Meet Dr. Russell H. Griffiths

​Background

Dr. Russell H. Griffiths is a board certified plastic and reconstructive surgeon. He completed his medical training at Washington University School of Medicine (ranked #5 by the US News and World Report). He became interested in treating deformities in the head and neck in children while in medical school and pursued this dream by completing a craniofacial surgery fellowship at the St. Louis Children’s Hospital. In 1998, he opened his practice, he quickly became a regional specialist treating craniofacial deformities including microtia.

Artist

Dr. Griffiths has a keen interest in art and sculpture and applies his careful visual analysis and artistic skills to creating a new standard for reconstructing external ears. His motto is “Artistry is in the Details.” He uses a template of each patient’s normal contralateral ear to carefully carve a new ear framework that matches each detail.

Innovation

Dr. Griffiths carefully studied the techniques of other world wide microtia specialist and recognized the limitations of the multi-stage technique for microtia reconstruction. Working diligently, he pioneered a new rib cartilage microtia reconstructive technique where the entire external ear and ear canal (including ear drum) can be reconstructed at the same time. By combining the multiple stages into one stage Dr. Griffiths is able to provide a more natural result at a lower overall risk and lower overall cost to the patient. To our knowledge, our team is the only team worldwide offering the one-stage technique with rib cartilage, and only one of two teams worldwide using the one-stage technique with Medpor. If your child is not a candidate for canalplasty our specially trained otologist can offer other surgical hearing restoration options that can be performed at the same time as your microtia reconstruction surgery ( BAHA or BONEBRIDGE).

Customized Care

Dr. Griffiths and his team recognize the importance of focusing on all aspects of your care from start to finish. We understand that this journey may seem overwhelming and we are here to help. We will assist in arranging preoperative tests at your local hospital to include labs and imaging studies. We will contact your insurance company for you and complete all pre certification steps so that you will know your out of pocket costs before you step on the airplane to come see us (Often, our insurance specialist Star Thomas is able to reduce you out of pocket expenses to a fraction of what it would cost you if you were to choose one of our competitors). We can help set up accommodations at our beautiful Ronald McDonald House or Bishop Foote’s House. We can also set up appointments with other pediatric subspecialists at our St. Luke’s Children’s Hospital if your child has other medical conditions that need to be addressed while you are here. We can even help arrange for follow up visits if necessary with a physician after you return home following your surgery.