How a rhinoplasty surgeon is trained
Nobody is board-certified in rhinoplasty: a surgeon arrives at the operation either through plastic surgery or through ear, nose and throat surgery, and then learns the nose itself in a fellowship year, at a handful of annual meetings, and from four journals. About 43,000 rhinoplasties were done in the United States in 2025 and roughly a million worldwide in 2024, taught through a fellowship system of 70 programmes that takes fewer than a hundred surgeons a year.
The two routes to the operation
Which residency a surgeon came through is the first thing to know about how they were trained. Neither route certifies rhinoplasty itself.
Plastic surgery
The American Society of Plastic Surgeons, founded in 1931, has more than 11,000 physician members and publishes Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery: the journal in which the open approach, the spreader graft, component hump reduction and most of the American structural literature appeared. A plastic surgeon reaches rhinoplasty through general plastic surgery training and, often, an aesthetic surgery fellowship. This is the lineage of Jack Gunter, Jack Sheen and the Dallas meeting, and it is why the Dallas course exists at all: it was built to teach one operation inside a specialty that trains for many.
Rests on: ASPS membership page and journal masthead · the papers.
Facial plastic surgery, from ear, nose and throat
The American Academy of Facial Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery represents more than 2,700 surgeons; most of its members are certified by the American Board of Otolaryngology, and the American Board of Facial Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery has certified the subspecialty since 1986. These are the surgeons who operate on the airway and the appearance in the same procedure, and the reason nearly every outcome instrument in this field scores breathing and appearance separately. Their journal is Facial Plastic Surgery & Aesthetic Medicine, formerly JAMA Facial Plastic Surgery.
Rests on: AAFPRS membership page · ABFPRS, "established in 1986" · the papers.
What neither route certifies
There is no rhinoplasty board, no published operative log, and no register of how many noses a given surgeon has operated on. A patient can verify a board certification, a fellowship, a teaching appointment and a publication record, which is what this site's Top 50 methodology scores, and cannot verify volume. Anyone quoting their own case count is quoting themselves.
Rests on: the two boards' own certification pages · the methodology.
The fellowship year
One year, 70 programmes, and the closest thing the field has to an apprenticeship.
What the AAFPRS Foundation fellowship is
The Academy's foundation runs the fellowship match for facial plastic and reconstructive surgery: 70 programmes are listed with their directors and co-directors, in cities from Toronto to Miami Beach, most attached to a private practice rather than a university department. A fellow spends the year operating with one or two surgeons, which is why technique in this field travels in recognisable family lines, a graft named in Dallas turns up in Newport Beach and Seattle because somebody spent a year holding the retractor. The application cycle runs a year ahead: intent for the 2028–29 cycle opens in November 2026, applications close 1 February 2027.
Rests on: the AAFPRS programme-director list and fellowship pages.
Why the directors matter to a patient
The list below is the field's teaching layer. A surgeon who directs a fellowship is examined every year by somebody who watches them operate for twelve months, and is publishing and lecturing in order to keep the programme. Teaching is one of the three signals in this site's ranking, alongside publications and society leadership, the full weighting is in the methodology, and every director who is also ranked here links to their dossier in the table.
Rests on: the AAFPRS list · the Top 50.
Where the operation is actually taught
Fellowships train fewer than a hundred surgeons a year. The rest of the field learns at these.
The Dallas Rhinoplasty Meeting, 1984–
Founded by Gunter and Robert Oneal to teach the open approach, chaired since by Rod Rohrich, 43rd meeting in March 2026. It is where the American technique lineage is refreshed each spring; its 2026 programme teaches preservation rhinoplasty, the argument against its own founding technique. Full history: the Dallas meeting.
The Baker Gordon Symposium, 1967–2026
The first US meeting devoted to aesthetic surgery and the first to put live operations on a national programme; The Aesthetic Society was formed by surgeons who attended the first one. Its 60th meeting, February 2026, was its last. Full history: Baker Gordon.
The Rhinoplasty Society, 1997–
Twenty-two surgeons formed it as a study group; the first formal meeting was held in May 1997 with Jack Sheen presiding, deliberately scheduled before the aesthetic society's annual meeting. Its by-laws give plastic surgeons and facial plastic surgeons equal board representation, the only body in this list built across the two routes. It also runs a visiting professor programme and a mentoring group.
Courses
The University of Pennsylvania aesthetic and functional rhinoplasty course, directed by Daniel Becker since 1998; cadaver courses attached to the major meetings; the Aesthetic Society and ASERF aesthetic fellowships.
What they read
Four journals carry most of the rhinoplasty literature, and each belongs to one of the organisations above.
- Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery, ASPS. The journal of the plastic surgery route; where the 1987 open-approach paper and the 1997 debate were printed.
- Aesthetic Surgery Journal, The Aesthetic Society, the society that grew out of the Baker Gordon audience.
- Facial Plastic Surgery & Aesthetic Medicine, AAFPRS, formerly JAMA Facial Plastic Surgery.
- Facial Plastic Surgery and Aesthetic Plastic Surgery, Thieme, and ISAPS via Springer.
Every rhinoplasty paper this site indexes from those journals is in the archive, sorted by topic, and every ranked surgeon's own papers are on their dossier.
The numbers the training system serves
- 43,116 rhinoplasties were reported in the United States in 2025, down 5% from 45,213 in 2024, reversing two years of growth (ASPS 2025 procedural statistics).
- Roughly 1 million rhinoplasties were performed worldwide in 2024, a 10% decrease, with 60.1% of them on patients aged 18 to 34 (ISAPS 2024 global survey, released June 2025).
- 70 AAFPRS Foundation fellowship programmes are listed for the current cycle.
- More than 11,000 ASPS members; more than 2,700 AAFPRS members; the Rhinoplasty Society's public directory lists 138 surgeons, 97 of them in the United States.
What is still missing
- No public register of operative volume exists for any surgeon in any country. Case counts on practice websites are self-reported.
- The 153-page fellowship Descriptions Handbook states each programme's rhinoplasty emphasis; it has not yet been mined, so the table below lists programmes and directors without saying how much rhinoplasty each one teaches.
- The American Rhinologic Society, the European Academy of Facial Plastic Surgery and the Rhinoplasty Society of Europe are on the associations page as entries still to be researched.
- Fellowship match numbers, how many applicants for how many places, are not published on the pages read here.
Who teaches at the 2026 meetings
Faculty as published by each meeting. 24 of these names have a page on this site. The name links to it.
| Role | Faculty | City |
|---|---|---|
| Chair | Rod J. Rohrich, MD | Dallas, TX |
| Faculty | Jamil Ahmad, MD, FRCSC | Toronto, ON |
| Faculty | C. Spencer Cochran, MD | Dallas, TX |
| Faculty | Teoman Dogan, MD | Istanbul, Turkey |
| Faculty | Ashkan Ghavami, MD | Beverly Hills, CA |
| Faculty | Aaron Kosins, MD | Newport Beach, CA |
| Faculty | Sam Most, MD | Palo Alto, CA |
| Faculty | Froilan Paez, MD | — |
| Faculty | Jason Roostaeian, MD | Los Angeles, CA |
Rhinoplasty topics 2026: basics / nasal analysis · preservation rhinoplasty · tip shaping · lateral wall / alar rim · advanced septal surgery · dorsum finesse.
