About Dr. Chen Lee
Dr. Chen Lee is a Board Certified Plastic Surgeon & founder of Cosmetic Surgery Montreal
Undergraduate studies
Dr. Lee excelled in the classroom during his undergraduate studies at the University of Toronto. He studied pre-medicine and majored in Applied Mathematics. Dr. Lee was awarded two scholarships for academic excellence (the University College Alumni Scholarship and the CL Burton Open Scholarship). He completed his undergrad studies at the University of Toronto with a GPA of 4.15.
Medical School and Surgical Scientist Residency
In 1982, Dr. Lee was accepted into the University of Toronto Medical School and continued to succeed, which awarded him 3 scholarships (John Melady Award, Walter F Watkins Scholarship, and Dr. C S Wainwright Memorial Scholarship). In 1986, Dr. Lee graduated from the University of Toronto Medical School and relocated to Montreal where he was accepted into the competitive McGill University Surgical Scientist Residency Program. As a compulsory component of this surgical training, Dr. Lee was simultaneously enrolled as a postgraduate Master of Science student in Experimental Surgery at McGill University.
Dr. Lee’s research was on the fundamental reasons for ischemic plastic surgical flap failure. This plastic surgery investigation was extensively peer-reviewed, published, and recognized for its significance by being awarded the “best scientific paper” at the following meetings: Plastic Surgery Research Council, McGill University Surgical Resident’s Day, Quebec Society of Plastic Surgery, and The American Society of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgeons. Dr. Lee submitted and successfully defended his thesis, “Role of the Neutrophil in Post-Ischemic Skin Flaps”. In 1991, the Master of Science degree in Experimental Surgery was conferred to him at McGill University. Dr. Lee completed his clinical Plastic Surgery training in 1992.
Dr. Lee is a Montreal Plastic Surgeon, certified by the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada and by the American Board of Plastic Surgery. Dr. Lee’s comprehensive grasp of the broad scope of Plastic Surgery was demonstrated during the written examinations of the American Board of Plastic Surgery in 1992, where he was ranked 99th percentile in more than 350 candidates taking the examination. After a full residency and training in plastic surgery, Dr. Lee completed two additional subspecialty fellowships, training in Adult Craniofacial Trauma and Pediatric Craniofacial Surgery.
Plastic Surgery faculty member at the University of California
In 1994, Dr. Lee was recruited as an academic full-time Plastic Surgery faculty member at the prestigious University of California at San Francisco Medical Center. During this time, Dr. Lee specialized in the treatment of complex cosmetic, reconstructive, and oncologic deformities of the face, head, and neck. Dr. Lee became well-known for his expert management and cosmetic reconstruction of nasal, orbital, and facial defects resulting from trauma or cancer.
Dr. Lee developed and published his techniques for the repair of complex facial bone injuries using cosmetic considerations called “Endoscopic and Minimal Access Repair of Complex Facial Fractures”. Dr. Lee’s novel ideas were rapidly recognized and supported by an industry grant of $120000 to Chair a specially selected group of 6 international experts. Their objective was to advance instrumentation for minimal-access facial surgery. This mission was accomplished by launching an instrumentation system that is now freely accessible to practicing Plastic Surgeons. In 2000, Dr. Lee was promoted to the honored rank of Associate Professor (in-residence series) at the University of California at San Francisco.
Community involvement
Practicing Plastic Surgery in San Francisco, Dr. Lee also sought to bring compassionate Plastic Surgery care to the community. One proud program in which Dr. Lee was integrally involved, was to bring the benefits of Laser procedures to the underprivileged. To that end, Dr. Lee organized and served as the medical director for the outreach program “Second Chance Gang Tattoo Laser Removal” to help troubled youths reintegrate into society.
Montreal Plastic Surgeon returns home
In 2002, Dr. Lee was recruited back to Montreal as the Chairman of Plastic Surgery and Associate Professor at McGill University. After three years as Chairman of Plastic Surgery at McGill University, the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada fully accredited and commended the program for changes instituted by Dr. Lee and his faculty.
Creating AestheticaMD
Dr. Lee subsequently partnered with a Montreal plastic surgical colleague, Dr. Carlos Cordoba, to co-found AestheticaMD. In 2005, Dr. Lee left academic surgery, to devote his whole practice and attention to the private practice of plastic surgery, where he uses his extensive training and expertise to solve challenging cosmetic surgery problems of the face, neck, and body.
Educational Involvement in Plastic Surgery
Dr. Lee has participated in the training and teaching of more than 50 certified specialists in Plastic Surgery. These Plastic Surgeons graduates are certified and practicing in the following countries: Bermuda, Brazil, Canada, Korea, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, and the USA. As well, as training the next generations of plastic surgeons, Dr. Lee has assisted in certifying the credentials of Plastic Surgeons, and medical doctors, and maintaining standards of health care in Canada and the USA. In Canada, Dr. Lee was a 4-year member of the Plastic Surgery Examination Committee of the Royal College of Surgeons of Canada. In addition, Dr. Lee served as an examiner on multiple occasions for the American Board of Plastic Surgery, the Royal College of Surgeons of Canada, and the Medical Council of Canada.
A Montreal Plastic Surgeon’s Involvement with the AO Foundation
Dr. Lee is recognized as a leader in Plastic Surgery, which he has been previously appointed, and elected as Chairman of the Board of Craniomaxillofacial Surgery AO North America, a member of the AO International CMF Specialty Board, a senior member of the Board of Directors for the Canadian Plastic Surgery Education Foundation, past Parliamentarian and member of the Board of Directors for the Plastic Surgery Education Foundation in the USA. As a recognized expert and authority, Dr. Lee is often asked to serve as a peer reviewer for manuscripts submitted for publication in the following journals: Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery and the Journal of Craniomaxillofacial Trauma.
Worldly contribution to lecture and written work
Dr. Lee travels abroad frequently to lecture and teach plastic surgical techniques to physicians from around the world. Over the past decade, Dr. Lee has been invited to lecture in Australia, Canada, China, Columbia, Japan, Mexico, South Africa, Switzerland, Taiwan, Turkey, and the USA advancing the knowledge base of physicians in those countries. Dr. Lee has lectured at over 100 learned medical societies and has published over 60 plastic surgery articles in peer-reviewed journals. As well, as written and contributed to many book chapters on Plastic Surgery. Notable input includes authored publications in the leading medical peer-reviewed journal Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery and a highly regarded textbook in plastic surgery, Mathes’ textbook on “Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery”.
Dr. Lee has been invited to visit as a professor or keynote speaker by the Mexican Society of Plastic Surgeons, Japanese Oral Maxillofacial Society of Traumatology, Turkish Plastic Surgery Gulhane Military Medical Academy, Loma Linda University, Stanford University, University of Minnesota, Baylor College of Medicine, SUNY Long Island New York, and OMFS at Emory University.
Dr. Lee brings to your care, the unique combination of unsurpassed, high-tech training, cosmetic surgical training, and a reputation for artistic sense, balance, and proportion that will maximize your aesthetic enhancement and rejuvenation.
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