Meet Dr. Richard H. LeeNewport Beach Plastic Surgeon

Plastic Surgeon & Medical Spa Serving Newport Beach, Orange County & the Greater Los Angeles Area of California

a portait of Dr. Richard lee in a navy suit

Dr. Lee is a native of the San Francisco Bay Area. Born in Seoul, South Korea, Dr. Lee grew up in a physician household with his father, an orthopedic surgeon who was trained by the U.S. Army during the reconstruction following the Korean War.

Dr. Lee's Background

Due to political instability that preceded the age of Samsung and Hyundai and the economic explosion that is South Korea today, Dr. Lee immigrated with his family to the United States at a young age. As a youth, Dr. Lee pursued music through solo violin performance, competing in the annual UNICEF Youth Music Competition.

Ensemble musical performance was also integral with membership in the prestigious San Francisco Symphony Youth Orchestra with acclaimed tours through the most storied concert halls in Europe and a first-place finish at the International Youth Music Festival in Vienna, Austria.

Dr. Lee's Education

Dr. Lee attended the University of California, Berkeley, and obtained a Bachelor of Arts degree with the highest honors in molecular and cell biology in 1992. Dr. Lee also participated in various musical chamber ensembles and the UC Berkeley Symphony Orchestra. Dr. Lee was then accepted to the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, where he earned a Doctor of Medicine degree in the top quartile of his class in 1996.

Dr. Lee was accepted into a 7-year residency program in Plastic Surgery at the Johns Hopkins Hospital. He was recognized for publishing ten first-author papers in one research year in the field of traumatic facial injuries. His research was presented in professional plastic surgery meetings worldwide and published in plastic surgery journals that year.

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Richard H. Lee Plastic Surgery Office

Newport Beach Plastic Surgeon

After completing his residency at Johns Hopkins, Dr. Lee established his plastic surgery practice in Newport Beach, bringing the world-class standard in plastic surgery of Johns Hopkins Hospital to the greater Newport Beach, Orange County, and Southern California. Since then, Dr. Lee has become a widely recognized and sought-after plastic surgeon specializing in facial cosmetic and breast and body contouring surgery.

Education

M.D., The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine
Baltimore, Maryland 1996
Top Quartile of Class in Percentile Rank

B.A., University of California, Berkeley
Berkeley, California 1992
High Honors and Distinction in General Scholarship

Diploma, The Andrew P. Hill High School
San Jose, California 1988
Valedictorian

Postgraduate Training

Plastic Surgery Fellow
Department of Surgery
Division of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery
The Johns Hopkins Hospital
Baltimore, Maryland

Chief Resident
Department of Surgery
Division of General Surgery
The Johns Hopkins Hospital
Baltimore, Maryland

Senior Assistant Resident
Department of Surgery
Division of General Surgery
The Johns Hopkins Hospital
Baltimore, Maryland

Research Fellow
Department of Surgery
Division of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery
The Johns Hopkins Hospital
Baltimore, Maryland

Junior Assistant Resident
Department of Surgery
Division of General Surgery
The Johns Hopkins Hospital
Baltimore, Maryland

Intern
Department of Surgery
Division of General Surgery
The Johns Hopkins Hospital
Baltimore, Maryland

Hospital Privileges

Hoag Memorial Hospital Presbyterian
One Hospital Road
Newport Beach, California 92658

Newport Beach Surgery Center
361 Hospital Road, Suite 124
Newport Beach, California 92663

Irvine Regional Hospital and Medical Center
16200 Sand Canyon Avenue
Irvine, California 92618

Huntington Beach Hospital
17772 Beach Blvd.
Huntington Beach, California 92647

Awards and Honors

First Prize
Resident Article Contest
“Blunt Traumatic Craniofacial Injuries: A Comprehensive Analysis”
The Journal of Cranio-Maxillofacial Trauma

Ortho-McNeil Young Investigator Award
“Inhibition of TNF Attenuates Wound Healing”
Third Joint Conference of Wound Healing Society and
European Tissue Repair Society
Bordeaux, France