Baker Gordon Educational Symposium: 60th and final, February 5–7, 2026, Hyatt Regency Miami
Founded 1967 by Thomas J. Baker, MD and Howard L. Gordon, MD (Miami). First US meeting devoted to aesthetic surgery; first national meeting with live surgery demonstrations. The 1967 attendees went on to form the American Society for Aesthetic Plastic Surgery (now The Aesthetic Society). Sponsored by the University of Miami Leonard M. Miller School of Medicine. Director: James M. Stuzin, MD. Thomas J. Baker died December 26, 2020. Program PDF: "The Culmination of a Legacy... Grand Finale." "Six decades later it is our sincere expectation that our final meeting continues this tradition of excellence." (2026 program, welcome address)
2026 faculty (program PDF, p.1):
| Faculty | Affiliation / city |
|---|---|
| William P. Adams Jr., MD | UT Southwestern; past president The Aesthetic Society; University Park, TX |
| Sherrell J. Aston, MD, FACS | Professor of Plastic Surgery, NYU; New York, NY |
| Daniel Del Vecchio, MD | — |
| Dino Elyassnia, MD | San Francisco, CA |
| Steven Fagien, MD | — |
| David A. Hidalgo, MD | New York, NY |
| Alfredo Hoyos, MD | Bogotá, Colombia |
| Jeffrey M. Kenkel, MD | UT Southwestern, Dallas, TX |
| Aaron Kosins, MD | Newport Beach, CA |
| Val Lambros, MD | Newport Beach, CA |
| Timothy J. Marten, MD | San Francisco, CA |
| Bernard Markowitz, MD | Clinical Professor of Surgery, UCLA; Los Angeles, CA |
| Constantino Mendieta, MD | Miami, FL |
| Pat Pazmino, MD | University of Miami; Miami, FL |
| Sam S. Rizk, MD, FACS | Manhattan Facial Plastic Surgery; AAFPRS fellowship faculty; New York, NY |
| Eduardo Rodriguez, MD, DDS | Chair, Hansjörg Wyss Dept of Plastic Surgery, NYU Langone; New York, NY |
| Rod J. Rohrich, MD, FACS | Clinical Professor, Baylor College of Medicine; past chair UT Southwestern; Dallas Plastic Surgery Institute |
| Dean Toriumi, MD | Private practice, Chicago, IL |
| Holly C. Wall, MD, FACS | The Wall Center; Shreveport, LA |
| James M. Stuzin, MD | Professor of Surgery (Plastic), University of Miami; Miami, FL |
Rhinoplasty faculty within the 2026 Baker Gordon program: Rohrich, Toriumi, Kosins, Rizk (per topic list "Face Lifting and Rhinoplasty"; session-level assignment to be read from the program agenda pages).
The 70 fellowship programmes and their directors
The AAFPRS Foundation programme list, city by city. 77 directors and co-directors are ranked on this site; their names link to their dossier or practice page. Markers are the Academy's own: * accepts international graduates, + accepts Canadians, ^ neither.
| Program city | Director | Co-director(s) |
|---|---|---|
| West Lake Hills, TX | Marcelo Antunes, MD (+) | |
| Toronto, ON | Jamil Asaria, MD (+) | |
| Beverly Hills, CA | Babak Azizzadeh, MD (^) | Grace Lee Peng, MD |
| San Antonio, TX | Jose Barrera, MD (+) | |
| Sewell, NJ | Daniel Becker, MD (+) | Jason Bloom, MD |
| Seattle, WA | Amit Bhrany, MD (*+) | |
| Baltimore, MD | Kofi Boahene, MD (^) | Ira Papel, MD |
| Toronto, ON | Matthew Brace, MD (+) | |
| Houston, TX | Anthony Brissett, MD (+) | Angela Sturm, MD |
| Rollingwood, TX | Edward Buckingham, MD (+) | Erin Smith, MD |
| Chapel Hill, NC | J. Madison Clark, MD (^) | |
| Cincinnati, OH | Ryan Collar, MD (^) | |
| Miami Beach, FL | Richard E. Davis, MD (^) | |
| Chicago, IL | Steven H. Dayan, MD (^) | Benjamin Caughlin, MD |
