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Specialties

Pediatric Plastic Surgery

The plastic and reconstructive surgeons affiliated with St. Luke’s Children’s offer exceptional skill and expertise, and are committed to supporting each child’s overall wellbeing. Specialties include cleft lip and palate; craniosynostosis; facial anomalies; cosmetic/functional nose surgery; ear deformities; congenital hand deformities; birth-related brachial plexus palsy; hemangiomas and vascular malformations, tumors, and lesions; traumatic injuries, including facial fractures; breast conditions; and skin conditions such as congenital nevi.

Providers

  • Patrick A. Gerety, MD

    Patrick A. Gerety, MD

    Pediatric Plastic Surgery

    Biography

    Patrick Gerety, MD specializes in pediatric plastic surgery and cleft and craniofacial surgery. He focuses on comprehensive pediatric plastic surgery, treating conditions including craniosynostosis, cleft lip and palate, Pierre Robin Sequence, hemifacial microsomia, vascular malformations/hemangioma, congenital nevus, dermoid cysts, pilomatricoma, facial lacerations and fractures, facial paralysis, and ear deformities (microtia, prominent ears, neonatal ear molding).

    Availability

    Accepting new patients
     
  • Russell H. Griffiths, MD

    Russell H. Griffiths, MD

    Plastic Surgery

    Biography

    Russell Griffiths, MD is a pediatric plastic surgeon specializing in care for children born with cleft lip, cleft palate, microtia, Pierre Robin Sequence, hemifacial microsomia, or other craniofacial abnormalities. His goal is obtaining the very best outcome with the fewest number of surgeries. He is passionate about helping children and families, and recognizes the importance of focusing on all aspects of care, from the initial consultation through the surgery and recovery process. 

    Dr. Griffiths firmly believes in fixing things correctly the first time. His extensive experience allows him to deliver excellent results, often attracting parents and children from neighboring states. The majority of his cleft patients have only one cleft lip repair, and one palatoplasty, (which is less than half the number of operations compared to results from other surgeons nationwide). In addition, he is able to correct other craniofacial abnormalities, including craniosynostosis, in one surgery more than 95% of the time. 

    Dr. Griffiths has also pioneered a new microtia reconstructive technique where the entire external ear and ear canal (including ear drum) can be reconstructed during the same surgery. Because of his expertise and focus on fewer surgeries, Dr. Griffiths frequently works with patients and families who travel to Idaho from all across the country for microtia care.     Learn more about Dr. Griffiths' microtia expertise 

    Dr. Griffiths is originally from Salt Lake City and earned his undergraduate degree from the University of Utah. His postgraduate residency involved both a preliminary focus on general surgery and a full plastic surgery residency, and was followed by fellowship training in pediatric plastic surgery and craniofacial surgery at St. Louis Children's Hospital. Since moving to Idaho, he established the craniofacial program at St. Luke’s Children’s Hospital and is the founder of the     Idaho Cleft Palate and Craniofacial Deformities Institute. He is also a member of the American Cleft Palate-Craniofacial Association and the American Society of Plastic Surgeons.

    In his free time, Dr. Griffiths is a competitive endurance bicyclist. He also enjoys fly fishing and restoring 1960s European cars.

    Availability

    Accepting new patients
     
  • Louis Poppler, MD

    Louis H. Poppler, MD

    Plastic Surgery

    Biography

    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

    Availability

    Accepting new patients
     

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