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Breast Care Surgery »  Faculty »  Reconstructive Surgeons »  Esther A. Kim, M.D.
Esther A. Kim, M.D.

Esther A. Kim, M.D.

  • Associate Professor of Surgery
  • Division of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery
  • Chief of Surgery, UCSF Transgender Surgery
  • Co-Director, UCSF Microsurgery Fellowship

Contact Information

Division of Plastic & Reconstructive Surgery
(415) 514-7448 UCSF Asst.
(415) 353-4330 UCSF Fax


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University of California, Berkeley, B.A., Molecular and Cell Biology, 1997

University of California, Davis, M.D., Medicine, 2004

  • 2004-2005 University of Nebraska, Intern, General Surgery
  • 2005-2009 University of Nebraska, Resident, General Surgery
  • 2010-2012 Mayo Clinic, Resident, Plastic Surgery
  • 2012-2013 University of California, San Francisco, Microsurgery Fellowship
  • American Board of Surgery, General Surgery
  • American Board of Plastic Surgery
  • Asian Blepharoplasty
  • Botox and Fillers
  • Breast Augmentation
  • Cosmetic Surgery
  • Eyelid Surgery
  • Facial Rejuvenation
  • Gender Affirmation Surgery
  • General Plastic & Reconstructive Surgery
  • Gluteal Augmentation
  • Liposuction
  • Microvascular Breast Reconstruction
  • Non-surgical Cheek Lift
  • Oculoplastics
  • Post-Bariatric Body Contouring
  • Reconstructive Microsurgery
  • Skin Cancer Reconstruction
  • Coagulopathy in microvascular surgery
  • Composite allograft tissue transfer
  • Health Care Disparities
  • Improvement in Quality of Life

Esther A. Kim, M.D. is a native of California and a graduate of UC Berkeley and UC Davis School of Medicine. She participated in basic science research throughout her years at UC Berkeley and winning a research grant she dedicated an extra year during her medical school studying pro-apoptotic molecules in cancer. After graduating from medical school in 2004, she pursued general surgery training at UNMC, graduating in 2009. Thereafter, she completed her Plastic Surgery Residency at the Mayo Clinic and a Microsurgery fellowship at UCSF. She joined the faculty in the Division of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery in 2013.

Dr. Esther Kim specializes in cosmetic and complex reconstructive surgery. She is certified by the American Board of Surgery in general surgery and by the American Board of Plastic Surgery. Her scope of practice includes surgical and non-surgical cosmetic procedures, microvascular complex breast reconstruction, and gender affirmation surgery. Dr. Kim's philosophy is to achieve natural-looking cosmetic and reconstructive results with meticulous attention to details. Combined with technical excellence, an artistic eye, and compassionate care, she individualizes each patient's needs and anatomic differences to achieve best outcome. As an academic plastic surgeon, she views one of her roles is to educate, inspire, and empower patients and others. Her research and publication endeavors focus on health care disparities and improvement in quality of life and surgical outcomes. She strives to balance a professional career, service to her community, and a role model to her three daughters. In her free time, she enjoys cooking, art, hiking and listening to pod casts with a good bottle of wine.

  Award  
  Confired By    
  Date    
  • GME Excellence & Innovation Award
  • UCSF
  • 2021 - 2022
  • Muriel Steel Society Influential Women in Surgery Honor Roll
  • UCSF
  • 2021 - 2022
  • Muriel Steel Society Influential Women In Surgery Honor Roll
  • UCSF
  • 2020 - 2021
  • Dr. Kim's research focuses on understanding coagulopathy in patients undergoing microvascular surgery. Her research aims to improve overall surgical outcomes and decrease complications in microvascular surgery. Her other interests include health care disparities and improvement in quality of life in surgical patients.

    Data provided by UCSF Profiles, powered by CTSI
    MOST RECENT PUBLICATIONS FROM A TOTAL OF 35
    Data provided by UCSF Profiles, powered by CTSI
    1. Song S, Nguyen A, Rosser M, Steiner G, Kim EA. Perceptions of a virtual education platform: how plastic surgery education has progressed during the COVID-19 pandemic at one academic institution. BMC Med Educ. 2023 Sep 27; 23(1):708. View in PubMed
    2. Song S, Kim EA. Double-incision mastectomy after reduction mammaplasty for persistent gender dysphoria: a case report. Case Reports Plast Surg Hand Surg. 2023; 10(1):2222826. View in PubMed
    3. Wallace AB, Song S, Yeh P, Kim EA. The Effect of Pectoral Nerve Blocks on Opioid use and Postoperative Pain in Masculinizing Mastectomy: A Randomized Controlled Trial. Plast Reconstr Surg. 2023 May 23. View in PubMed
    4. Song S, Park KM, Parmeshwar N, Dugi D, Schechter L, Berli JU, Kim EA, Group GAS Research . Developing Gender-Affirming Surgery Curricula for Plastic Surgery Residency and Fellowship via Delphi Consensus. Plast Reconstr Surg. 2023 Apr 20. View in PubMed
    5. Clark IC, Fontanez KM, Meltzer RH, Xue Y, Hayford C, May-Zhang A, D'Amato C, Osman A, Zhang JQ, Hettige P, Ishibashi JSA, Delley CL, Weisgerber DW, Replogle JM, Jost M, Phong KT, Kennedy VE, Peretz CAC, Kim EA, Song S, Karlon W, Weissman JS, Smith CC, Gartner ZJ, Abate AR. Microfluidics-free single-cell genomics with templated emulsification. Nat Biotechnol. 2023 Nov; 41(11):1557-1566. View in PubMed
    6. View All Publications

     

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