Esther A. Kim, M.D.
Assistant Professor of Surgery
Chief of Surgery, UCSF Transgender Care
Co-Director, UCSF Microsurgery Fellowship
Division of Plastic & Reconstructive Surgery
Education
- University of California, Berkeley, B.A., Molecular and Cell Biology, 1997
- University of California, Davis, M.D., Medicine, 2004
Residencies
- 2004-2005 University of Nebraska, Intern, General Surgery
- 2005-2009 University of Nebraska, Resident, General Surgery
- 2010-2012 Mayo Clinic, Resident, Plastic Surgery
Fellowships
- 2012-2013 University of California, San Francisco, Microsurgery Fellowship
Board Certifications
- American Board of Surgery, General Surgery
- American Board of Plastic Surgery
Clinical Expertise
- Asian Blepharoplasty
- Botox and Fillers
- Breast Augmentation
- Cosmetic Surgery
- Eyelid Surgery
- Facial Rejuvenation
- General Plastic & Reconstructive Surgery
- Gluteal Augmentation
- Liposuction
- Microvascular Breast Reconstruction
- Oculoplastics
- Post-Bariatric Body Contouring
- Reconstructive Microsurgery
- Skin Cancer Reconstruction
- Transgender Surgery
Research Interests
- Coagulopathy in microvascular surgery
- Composite allograft tissue transfer
- Wound Healing
Biography
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. Her practice includes both reconstructive plastic surgery and cosmetic surgery. She specializes in microvascular reconstructive surgery with emphasis in post-mastectomy breast reconstruction and complex lower extremity wounds. Her cosmetic practice includes oculoplastics, Asian blepharoplasty and Post-Bariatric body contouring. Dr. Kim is also developing a multidisciplinary transgender surgery program at SFGH.
Research Overview
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 composite allograft tissue transfer and wound healing.
Publications
- Xin H, Stephans JC, Duan X, Harrowe G, , Grieshammer U, Kingsley C, Giese K. Identification of a novel aspartic-like protease differentially expressed in human breast cancer cell lines. Biochim Biophys Acta. 2000 Jun 15; 1501(2-3):125-37. View in PubMed
- Chiu CY, Leng S, Martin KA, , Gorman S, Duhl DM. Cloning and characterization of T-cell lymphoma invasion and metastasis 2 (TIAM2), a novel guanine nucleotide exchange factor related to TIAM1. Genomics. 1999 Oct 01; 61(1):66-73. View in PubMed
- Gorman SW, Haider NB, Grieshammer U, Swiderski RE, , Welch JW, Searby C, Leng S, Carmi R, Sheffield VC, Duhl DM. The cloning and developmental expression of unconventional myosin IXA (MYO9A) a gene in the Bardet-Biedl syndrome (BBS4) region at chromosome 15q22-q23. Genomics. 1999 Jul 15; 59(2):150-60. View in PubMed