Dr. Afifi has trained in many areas of plastic & reconstructive surgery, having wished to become a plastic surgeon since the age of 12, when she watched a documentary about plastic surgeons who traveled to third world countries to perform reconstructive surgery on children and adults alike with birth and traumatic injuries. She committed herself to that goal and has been privileged to have been able to do what her dream was years ago.
She was accepted to an accelerated biomedical program at the age of 17, which allowed her to graduate from college Summa Cum Laude, and earn her medical degree soon after at the age of 23. She has completed twelve years of medical and surgical training. This has included a full general surgery residency at Yale after which she became Board Certified in General Surgery. She then completed a Plastic & Reconstructive Surgery residency at University of Pennsylvania, her second Ivy League school, after which she became Board Certified in Plastic Surgery..
In her quest to perform cleft lip and palate reconstruction in patients in third world countries, she then went on to have further training in Craniofacial Surgery at her third university, but now in southern California at Loma Linda University Medical Center. She has always committed herself to her surgical background and to every one of her patients.Although she is primarily in private practice, she continues her university affiliation as Clinical Assistant Professor at Loma Linda University and as Volunteer Clinical Assistant Clinical Professor at University of San Diego.
Dr. Afifi is a member of Operation Good Samaritan and Rotaplast International. Both organizations volunteer their time to change the lives of many adults and children in underdeveloped countries. With her specialized training in facial reconstruction, Dr. Afifi feels it is important for her to utilize her training for helping those who have deformities or abnormalities received at birth or through traumatic injuries.
She has been a featured speaker at conferences in such areas as the Middle East and Asia, has made presentations at universities around the country and has had a variety of medical art, illustrations and research papers published in newspapers, university medical publications and plastic surgery educational literature. Dr. Afifi is honored to help patients achieve their personal goals of self improvement through both cosmetic and reconstructive surgery.