| Atlanta, GA | Louis M. DeJoseph, MD (^) | |
| Norfolk, VA | Eric Dobratz, MD (+) | William Dougherty, MD |
| St Paul, MN | Harley Dresner, MD (+) | Peter Hilger, MD |
| Fort Worth, TX | Yadro Ducic, MD (+) | |
| Tampa, FL | Edward H. Farrior, MD (+) | |
| Beverly Hills, CA | Andrew S. Frankel, MD (^) | |
| Cleveland, OH | Michael Fritz, MD (+) | Patrick Byrne, MD |
| Loma Linda, CA | Jennifer Fuller, MD (^) | |
| Highland Park, NJ | Robert A. Glasgold, MD (^) | Marc Glasgold, MD; Joseph Vella, MD |
| Richmond, VA | Michael S. Godin, MD (^) | |
| Dallas, TX | Eli Gordin, MD (+) | |
| Boston, MA | Tessa A. Hadlock, MD (*+) | David Shaye, MD |
| Greenwood, IN | Mark Hamilton, MD (^) | |
| Philadelphia, PA | Ryan Heffelfinger, MD (^) | Howard Krein, MD |
| New Orleans, LA | Laura Hetzler, MD | Lisa Morris, MD |
| Houston, TX | Tang Ho, MD (*+) | |
| Englewood, CO | Mario Imola, MD | |
| Santa Barbara, CA | Gregory S. Keller, MD (^) | |
| San Francisco, CA | David W. Kim, MD (^) | Jill Hessler, MD |
| Columbus, OH | Leslie Kim, MD (^) | Sumit Bapna, MD |
| San Francisco, CA | P. Daniel Knott, MD (+) | Andrea Park, MD |
| Kansas City, KS | J. David Kriet, MD (^) | Clinton Humphrey, MD |
| Palo Alto, CA | David M. Lieberman, MD (*+) | Sachin Parikh, MD; Umang Mehta, MD |
| Hershey, PA | Jessyka Lighthall, MD (+) | |
| San Francisco, CA | Corey S. Maas, MD (*+) | James Newman, MD |
| New York, NY | Philip J. Miller, MD (^) | Judy Lee, MD |
| Stanford, CA | Sam P. Most, MD (^) | |
| Livonia, MI | Jeffrey S. Moyer, MD (^) | Shannon Rudy, MD |
| Beverly Hills, CA | Paul S. Nassif, MD (+) | |
| Seattle, WA | Michael Nuara, MD (*+) | |
| Iowa City, IA | Scott Owen, MD | |
| Charlottesville, VA | Samuel Oyer, MD (+) | Stephen Park, MD |
| Charleston, SC | Krishna Patel, MD (^) | |
| Milwaukee, WI | Sachin Pawar, MD (^) | John Rhee, MD |
| New York, NY | Steven J. Pearlman, MD (^) | Moustafa Mourad, MD; Neil Gordon, MD |
| Rochester, NY | Vito C. Quatela, MD (*+) | |
| New York, NY | Joshua Rosenberg, MD (^) | Manoj Abraham, MD |
| Birmingham, AL | Daniel E. Rousso, MD (+) | Austin Adams, MD |
| Atlanta, GA | Anita Sethna, MD (+) | |
| Indianapolis, IN | Taha Shipchandler, MD (*+) | |
| Chicago, IL | Douglas M. Sidle, MD (+) | |
| St. Louis, MO | Emily Spataro, MD (^) | Gregory Branham, MD; John Chi, MD |
| Chestnut Hill, MA | Jeffrey H. Spiegel, MD (*+) | |
| San Antonio, TX | Christian Stallworth, MD (^) | Christine Taylor, MD |
| Scottsdale, AZ | Sidney Starkman, MD (+) | |
| Nashville, TN | Scott Stephan, MD (^) | |
| Beverly Hills, CA | Benjamin Talei, MD (*+) | Richard Zoumalan, MD |
| Syracuse, NY | Sherard A. Tatum, MD (+) | Amar C. Suryadevara, MD |
| Woodbury, MN | Christopher Tolan, MD (+) | Garrett Griffin, MD |
| Sacramento, CA | Travis Tollefson, MD (^) | |
| Chicago, IL | Dean M. Toriumi, MD (^) | Peter Revenaugh, MD |
| Portland, OR | Tom D. Wang, MD (^) | Myriam Loyo Li, MD |
| Latham, NY | Edwin F. Williams, MD | Keiman Slaughter, MD |
| Lone Tree, CO | Andrew Winkler, MD (+) | |
| Irvine, CA | Brian J. Wong, MD (+) | Theodore Chen, MD |
70 programs listed. Rhinoplasty emphasis per program is stated in the Descriptions Handbook, not on this page.
Source: the AAFPRS programme-director list, read 2026-09-08. Programme rhinoplasty emphasis is stated in the Academy's 153-page Descriptions Handbook and is not yet extracted here.