Richard E. Kirschner MD, FAAP, FACS

Richard E. Kirschner, MD, FACS, FAAP, has joined Nationwide Children’s Hospital as chief of Plastic Surgery and director of the Cleft Lip and Palate Craniofacial Center.

Dr. Kirschner is nationally recognized as a leading authority in cleft lip and palate, resonance disorders, 22q11.2 deletion syndrome and hemangiomas/vascular malformations. He has been widely published in many leading professional publications, is co-editor of the text Comprehensive Cleft Care, and is actively involved in research and teaching. Dr. Kirschner has taught at educational symposia in several countries and is co-founder and medical director of Casa Azul America, Inc., a non-profit organization for the delivery of cleft care to underserved children in central Mexico.

He comes to Nationwide Children’s from the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, where he held the Mary Downs Chair for Craniofacial Treatment and Research and served as director of both the Cleft Lip and Palate Program and Plastic Surgery Research. He also served as program director for Plastic Surgery at The University of Pennsylvania.

Dr. Kirschner completed his medical training at the University of Miami, School of Medicine, graduating with Research Distinction in Microbiology and Pediatrics. He pursued his surgical training at Cornell University Medical Center, where he also completed a research fellowship. He then completed his Plastic Surgery residency at The University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine prior to serving as a fellow in Pediatric Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia.