries. Dr. Tavin is married to Dr. Ellen Stecker, a pediatrician. They have three children: a stand-up comic, an accountant, and a medical student.

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• Dr. Melissa Kath

  Dr. Melissa Kath was a biology major at Colorado College before attending medical school at the University of Minnesota. For her general surgery residency, she headed to our nation’s capital and the Washington Hospital Center in Washington DC. Dr. Kath made Memphis her next home as she completed her plastic surgery residency at our very own University of Tennessee Health Science Center. After a fellowship in Aesthetic and Reconstructive Breast Surgery with Dennis Hammond in Grand Rapids, MI, Dr. Kath headed south once again to join us at the Plastic Surgery Group of Memphis. Dr. Kath is proud of her work as a plastic surgeon, recognizing that every patient has their own unique set of challenges. She gives each patient she works with individualized care that takes into account their needs, goals, and desires. Dr. Kath knows that plastic surgery can be a life-changing experience, and as a plastic surgeon, feels it is a privilege to be able to work with patients to give them the kind of care and results they deserve. Outside the office, Dr. Kath is an avid runner who has qualified for and participated in the Boston Marathon. She loves spending time with her husband, and is also a foodie who enjoys cooking lessons and baking delicious pies.

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• Dr. Nicholas Leonardi

  Dr. Nicholas Leonardi comes to the Plastic Surgery Group after completing his Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery training at the University of Tennessee Health Sciences Center in Memphis. After graduating from Houston High School in Germantown, he returned to the Midwest where he was raised for his undergraduate, medical school, and general surgery training prior to returning to Memphis in order to be closer to family and friends. Dr. Leonardi dual-majored in undergraduate studies at the University of Wisconsin-Madison where he earned Bachelor of Science degrees in Zoology as well as History of Science, Medicine, & Technology. Dr. Nicholas Leonardi, D.O. | Plastic Surgery Group of MemphisDuring his time in Madison, he was a founding member of the UW Waterski Team, on which he was a former record holder and won National Collegiate Team of the Year honors. He was also elected the Great Plains Conference Delegate for the Midwest Collegiate Waterski Association. After his undergraduate studies, he secured an Associate Research Specialist position investigating gene pathways in prostate cancer development with the University of Wisconsin Hospital and Clinics prior to attending medical school at the Midwestern University Chicago College of Osteopathic Medicine. Dr. Nicholas Leonardi, D.O. | Plastic Surgery Group of MemphisDuring medical school, Dr. Leonardi received the Illinois Health Education Consortium Spanish Language and Cultural Immersion Program Scholarship in which he developed strong skills in cultural competency and medical Spanish proficiency. He subsequently completed a five-year residency in General Surgery at the University of Illinois Metropolitan Group Hospitals where he was Administrative Chief Resident and was awarded the Vijay Maker, MD Award for Academic Excellence in General Surgery in addition to numerous other accolades. Dr. Nicholas Leonardi, D.O. | Plastic Surgery Group of MemphisAlong the way, Dr. Leonardi has enjoyed volunteerism with United Cerebral Palsy of the Mid-South and his work with the Wisconsin Early Autism Project. He met his wonderfully supportive wife, Amy, and had two beautiful children, Cooper and Lilly, with whom he enjoys spending time. Dr. Leonardi continues his commitment to lifelong learning and contribution to the field of Plastic Surgery with his involvement in institutional review board approved clinical research. He takes an interest in all aspects of reconstructive and aesthetic surgery in both the pediatric and adult population.

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• Allyn Farmer

  Allyn Farmer, PA-C is a Physician Assistant that joined our practice from Lafayette, Indiana. Allyn grew up in Santiago, Chile as a child of missionary parents. She is very grateful to have been given the opportunity to live abroad, becoming bilingual in English and Spanish, and earning an International Baccalaureate Diploma prior to returning to the United States to continue her education. Allyn received her Bachelor of Science degree in Biology from Samford University in 2009. She was accepted into the Surgical PA program of the University of Alabama at Birmingham and completed her training in 2011, earning her master’s degree. Since graduation she has practiced as a Physician Assistant in Alabama, Indiana and now Tennessee. Immediately prior to joining our group, she worked with Indiana University Health Arnett, Plastic Surgery Department. At our practice, Allyn assists in surgery and helps with postoperative care. Under the guidance of our physicians, she independently performs minor office procedures such as removing small lesions, moles and seborrheic keratoses, and performing nipple/areolar tattoos for women undergoing breast reconstruction.

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