About the Plastic Surgeon

Dr. Ricardo L. Rodriguez, MD
Board Certified Plastic Surgeon

Dr. Ricardo Rodriguez has been practicing Plastic Surgery for over 25 years. He has performed thousands of Cosmetic and Reconstructive cases over the course of his career. These cases have included breast reconstruction, replants of fingers after traumatic injuries, skin grafting on burn patients and diabetics, as well as two decades of experience with the full spectrum of cosmetic surgery.

In his private practice, Dr. Rodriguez specializes in multiple procedure makeovers, since he has expertise in performing procedures of the face, breast, body, and buttocks in the same operative session.

Unique Cosmetic Surgery Procedures

His practice is now dedicated exclusively to cosmetic surgery, performing unique procedures such as the brazilian butt lift, body lift, lip lift, and endoscopic forehead lift, as well as traditional procedures such as breast augmentation and tummy tuck (abdominoplasty). Dr. Rodriguez combines a love of technology and new surgical techniques with a strong respect for the "tried-and-true" plastic surgery techniques that have been practiced for decades.

The Decision to Become a Surgeon

When students enter medical school they don't always know what type of doctor they want to be, but most know whether they want to be a surgical doctor or a non-surgical doctor. When Dr. Rodriguez entered medical school, he thought he wanted to be a psychiatrist... until a single, defining moment.

"I started medical school wanting to be a Psychiatrist. I did not feel like a "physician" that deals with the body, but rather more like an intellectual who uses words to heal the mind. So I was not looking forward to my surgical rotation with its endless hours in the operating room."

At the beginning of the surgical rotation late in the 3rd year of med school Dr. Rodriguez was following a particular intern for an entire week at the Veterans Administration Hospital. She was efficient, bright, personable, kind, and unlike any of the other surgical residents or Professors he'd met. They talked a lot about literature and his desire to be a psychiatrist.

"One day at the end of the rotation we were in the operating room with a patient, prepped for a cyst removal. I had my hands resting on his back and was focusing my sight on the cyst when the intern got my attention. She silently placed the scalpel into my right hand and I had an immediate sense of clarity. I took the knife and excised the cyst. It felt completely natural and peaceful even though I had never done it before. It was as if I had learned it in a previous life and I felt the calm acknowledgement that this was what I was born to do."

Ivy League Training

Dr. Rodriguez began his career in the plastic surgery academic world after finishing his Plastic Surgery Residency at Yale. In 1988, he was invited to become a Professor of Plastic Surgery at Yale Medical School, where he was involved in wound care research, artificial skin research, and teaching residents how to perform both Cosmetic and Reconstructive surgery.

In continuing with his academic dedication, Dr. Rodriguez currently serves as a clinical instructor in the Johns Hopkins Plastic Surgery Department in Baltimore. JHU Plastic Surgery residents do a clinical rotation with Dr. Rodriguez in his surgery center in Lutherville, Maryland.

International Fellowships

While teaching at Yale University Medical School, Dr. Rodriguez traveled to several countries to learn surgical techniques from internationally acclaimed plastic surgeons. In France, he trained with Dr. Claude Lassus, the plastic surgeon who innovated the vertical breast reduction technique in the south of France over 30 years ago. Dr. Rodriguez has incorporated Dr. Lassus's technique as his standard for breast reduction surgery. In England, Dr. Rodriguez was awarded a Fellowship in Head and Neck Surgery with Professor Westbury at the Royal Marsden Hospital in London, England.

Research Interest in Adipose Stem Cells

After over a decade of fat grafting, Dr. Rodriguez has developed a research focus on cell enhanced fat grafting using stem cells from your own adipose tissue. Adipose Stem Cells (ASCs) are the new frontier of Plastic Surgery. In 2012, Dr. Rodriguez was selected by the ASPS to be a member of the Regenerative Medicine Task Force team, whose mission is to educate Board Certified Plastic Surgeons about Adipose Stem Cells and bring this promising new therapy to the clinical environment.

In 2013, Dr. Rodriguez and researchers from Johns Hopkins Medical School, University of Maryland Medical School, and biotech company Celsense were awarded a Stem Cell Grant from the Maryland Stem Cell Research Fund (MSCRF) to study the invivo tracking (in the body) of Adipose Stem Cells for radiation damaged breast tissue. This study is being conducted at Dr. Rodriguez's surgery center and is registered at the ClinicalTrials.gov website

Special Recognition from RealSelf

Dr. Rodriguez is a Top Doctor (a recognition awarded to less than 10% of doctors on RealSelf, earned by achieving high patient satisfaction reviews and favorable feedback on expert answers) and is one of 500 doctors worldwide to receive the RealSelf 500 Award, a prestigious award honoring the top rated and most engaged board-certified aesthetic doctors who consistently demonstrated a commitment to patient education and positive patient outcomes throughout 2016. Winners of the award excel at sharing their expertise, free of charge, with tens of millions of RealSelf community members seeking to make informed health and beauty decisions.

Special Recognition by the ASPS

Dr. Rodriguez is Board Certified by the American Board of Plastic Surgery, served as President of the Maryland State Society of Plastic Surgeons, John Staige Davis, and is an active member of the ASPS (American Society of Plastic Surgeons). In 2004, he was honored by the ASPS with the "Distinguished Service Award" for his outstanding commitment to plastic surgery education.

Dr. Rodriguez is an "official ASPS spokesperson" and as such discusses plastic surgery issues with the media on behalf on the ASPS. In 2007, he was invited to be part of the US delegation of Plastic Surgeons who traveled to China in 2008.

Throughout his career, Dr. Rodriguez has published many articles in medical journals and has been invited to lecture on various Plastic Surgery topics at the local, national and international level. In 2015 he was chosen to serve on the prestigious editorial Board of PSEN , the Plastic Surgery Educational Network, whose goal is to provide continuing education to Plastic Surgeons in training and established practice.

The ASPS invitation to join the Regenerative Medicine Task Force is one of Dr. Rodriguez's most prized accomplishments, as he has a passionate interest in the new exploding field of Regenerative Medicine and Adipose Stem Cells. He is scientific advisor for The GID Group and looks forward to bringing protocols for these stem cell therapies to the clinical environment.

Educational CosmeticSurg Blog

In keeping with his philosophy of helping patients, Dr. Rodriguez has been writing educational and informative posts in his blog since 2005. He writes about various cosmetic surgery procedures and responds to questions that he receives from readers. Clinical topics are wide ranging and include descriptions of his body lift technique, the use of pain pumps for the post op period, the importance of compression garments, and the reasons why fat grafting techniques affect surgical results.

In addition, since 2009, Dr. Rodriguez has been educating the general public on the topic of Adipose Stem Cells, which are stem cells derived from your own fat by liposuction. Stem cells from your our adipose tissue are the New Frontier of Plastic Surgery.

On a Personal Note

Dr. Rodriguez supports various national and local charities involved in Cancer Research. His hobbies include computing, sculpting, and biking. He has been happily married for 29 years and is the proud father of two children who graduated from Ivy League schools.

Fully Trilingual

Dr. Rodriguez attracts patients from all over the world. Not only is he an excellent surgeon, but he is fully trilingual, enabling him to speak with you in fluent Spanish, English, and French.

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