Meet Dr. Radbeh Torabi

I became a plastic surgeon due to the diversity of patients, procedures, and areas of the body I
can treat. The detail and meticulous nature of planning and executing treatment plans was an additional attraction. Upon completion of medical school, I participated in a National Institute of Health funded research fellowship at

Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) focused on transplantation tolerance protocols and their application to vascularized composite allotransplantation including hand and face transplantation. These research years allowed me to better establish my fundamentals of critical thinking and progression of translational research to improve clinical problems. This time also was the initiation of my experience with finer detailed procedures including microsurgery.

Following my research fellowship, I served as a general surgery resident for my first two years of training at MGH. This experience was crucial in establishing fundamentals of care applicable to all surgical patients. I then moved to the wonderful city of New Orleans as an integrated plastic surgery resident at Louisiana State University. The training was diverse and original. My plastic surgery training provided a balanced approach of cosmetic and reconstructive procedures. Application of cosmetic principles to reconstructive procedures and reconstructive principles to cosmetic procedures help optimize patient outcomes and satisfaction. This training also provided a strong emphasis in autologous breast reconstruction and in-depth experience with the use of perforator based free flaps. I was able to continue my affection of medical progress through clinical research projects including autologous reconstruction, migraine surgery, patient satisfaction, decreasing narcotic medication, and cosmetic surgery outcomes and safety. The summation of my experiences has been ideal in its application to a well-rounded practice including aesthetic and reconstructive procedures. My goal is to provide precise and reliable results while emphasizing compassionate care through communication and optimization of the patient physician relationship.

EDUCATION

Education

• MD, Cum Laude – American University of Antigua, 2010

Postdoctoral Training

• Post-Doctoral Surgery Research Fellowship, Transplantation Biology Research Center (Dr. David H. Sachs), Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, 2010-2012
• Residency, General Surgery, Massachusetts General Hospital, 2012-2014
• Residency, Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery, Louisiana State University Health Sciences Center, 2014-2020

Research

• Research Assistant, Transplantation Biology Research Center (Dr. David H. Sachs), Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, 2009
• Research Assistant, Department of Otolaryngology – Head and Neck Surgery (Dr. HoSheng Lin), Wayne State University School of Medicine, 2008-2009

• Scholarly Research Award, Outstanding Plastic Surgery Resident, Louisiana State University Health Sciences Center 2016,2017,2018
• ASPS In-Service Award, Outstanding Integrated Plastic Surgery Resident, Department of Surgery, Louisiana State University Health Sciences Center, 2015, 2016
• The Transplantation Society Travel Grant, 10th Meeting of the International Society of Hand and Composite Tissue Allotransplantation, Oral Presentation, 2011
• Ruth L. Kirschstein National Research Service Award, National Institute of Health, Research in Transplantation, 2011

Report of Scholarship

Published Book Chapter

Torabi R., Villani V., Mallard C. A., Cetrulo C.L., JR. The Translational Potential of Perinatal
Stem Cells in Clinical Medicine: Mesenchymal Stem Cells. In Cetrulo K., Cetrulo C.L., Jr. and
Taghizadeh R.R., Jr. (Eds.), Perinatal Stem Cells 2nd Edition, Wiley, John & Sons, Incorporated,
Hoboken, Chapter 8: 105-117, 2013.

