Ricardo A. Meade, MD
Dr. Ricardo Meade’s interest in plastic and reconstructive surgery was sparked during medical school at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston. The specific moment occurred while Dr. Meade was abroad completing a head-and-neck surgery rotation. Having spent many of his formative years in Monterrey, Mexico (where he became fluent in Spanish), he found the immersion in a foreign culture stimulating rather than disconcerting.
From there, Dr. Meade continued his training at Duke University in North Carolina. With a solid grounding in both general surgery and plastic surgery, he began his pursuit of the specialty which had by then become his passion – cosmetic surgery. Upon completion of his residency at Duke, Dr. Meade was appointed to a fellowship in Aesthetic Surgery at The University of Texas Southwestern at Dallas, where he further refined his cosmetic surgery skills.
Dr. Meade, director of the Breast Reconstruction Section of the NAPBC Accreditation Committee at The Medical Center of Plano, is actively involved in the education of the next generation of practitioners of his specialty. He advises and instructs the residents and fellows in cosmetic surgery at the Dallas Plastic Surgery Institute, and is a director and coordinator of the aesthetic fellowship sub specialty training program there.
Dr. Meade is board-certified by the American Board of Plastic Surgery. Consistent with The Medical Center of Plano’s focus on community service as one of its “Five Indicators of Success,” Dr. Meade throughout his career has given generously of his time and surgical expertise to the community that supports his practice. He has participated in several medical missions – one lasting an entire year – to underserved localities in Mexico. Whether performing reconstructive surgery on breast cancer survivors, or helping to correct deformities or imperfections, Dr. Meade takes great satisfaction in helping patients no matter what their economic circumstances.
“I have taken a keen interest in all forms of breast reconstruction ranging from DIEP flaps to one-step, single-stage reconstructions,” says Dr. Meade. “Every case brings me closer to understanding the techniques at a more advanced level.
“Our standard of care for every case is to work in tandem with the ablative surgeon to carefully plan the mastectomy design according to tumor biology and location,” he adds. “Nothing is more rewarding than to have a patient who has undergone a breast reconstruction and looks better after surgery than before!”
“My goal in reconstructive breast surgery includes minimizing the sense of loss by optimizing the result through the fewest number of surgeries.” – Dr. Ricardo Meade.
