Clinton Morrison to Lead Pediatric Plastic Surgery Team

Clinton S. Morrison, M.D., a plastic surgeon who recently completed his fellowship at Seattle Children’s Hospital, has been named the new Plastic Surgery Team Director for the Pediatric Cleft and Craniofacial Anomalies Center at UR Medicine’s Golisano Children’s Hospital.

 

Morrison, who joined the children’s hospital earlier this month, will lead the multidisciplinary team in their treatment of cleft lip, cleft palate, and other craniofacial anomalies.

“Clinton came with a tremendous academic track record and a sterling reputation as a surgeon,” said Howard N. Langstein, M.D., chief of the Division of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery. “We were thrilled with the opportunity to bring him to Rochester.”

 

A native of Louisville, Ky., Morrison graduated from the University of Louisville School of Medicine and completed his residency in the plastic surgery program at Rhode Island Hospital.

Morrison said that Golisano Children’s Hospital’s multidisciplinary approach to craniofacial care was one of the things that drew him to Rochester. Children with craniofacial anomalies often need to work with multiple specialists — such as dentists, speech therapists or geneticists — in addition to a plastic surgeon. A multidisciplinary approach allows those specialists to coordinate their care to give patients a continuum of coverage.

 

The approach, recommended by the American Cleft Palate-Craniofacial Association, is also used in Seattle, where Morrison did his fellowship.

“That’s one of the reasons I came here — the model was already set up to take care of patients in the same way,” said Morrison. “I love the set-up, because whenever we see patients, we can learn from one another, and our patients get expertise from many different specialists who contribute to their care.”

 

Morrison was drawn to plastic surgery because of how visible the work is and how life-changing it can be for recipients. Throughout his residency and fellowship, he found cleft palate and craniofacial work to be particularly appealing, because it allows him to see the same patients for years or even decades.

“There’s really no other subspecialty within plastic surgery where you get to follow children throughout their entire childhood,” he said. “You get to treat kids all the way from their first week or two of life, all the way until they’re fully-grown adults.”