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UCI Plastic Surgery
UCI Plastic Surgery 
Gregory R.D. Evans, MD
Gregory R.D. Evans, MD | Orange County Plastic Surgeon
Dr. Gregory Evans is the Professor of Plastic Surgery and Biomedical Engineering, Founding Chair, Department of Plastic Surgery, Past President American Society of Plastic Surgeons, past director of the American Board of Plastic Surgery and currently Senior Trustee and the chair of the international committee for the American Society of Plastic Surgeons.
He is one of the most widely respected aesthetic and reconstructive surgeons in the country and is the past President of the American Society of Plastic Surgeons.
Dr. Evans focuses on a full spectrum of plastic surgery of the face, eyes, abdomen, breasts and body contouring. His results are meticulous and elegant. He is perhaps best known for performing cancer reconstruction procedures, including free tissue transfer for head, neck and breast.
Dr. Evans was recently ranked among the top one percent of plastic surgeons.
The doctors at UCI Plastic Surgery are leaders in the field of cosmetic surgery. Through their teaching and lecturing roles at UCI, they stay current with state-of-the-art techniques and technology. With their advanced technical skills, they consistently produce better, more natural-looking results for their patients.
To learn more about how a breast lift can improve your profile, contact UCI Plastic Surgery to schedule a consultation at one of our five locations in Orange, Costa Mesa, Tustin, Yorba Linda and Newport Beach, CA.
Practice Philosophy for Practicing Medicine
Every patient in Dr. Evan’s practice is looking for something unique to that person. At his consultations, he stays open and observant – answering questions and trying to understand motivation. In the case of reconstruction after cancer, the goal is always is to restore form and function. Aesthetics are primary, of course, but so too is a person’s ease of movement and ability to enjoy life.
“It’s my job to try to clear up the myths and make sure each patient is clear about the benefits and risks.”
Dr. Evans says that patients are a lot more savvy – they know what they want and how they want it done. It’s a great advantage when someone has done the research because it means they are going to take responsibility for their own care before and after the procedure. Of course, there is a downside because there’s lots of hype and misinformation on the internet, in articles etc. “I prefer an educated patient – one who has done some homework before we meet,” says Dr. Evans.
"I recommend what I think is best. I’m open, honest and really want to partner with my patients.”
Most of Dr. Evans’ patients come from word-of-mouth referrals. He builds a relationship with each one and through written questionnaires, notes from referring physicians and a candid conversation with each patient, he then determines if he can recommend proceeding. He says, “It is said in his field that the reason the medical education program is so long is to learn who NOT to operate on.”
The Benefit of a Plastic Surgeon
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“Solving complex reconstruction issues has made me a better general plastic surgeon.”
Dr. Evans likes doing a variety of operations in a given week, working on every part of the body. He says it allows him to use a combination of innovation and artistry to create beautiful, individualized results. He says there are not a lot of operations he hasn’t done. This breadth of knowledge and observation serves him well whether for reconstruction or general plastic surgery.
Education & Training
- High School – Warren High School Downey California – graduated 1976
- Undergraduate School USC – Major in Psychobiology – Graduated 1980
- Worked ER Tech and Ambulance Driver – 1980-1981
- Medical School USC 1981-1985
- General Surgery LAC -USC Medical Center – still have my General Surgery Boards 1985-1990
- Plastic Surgery the Johns Hopkins Hospital/University of Maryland Program 1990-1993
- Craniofacial/Microvascular Surgery Training 1992-1993 W. Crawley Shock Trauma Center
- Faculty and microvascular fellowship program director The MD Anderson Cancer Center 1993-1990
- Division Chief the Aesthetic and Plastic Surgery Institute the University of California Irvine 2000-2013
- Found Chair Department of Plastic Surgery the University of California Irvine – 2013-Present
Recent Publications
Personal Interests
Although Dr. Evans spends 70-80 hours a week in his practice, he also spends a good deal of his free time with his wife of 32 years and their two children. He is a runner, mountain biker, snow skier, and says he “dabbles in golf.” Traveling extensively for both work and pleasure is important to him because he loves to integrate himself into the culture, learn about international trends that he can apply to his practice, and discover new ways to solve surgical problems.
Dr. Evans is also on social media! Click on an icon below:
Get To Know Dr. Evans
- Downey California
- Native Californian
- Lived in Baltimore Maryland 1990-1993
- Lived in Houston Texas 1993-2000
- Determined
- Perfectionist
- Happy
I became a plastic surgeon a plastic surgeon because my mother had a traumatic injury to her nose when I was 13. This was repaired by Libby Wilson, MD a new plastic surgeon in the area. I began volunteering with her at Rancho Los Amigos Hospital along with Gary Brody. I continued this until I started Undergraduate School. I continued my interest in plastic surgery and during General Surgery formally applied to Plastic Surgery Programs. Being a Plastic Surgeons encompasses art and surgical skills – in all we try to achieve the best overall aesthetic outcome no matter what we are operating on.
Plastic surgery allows me to combine my artistic side with a surgical “to fix” side. Because we operate on all aspects of the body, it also allows me something new each day. One day I am working on the abdomen, the next on the foot, the next on the face and the next on the extremity. Each day we are working on a different area of the body to restore whole that which trauma, cancer or congenital issues have taken away
- Obtained the appropriate training
- Lifelong learning
- Review your outcomes and make changes accordingly
- Be available for your patients and referral physicians
- Attend conference on advance and up to date techniques
- Read the literature
- Mountain bike
- Walking/hiking
- Snow Skiing
- Collecting wine
- Traveling
- Foodie
- Married 34 years
- 2 Children
I think if one is a good reconstructive surgeon, it makes you a better aesthetic surgeon and visa versa. What we learn in the process of restoring form and function to patients is to look for the most aesthetic outcome as possible.
I think despite the years I have been in this profession, every individual is different. I can perform the same operation on 10 people and get 10 different results. As such, there are still operations that I perform in which the outcome is not what we expect. Fortunately, with my extensive training and background, we can deal with any setback or obstacles that may occur within surgery
The people who trained me continue to be my mentors and best advocates to my career. In addition, mentors throughout the country include many other plastic surgery Chairs and Division Chiefs. On a personal side my former father-in-law and one of my partners are great sounding boards for personal discussion.
I think that I have become more appreciative of life and the realization that it can be flitting. I think it has made me more tolerant to diversity issues, as well as accepting of deformities and patients experiencing cancer, trauma and severe disease.
- I am the teacher of teachers and the teacher of future plastic surgeons. It is my job to determine and train future plastic surgeons and ensure that they are competent as well as having the ability to practice independently. I have been asked to lecture worldwide on topics of plastic surgery and I have been a member of the American Board of Plastic Surgery. I give the oral examinations for certification in plastic surgery and I also have participate in certification of plastic surgeons worldwide
- President American Society of Plastic Surgeons
- Former Program director for residency education UCI for over 20 years
- Found Chair Department of Plastic Surgery UCI
- Active in research and questions involving the improvement of plastic surgery techniques and surgical options