Meet Dr. Parfitt

Dr. Parfitt received his Doctor of Medicine degree from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. While completing his medical degree, Dr. Parfitt was fascinated by the exacting precision required for cosmetic surgery of the face, while some other aspects of general cosmetic surgery, like body liposuction or breast surgery, never really appealed to him. Believing he discovered his specialty, he made the decision to become a specialist in facial cosmetic surgery.

Dr. Parfitt sought out to obtain the best training program in Otolaryngology for facial cosmetic surgery. He discovered that military training programs performed the most facial plastic surgery, since facial plastic surgery was free-of-charge to the military personnel and their families.

Facial plastic surgery, even cosmetic surgery, is necessary preparation for treating war-time skin and scalp wounds, as well as facial fractures and tissue trauma. Every approach used to repair facial trauma and fractures has a counterpart in cosmetic facial surgery and vice versa. Therefore, this training was considered necessary and essential for military war-time preparation. Since the supervisory surgeons in military surgical training programs were on salary and were paid no extra for doing these surgeries, the training resident was allowed to perform almost all of the surgery themselves.

Dr. Parfitt obtained his choice of military residencies at the US Naval Hospital-San Diego, completing his training in 1993. He became fully board-certified the following year.

Owing the Navy two years of service for this training, Dr. Parfitt sought out the Naval Hospital where he could get the most hands-on experience during those two years. One of the largest military bases in the world is located in Okinawa, Japan. This is where he and only one other otolaryngologist were responsible for the care of over 50,000 military personnel and their families. He soon became known for his excellent results with facial cosmetic surgery patients. Being the Head of the Otolaryngology, Head and Neck Surgery Department, having his own operating room, and being allowed to work as much as he liked, he filled any spare openings in his surgical schedule with facial cosmetic and reconstructive surgery patients. The experience gained during those two years was tremendous and invaluable.

After Dr. Parfitt’s six intensive years of facial cosmetic surgery experience, both board-certifications and military obligations, he wanted to further his training. Having tremendous respect for the face, Dr. Parfitt wanted his patients to have full confidence and trust in his abilities before they trust their face to him. He decided to devote another entire year to exclusively training in Facial Cosmetic and Reconstructive Surgery. With a particular interest in cosmetic facial plastic surgery, the choice location for this training was obvious: Beverly Hills, California. There was only one Facial Cosmetic and Reconstructive Surgery Fellowship available in Beverly Hills, and Dr. Parfitt was selected for this competitive position from more than 100 applicants.

While in Beverly Hills, Dr. Parfitt trained with some of the most highly respected and best in their field of facial cosmetic surgery, oculoplastic surgery and cosmetic dermatology, like Dr. Walter Berman, Dr. Frank Kamer, Dr. Henry Baylis, Dr. Norman Shorr and Dr. Zein Obagi. At the end of his fellowship year, he passed the oral and written certification examinations given by the American Academy of Facial Cosmetic and Reconstructive Surgery. This exam is widely known as the most comprehensive and difficult of all exams given in the field of facial cosmetic surgery.

With more than seven years of experience in the field of facial cosmetic surgery, including a year of intensive study and training in Beverly Hills exclusively in the field of facial cosmetic surgery, Dr. Parfitt was ready to develop his own facial cosmetic surgery center. He had grown up in Wisconsin and would often bring his children to visit their grandparents who all lived in Wisconsin (New London and Madison). He had gone to medical school in Madison and had grown to love the city, as did his family. For obvious reason to anyone who has lived in Madison and has moved elsewhere, he had always dreamed of coming back. Although his hands were trained in San Diego, Okinawa and Beverly Hills, his heart had been trained in Wisconsin, and he and his family longed to come back. Dr. Parfitt opened Parfitt Facial Cosmetic Surgery Center in Madison in 1996.