Larry S. Nichter, MD FACS

PRESIDENT AND FOUNDER

In 1987, Larry Nichter, MD, President and Founder of Plasticos Foundation, began what would become one of his lifelong missions: performing reconstructive surgery for those without resources and training surgeons to do the same around the world in the treatment of congenital deformities, trauma care, burn and hand reconstruction. Over time Dr. Nichter realized that most of the philanthropic organizations he worked with were focused on what could be accomplished on a single trip rather than teaching local medical professionals surgical skills needed to continue this work and magnify the benefit creating sustainability rather than dependence on visiting teams. “Teaching a man to fish” was the impetus to starting Plasticos Foundation in 1999, one of the earliest surgical relief nonprofits to focus on training, local independence, and enabling others to do the same. To date, Dr. Nichter has led or participated in more than 80 medical missions in multiple countries and continents, training hundreds of surgeons and countless medical personnel and overseeing the treatment of several thousand people for whom deformity would have been a life sentence. More importantly, those surgeons trained by Plasticos Foundation continue the ripple effect by restoring the lives of those less fortunate and training other surgeons as well. A film of a mission he served as trip leader to Vietnam near the Cambodia border won an Academy Award for the best documentary, entitled: A Story of Healing.
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An Honors Graduate of Boston University School of Medicine, and Surgical Residencies at UCLA and University of Virginia, Dr. Nichter has been a plastic and reconstructive surgeon for three decades. At USC, as a tenured Professor of Plastic Surgery at Children’s Hospital Los Angeles and subsequently in private practice where he served as Chairman, Department of Plastic Surgery at Hoag Hospital in Newport Beach, one of the largest Plastic Surgical Departments in the world. He has received national and international recognition for his surgical skills and compassionate involvement with patients and physicians alike. He has selected by his peers as one of “The Best Doctors in America”, Top Doctor”, “Most Compassionate Doctor” and research awards by the American College of Surgeons and others. Dr. Nichter has been featured in numerous publications and a recent cover story by Time Magazine highlighted his practice and surgical skill. Dr. Nichter has published more than one hundred peer review articles, book chapters in the field and has completed several fellowships as well as being triple Board certified by the American Board of Plastic Surgery and American College of Surgeons, including the Special Competency Certificate in Hand Surgery. His greatest passion is the honor of restoring the gift of health to those who otherwise are without hope matching his belief that we enrich our lives in direct proportion to how much we benefit those less fortunate than ourselves and empower others to do the same