Harold R Mancusi-Ungaro, Jr, MD

Bio

It is my pleasure to welcome you to our departments at Kaiser Santa Rosa: Plastic Surgery and/or Cosmetic Services. I have been with Kaiser Permanente since 2002 after twenty years in academic and private practice. Let me acquaint you with by background and training.

I grew up in New Jersey. I attended Yale University where I earned my Bachelor of Arts degree cum laude in 1969 and my Doctor of Medicine in 1973. I began my residency in general surgery at Yale-New Haven Hospital and completed training at Henry Ford Hospital taking time out to do research in plastic surgery at the VA Wadsworth Hospital Center and UCLA. After general surgery, I specialized in plastic and maxillofacial surgery at the University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston. The three-year Galveston program included time at the Shriners' Burns Institute as well as extensive experience in hand surgery and cosmetic surgery.

My goal after residency focused on an academic career in Plastic Surgery, Burns, and Trauma Surgery, including practicing, teaching and doing research. I started as an Assistant Professor of Surgery at the University of Texas Medical School at Houston in 1982. Progress up the academic ladder came as Assistant Professor and Director of the University Burn Unit at the University of Colorado Health Sciences Center and, later, as Associate Professor and Chief of the Division of Plastic Surgery as well as Director of the Regional Burn Center at the University of New Mexico School of Medicine. I left academia in 1990 for the private practice of Plastic and Cosmetic Surgery in Beaumont, Texas, until colleagues at Kaiser Permanente invited me to join Santa Rosa in 2002.

My credentials include previous certification by the American Board of Surgery and current certification by the American Board of Plastic Surgery with a Certificate of Added Qualifications in Hand Surgery. I am a Fellow of the American College of Surgeons and an active member of the American Society of Plastic Surgeons as well as many other professional organizations.

While I bring to Kaiser Permanente, Santa Rosa, a broad background and experience in both reconstructive and cosmetic plastic surgery, Kaiser Permanente has offered me an opportunity to focus on you, the patient. As they say, Kaiser Permanente lets doctors be doctors. It is truly an environment that lets me focus on you, the patient. I value that opportunity and I welcome you.

My Medical Specialty

More details about my specialty:

I have had many interests growing up, but I have, truly, always wanted to be a doctor. My MD marks the thirteenth and the twelfth consecutive generation in my family.

When I entered medical school, I intended to follow my father in the practice of pediatrics. That interest led me to an interest in birth defects and trauma in children. While it was one thing to study and theorize, plastic surgery introduced me to the opportunity to do something about them in the flesh, so to speak.

As with so many students, I am the product of fine mentors who showed me the way.

My specialty interests and affiliations within my field:

Training in general surgery was requisite for the academic career I wanted to pursue. Because of my propensity for plastic surgery, I focused on trauma surgery. As a trauma surgeon and a burn surgeon, I cared for the sickest. As a plastic surgeon, I help reconstruct their lives. I remain one of a minority of plastic surgeons elected to the American Association for the Surgery of Trauma.

Current projects or research:

Breast surgery constitutes a large part of our practice at Kaiser Permanente. We participate in an adjunct study of silicone gel-filled implants so that we can offer that option to our patients. While it is not research per se, it falls under a research protocol offered by the FDA, sponsored by Mentor Corporation and monitored through Kaiser Permanente's Institutional Review Board. Until the FDA decides differently, our active participation in the study is the only way to offer gel-filled implants as an alternative to saline-filled silicone implants.

Great health resources that I refer to:

There is probably more misinformation on the web than good information. I recommend the web sites offered by leading organizations, including Kaiser Permanente, and the specialty organizations. Sites include the American Society of Plastic Surgeons and the American Medical Association.

An interesting story from my training:

My career has been one of serendipities. When I was a junior medical student, I happened to be on the plastic surgery rotation and was asked to join a visiting professor at lunch, Duane Larson, Professor and Chief of Surgery at the Shriners' Burns Institute in Galveston. Years later, I entered the residency in Galveston, and Dr. Larson went into practice in Beaumont, Texas. Again after years passed, Dr. Larson introduced me at a meeting to the new plastic surgeon in Beaumont, Curtis Baldwin, who had gone there from Stanford. Two years later, I joined Dr. Baldwin in Beaumont. Dr. Baldwin eventually left Beaumont to return to California, specifically to start the Plastic Surgery program at Kaiser Permanente, Santa Rosa. Well, here I am.

Photos from My Training Years or of Practicing Medicine in My Field:

FACS 1985

Interests

Currently reading:
PC Magazine, PC World; The Wine Spectator

My favorite book or author:
Moby Dick

Great movie:
Sideways

Hobby Photos & Links:

Chaine des Rotisseurs, Beaumont, TX June 30, 2002

Bailliage des Etats-Unis, La Confrerie de la Chaine des Rotisseurs

Family & Friends

People in my life:

Sue grew up in Palo Alto. I lured her to Texas, took her to Colorado and New Mexico, and back to Texas. She is happy to be back home in the Bay Area!

My children and people I care about:

No father could be prouder than I am of my two children. Both Harold Themistocles (Temy) and Marianna are native Texans, born in Galveston. Both followed their grandfather and father to Yale. Both now pursue their own careers in New York City.

An interesting story about my family or friends:

I enjoy being here. I like what I do professionally. I enjoy living in an area where others vacation.

Photos of my Family & Friends:

Sue and CB in Santa Rosa

Temy '02, Marianna '04, Harold Jr '69, Harold Sr '40

Me & CB

Calypso is my second dog and second German Shepherd. She was a gift from a Texas sheriff I cared for. She's a real police dog.

Pet Photos:

Calypso

Travel

An adventure I've had:

Exciting can be a new Tom Clancy novel read in a hammock on the beach, taking time between pages to enjoy an afternoon or morning diving. It can be skiing, or better, stopping skiing long enough to look out over the mountains as far as the eye can see. It can be a warm afternoon and a taste of a wine you've never had before. Every new wine is an adventure.

Favorite place in the world:

I found myself in Florence, Italy, during summers in high school and a semester in college. I suspect that is part of my appreciation for Sonoma County.

One of my recent trips:

On my last vacation, I got as far as Tomales, then spent four hours and 50 km on my bicycle. I never considered myself an athlete; still don't. I have tried to take to heart -- so to speak -- Kaiser Permanente's new motto, "Be your own cause." Of course, it helps being egged on by my wife and friends.

Travel Photos:

Excitement

A Photo of One of My Favorite Places:

Wine Country: Sonoma or Tuscany?

Trip Photos:

Enjoying the Countryside

Other Links & Photos