Henry Strong Dennison Research Award
The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine

The American Heart Association
Student Research Grant

Dean’s List
College of Letters and Science
University of California, Berkeley

Alumni Scholar
University of California, Berkeley

City of Vienna Prize
15th Annual International Youth & Music Festival
First Violinist
The San Francisco Symphony Youth Orchestra
Vienna, Austria

Presentations

“The Evolution of Craniofacial Trauma: An 11-Year Experience of the University of Maryland Shock Trauma Center” (oral)
American Association of Plastic Surgeons
78th Annual Meeting
Colorado Springs, Colorado

“Nitric Oxide Expression in the Healing Wound: A Time Course Study” (oral)
Plastic Surgery Research Council
44th Annual Meeting
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

“Insulin Resistance: A Role in Peripheral Neuropathy?”(poster)
Plastic Surgery Research Council
44th Annual Meeting
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

“Insulin Resistance: A Role in Peripheral Neuropathy?” (oral)
American Society for Peripheral Nerve
9th Annual Meeting
Los Angeles, California

“Inhibition of TNF Attenuates Wound Healing” (oral)
3rd Joint Meeting of The European Tissue Repair Society and The Wound Healing Society
Bordeaux, France

“Incisional Wound Healing in Two Different Strains of Inducible Nitric Oxide Synthase Knock-out (iNOS-KO) Mice” (poster)
3rd Joint Meeting of The European Tissue Repair Society and The Wound Healing Society
Bordeaux, France

“Nitric Oxide in the Healing Wound: A Time Course Study” (oral)
Owen H. Wangensteen Surgical Forum
85th Annual Clinical Congress of the American College of Surgeons
San Francisco, California

“Comprehensive Analysis of Craniofacial Injuries in
Motor Vehicle Collisions” (oral)
Biennial Meeting of The Johns Hopkins Medical and Surgical Association
Baltimore, Maryland

Publications

Lee RH. Manson PN. Robertson BC. Evolution of Craniomaxillofacial
Trauma. Seminars in Plastic Surgery. 16(3):283-293.

Lee RH. Efron DT. Tantry U. Barbul A. Nitric Oxide in the Healing
Wound: A Time Course Study. Journal of Surgical Research. 101(1):1-5

Lee RH. Gamble WB. Robertson B. Manson PN. Blunt Traumatic Craniofacial Injuries: A Comprehensive Analysis. The Journal of Cranio-Maxillofacial Trauma. 6(2):7-16

Lee RH. Efron DT. Tantry U. Stuelten C. Moldawer LL. Abouhamze A. Barbul A. Inhibition of Tumor Necrosis Factor-a Attenuates Wound Breaking Strength in Rats. Wound Repair and Regeneration. 8(6):547-53

Lee RH. Dellon AL. Insulin resistance: Does It Play a Role in Peripheral Neuropathy?. Diabetes Care. 22(11):1914-5

Lee RH. Efron DT. Tantry U. Barbul A. Nitric Oxide in the Healing Wound: A Time Course Study. Owen H. Wangensteen Surgical Forum Volume. L:636-8

Lee RH. Gamble WB. Robertson B. Manson PN. The MCFONTZL Classification System for Soft-tissue Injuries to the Face. Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery. 103(4):1150-7

Lee RH. Gamble WB. Mayer MH. Manson PN. Patterns of Facial Laceration from Blunt Trauma. Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery. 99(6):1544-54.

Personal

Citizenship: United States

Married

Children: 3

Certification

Board-Certified, American Board of Plastic Surgery

Certified, United States Medical Licensing Examination

Advanced Trauma Life Support
Maryland Institute of Emergency Medical Service Systems

Licensure

The Maryland State Board of Physician Quality Assurance
Physician License

The Medical Board of California
Physician & Surgeon License

Book Chapter

Lee RH. Tufaro AP. Prosthetic Substitutes in Chest Wall Reconstruction. Current Therapy in Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery.

Praise the Lord.
Blessed are those who fear the Lord, who find great delight in his commands.

Psalm 112