Jul 22, 2024 | admin
During National Cleft and Craniofacial Awareness and Prevention Month this July, we are honoring the many Diplomates of the American Board of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery (ABOMS) who specialize in these incredibly life-changing, challenging surgical procedures. Below, some of our cleft and craniofacial specialists share advice for doctors who are considering the same career.
Embrace the challenges, and you will see the rewards
“There is nothing more rewarding than being able to give someone a gift that is a direct result of your personal talents. Life can be difficult during the school/training period of your life. Stay focused and work hard. It will pay off!”
—Carlo Guevara, MD, DDS, FACS
“I first was introduced to the concept of cleft and craniofacial care through my residency program director Dr. Paul Deitrick. This piqued my interest and led me to apply and undergo fellowship training. Through the long-standing, high-volume, and compassionate practice of my fellowship mentors Drs. Kevin Smith and Paul Tiwana, I grew enamored with the life-changing aspect these surgeries can provide. The challenge of minimizing the amount of procedures, the correct timing of the interventions, and the patient-specific tailoring of each surgery, presents a unique opportunity for lifelong learning and quality improvement.
…The multidisciplinary nature of cleft and craniofacial care can lend itself to political and territorial battles. Stay positive and don’t let it get you down. Keep fighting the good fight, you are well-trained and deserve equal treatment at the table. The single most important factor is to provide excellent patient care. Remember it’s a marathon, not a sprint.”
—Nicholas Mechas, DMD
Lean into the emotional side of your work
“Reaching the conclusion that your future lies in cleft and craniofacial surgery brings with it the awe-inspiring and often frightening realization that you will hold in your hands some of the specialty’s smallest and most vulnerable patients. In the midst of considering the wealth of knowledge and skill you will require to perform your healing craft for these tiny subjects, please take a moment to step back and recall not only how your mentors incised, repositioned, and repaired but also how they shared victories and tears with families; how they made patients feel like people. These are some of the most valued keepsakes from my training.”
—Jason E. Dashow, DDS, MD
Your practice may evolve and take different forms
“My practice is a hybrid private, hospital, and academic setting. I work in the operating room on Monday and Wednesday. This is where I provide surgeries for cleft lip and palate, orthognathic cases, trauma, and patients with complex medical conditions. My consult days at my private practice are Tuesdays and Thursdays. Fridays are reserved at my private practice for outpatient dentoalveolar surgeries. I am the surgeon for the Western Michigan cleft team and we meet once a month at the university. I am a clinical professor at Western Michigan Medical School and teach pediatric, emergency medicine, and general surgery residents about craniofacial surgery. Medical students and residents rotate with me in the operating room to provide additional education in facial reconstructive surgery.
Fifty percent of my practice is dedicated to treating pediatric patients. This includes cleft lip and palate, other facial differences, orthognathic surgery, acquired deformities, and outpatient pediatric anesthesia. My practice has evolved over the years. It has taken many years to mold my practice to my interests and training. I continually strive to improve my practice to better serve the population in southwest Michigan.”
—David Wilson, DMD, MD, FACS
“For a craniofacial surgeon, my practice paradigm may be a bit different than most in the United States. I run a private practice, where I am just as likely to go into the hospital to see a trauma case in the middle of the night for no remuneration as I am to perform Medicaid cleft and craniofacial procedures or place fee-for-service hybrid implant dentures. The fortunate twist here is that I have never once stratified to serve a particular surgical need or financial goal. If a patient can benefit from my help and I have the skill set to provide for this need, I help them. Personally, this practice approach has clarified for me that as long as I am busy doing what I love to do, providing a needed service as an OMFS, I will never have to think of my practice simply as a way to make money. Fruit follows pursuit.”
—Jason E. Dashow, DDS, MD
About Carlo Guevara, MD, DDS, FACS: Dr. Carlo Guevara is a California native who moved to Florida almost 10 years ago. Dr. Guevara was born and raised in Los Angeles, California, and graduated with a Bachelor of Science from the University of Southern California. Upon graduating, Dr. Guevara then attended Columbia University in New York City, where he graduated in the top 10% of his class earning his Doctorate of Dental Surgery (DDS) degree. At that time, he was accepted to the University of Florida at Jacksonville where he was trained in the broad scope of Craniomaxillofacial surgery, including complex facial reconstruction and airway surgery. During that period, Dr. Guevara graduated from the University of Florida College of Medicine with his Medical Degree (MD) and completed a 1-year General Surgery Internship. Following his residency training, he completed an additional fellowship year of specialized training in Craniofacial Surgery at the University of Florida and Wolfson Children’s Hospital in Jacksonville, FL. Upon completion of his fellowship training, Dr. Guevara became a Clinical Assistant Professor at the University of Florida Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery in Gainesville, FL. He spent 2 years there as one of two Craniofacial Surgeons on the Cleft and Craniofacial team. He is now in private practice in Fort Lauderdale, FL. Dr. Guevara has authored numerous articles and book chapters, as well as lectured locally, nationally, and internationally on topics including Craniofacial surgery, facial trauma, and cleft surgery.
About Nicholas Mechas, DMD: Dr. Nick Mechas was born in Montreal but moved to Kentucky when he was young. He received both bachelor’s and dental degrees from the University of Louisville, graduating Magna Cum Laude. Dr. Mechas completed his Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery Residency at Temple Hospital. Next, Dr. Mechas completed a Cleft Lip, Cleft Palate, and Craniofacial Surgery Fellowship in Oklahoma. He is a full-time faculty and associate professor at the University of Tennessee College of Dentistry. Dr. Mechas serves on the membership committee for the ACPA.
About David Wilson, DMD, MD, FACS: Dr. David Wilson is a board certified craniofacial surgeon specializing in cleft and craniofacial surgery. Dr. Wilson is from Portland, Oregon, where he completed his undergraduate training at Lewis and Clark College and dental school at Oregon Health and Science University. He went on to complete his oral and maxillofacial surgery training and obtain his medical doctorate at the University of Michigan. Following his residency in general surgery at UofM, Dr. Wilson pursued a fellowship in pediatric craniofacial surgery with Dr. Pat Ricalde at the Florida Craniofacial Institute in Tampa, Florida. His surgical training has provided expertise in the management of pediatric congenital malformation, complex facial trauma, orthognathic surgery, benign tumor management, and managing medically complex patients. Dr. Wilson joined Kalamazoo Oral & Maxillofacial Surgery in July 2015. Dr. Wilson is also the surgeon for the Western Michigan Cleft Team where he strives to provide individualized care to improve the overall well-being of his patients. He lectures on the subject of pediatric craniofacial anomalies at national meetings including the American Cleft Palate-Craniofacial Association and American Association of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons. He is a clinical professor at Western Michigan University School of Medicine and participates in clinical research projects to improve surgical care for patients.
About Jason E. Dashow, DDS, MD: Dr. Dashow is a board certified oral and pediatric cleft/craniofacial surgeon. He is an active professor at the University of Washington School of Medicine and an oral examiner for the American Board of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery (ABOMS). Dr. Dashow completed a two-year cleft and craniofacial surgical fellowship at LSU Hospital in Shreveport, Louisiana, receiving subspecialized training in the correction of pediatric cleft and craniofacial anomalies. He completed both medical school and an Oral & Maxillofacial Surgery residency at the University of Michigan. In addition to this training, Dr. Dashow completed a 2-year general surgery internship and specialty anesthesia training at the University of Michigan. Prior to surgical training, Dr. Dashow received a dental degree from the University of Washington.