Louis H. Poppler, MD, MSCI specializes in minimally invasive reconstructive surgery for patients with cancer, trauma, or birth differences. He has specific training to care for both adults and children. His goal is to help people feel whole again, so they can return to doing the things they love. This means treating you as a whole person, rather than just addressing the problem at hand. 

Dr. Poppler will listen to you, considering your goals and struggles, to plan for an outstanding result. His dual plastic and orthopedic surgery training, coupled with extensive experience with nerve injury, reconstruction, and pain resolution, allow Dr. Poppler to approach any reconstructive challenge from multiple perspectives. He’ll form a solution specific to you that minimizes incisions, surgical trauma, and length of surgery while avoiding nerve injuries to minimize pain and recovery time, and maximize function.

In addition to plastic surgery training, Dr. Poppler has completed fellowships in orthopedic hand surgery and microsurgical reconstructive surgery at the Mayo Clinic, and surgery for peripheral nerve injury and pain with surgical pioneer Dr. Susan Mackinnon at Washington University. Dr. Poppler has had the opportunity to travel all over the world to learn cutting-edge techniques and skills to better serve his patients. On these trips, he has connected with international experts to 1) refine his skills using a scope (a small camera inserted into the belly, a joint, or between tissues), which allows him to perform most operations through very small incisions, and 2) learn to use ultrasound to assess anatomy before surgery to more accurately diagnose problems, make many key surgical decisions before surgery, minimize a patient's time under anesthesia, and avoid complications from anatomical variations. Following the example of the Mayo brothers, Dr. Poppler continues to travel and learn. He recently received a prestigious award from the American Society for Surgery of the Hand to travel to China to learn from talented microsurgeons taking care of adults and children with complex injuries of the nerves, hand, and body. 

Dr. Poppler returned to Boise, his hometown, to start St. Luke’s reconstructive microsurgery program. Microsurgery (surgery with the help of a microscope) allows Dr. Poppler to borrow redundant tissue from any place on the body and reattach it in another area. This versatile technique allows him to replace bone with bone, muscle with muscle, nerve with nerve, fat with fat, and skin with skin, for a more natural outcome. 

Dr. Poppler feels blessed to bring the skills he has learned all over the world home to Idaho. Dr. Poppler is an Eagle Scout and graduated from Timberline High School. He earned his bachelor’s degree in diplomacy from Georgetown University, where he graduated with honors. He credits his diplomacy training with making him a great listener and helping him always keep an open mind. Dr. Poppler attended medical school at the University of Washington as part of the highly competitive Idaho WWAMI program. He has a master’s degree in clinical research from Washington University and continues cutting-edge research in the field of nerve injury reconstruction. 

Dr. Poppler enjoys cooking and spending time outdoors with his family, hiking, biking, fishing, and skiing. He also enjoys performing research, learning, and writing about new techniques in reconstructive surgery. A firm believer in giving back, Dr. Poppler also travels on medical missions to help those who otherwise would not have access to specialty health care.

Surgical Specialties

• Breast reconstruction
• Breast surgery
• Hand and upper extremity reconstruction
• Pediatric hand differences
• Nerve injury or compression
• Lower extremity reconstruction
• Facial reconstruction
• Cosmetic and aesthetic surgery