Peer Reviewed Articles in Print
Leto Barone A.A., Leonard D.A., Torabi R., Mallard C., Glor T., Scalea J.R., Randolph M.A.,
Sachs D.H., Cetrulo C.L. Jr. The gracilis myocutaneous free flap in swine: an advantageous
preclinical model for vascularized composite allograft transplantation research. Microsurgery
2013; 33 (1): 51-55.
Torabi R. and Cetrulo C.L. Jr., Scalea J.R., Shimizu A, Leto Barone A.A., Gillon B.C., Tasaki
M., Leonard D.A., Cormack T.A., Villani V., Randolph M.A., Sachs D.H., Yamada K.
Vascularized Composite Allograft Transplant Survival in Miniature Swine: Is MHC Tolerance
Sufficient for Acceptance of Epidermis. Transplantation 2013; 96 (11): 966-974.
Tasaki M., Shimizu A., Henekamp I., Torabi R., Villani V., Yamada K. Rituximab Treatment
Prevents the Early Development of Proteinuria Following Pig-to-Baboon Xeno-kidney
Transplantation. Journal of the American Society of Nephrology 2014; 25 (4): 737-44.
Scalea J.R., Okumi M., Villani V., Shimizu A., Nishimura H., Gillon B.C., Torabi R., Cormack
T., Moran S., Leguern C., Sachs D.H., Yamada K. Abrogation of Renal Allograft Tolerance in
MGH Miniature Swine: The Role of Intra-Graft and Peripheral Factors in Long-Term
Tolerance. American Journal of Transplantation 2014; 14 (9): 2001-2010.
Scalea J.R., Torabi R., Tena A., Tasaki M., Gillon B.C., Moran S., Cormack T., Villani V.,
Shimizu A., Sachs D.H., Yamada K. The Rejuvenating Effects of Leuprolide Acetate on the
Aged Baboon’s Thymus. Transplantation Immunology 2014; 31 (3): 134-139.
Leto Barone A.A., Mastroianni M, Farkash E.A., Mallard C., Albritton A., Torabi R., Leonard
D.A., Kurtz J.M., Sachs D.H., Cetrulo C.L. Jr. Genetically Modified Porcine Split-Thickness
Skin Grafts as an Alternative to Allograft for provision of Temporary Wound Coverage:
Preliminary Characterization. Burns, 2015; 41 (3): 565-574.
Madariaga M.L., Shanmugarajah K., Michel S.G., Villani V., La Muraglia G.M., Torabi R.,
Leonard D.A., Randolph M.A., Colvin R.B., Yamada K., Madsen J.C., Cetrulo C.L. Jr., Sachs
D.H. Immunomodulatory Strategies Directed Toward Tolerance of Vascularized Composite
Allografts. Transplantation, 2015; 99 (8): 1590-1597.
Leto Barone A.A., Kurtz J.M., Albritton A., Mallard C.A., Shanmugarajah K., Torabi R.,
Leonard D.A., Randolph M.A., Huang C.A., Sachs D.H., Cetrulo C.L. Jr. Effects of transient
donor chimerism on rejection of MHC-mismatched vascularized composite allografts in swine.
Vascularized Composite Allotransplantation, 2015; 2 (1): 1-8.
Mayo J.L., Canizares O., Torabi R., Allen R.J., St. Hilaire H. Expanding the Applications of the
Profunda Artery Perforator Flap. Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery, 2016; 137 (2): 663-669.
Torabi R., Strong A.L., Hogan M.E., Dupin C.L., Tessler O., Lau F.H. Bone and Tendon
Coverage via Dehydrated Human Amniotic/Chorionic Membrane and Split-Thickness Skin
Grafting. Journal of Reconstructive Microsurgery Open, 2016; 1 (1): 59-62

Villani V., Bohnen J.D., Torabi R., Sabbatino F., Chang D.C., Ferrone C.R. “Idealized” vs.
“True” Learning Curves: The Case of Laparoscopic Liver Resection. Hepato-Pancreato-Biliary,
2016; 18 (6): 504-509
Sadeghipour H., Torabi R., Gottschall J., Lujan-Hernandez J., Sachs D.H., Moore F.D. Jr.,
Cetrulo C.L. Jr. Blockade of IgM-Mediated Inflammation Alters Wound Progression in a Swine
Model of Partial-Thickness Burn. Journal of Burn Care and Research, 2017; 38 (3): 148-160
Leonard D.A., Mallard C., Albritton A., Torabi R., Mastroianni M., Sachs D.H., Kurtz J.M.,
Cetrulo C.L. Jr., Skin Grafts from Genetically Modified alpha-1,3-galactosyltransferase
Knockout Miniature Swine: A Functional Equivalent to Allografts. Burns, 2017; 43(8): 1717-
1724
Tessler O., Bourn L., Lin S.J., Dupin C., Mundinger G.S., Patterson C., St.Hilaire H., Bartow M.,
Torabi R., Hanemann M., Cosmetic Surgeon Representation: Ensuring Board Certification
Transparency and Patient Awareness. Annals of Plastic Surgery, 2018; 80 (6S): S431-S436
Torabi R., Stalder M.W., Tessler O., Bartow M.J., Lam J., Patterson C.W., Wise M.W., Dupin
C.L., St. Hilaire H., Assessing Age as a Risk Factor for Complications in Autologous Breast
Reconstruction. Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery, 2018; 142 (6): 840e-846e
Torabi R., Bourn L., Mundinger G.S., Saeg F., Patterson C., Gimenez A., Wisecarver I., St.
Hilaire H., Stalder M., Tessler O., American Society of Plastic Surgeons Member Post-operative
Opiod Prescribing Patterns. Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery Global Open, 2019; 7 (3): e2125
Bourn L., Torabi R., Stalder M., St. Hilaire H., Allen R., Delatte S., Torabi R.,
Zakhary J., Tessler O., American Society of Plastic Surgeons Member Post-operative Opiod
Prescribing Patterns. Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery Global Open, 2019; 7 (3): e2166
Tessler O., Guste J., Bartow M., Torabi R., Gimenez A., Patel S., Torabi R., St.
Hilaire H., Allen R., Stacked Lateral Thigh Perforator Flap as a Novel Option for Autologous
Breast Reconstruction. Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery, 2019; 143 (6): 1601-1604
Tessler O., Torabi R., Reply: Assessing Age as a Risk Factor for Complications in Autologous
Breast Reconstruction. Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery, 2019; 144 (4): 703e-704e
Artz J., Tessler O., Clark S., Torabi R., Moses M., Can It Be Safe and Aesthetic? An Eight-year
Retrospective Review of Mastopexy with Concurrent Breast Augmentation. Plastic and
Reconstructive Surgery Global Open, 2019; 7 (6): e2272