John Meara

John G. Meara, MD, DMD, MBA, is an American pediatric plastic surgeon, and is currently serving as the Plastic Surgeon-in-Chief of the [http://www.childrenshospital.org/plastic Department of Plastic Surgery] at Children's Hospital Boston. His specialties include cleft lip and palate surgeries, as well as the treatment of craniofacial anomalies. Dr. Meara holds board certifications in plastic surgery as well as otolaryngology.

Education

Meara graduated with highest honors from the University of Notre Dame in 1986. He went on to receive his medical degree from the University of Michigan Medical School in 1990. He completed his Dentistry degree at the University of Pennsylvania in 1993, and received his MBA from [http://www.mbs.edu Melbourne Business School] in 2004. Dr. Meara is also a Fellow of the American College of Surgeons as well as the [http://www.surgeons.org Royal Australasian College of Surgeons] . In addition, Meara has also held academic appointments at the USC Schools of [http://www.usc.edu/schools/medicine Medicine] and [http://www.usc.edu/hsc/dental Dentistry] , the University of Melbourne, and Harvard Medical School.

Global Surgery Fellowship - Pioneering Education and Training

As the globalization of healthcare becomes more of a reality in today’s world, many skilled practitioners are choosing to leave their native countries and practice in more lucrative settings (a phenomenon referred to as brain drain). However, physicians practicing in developed countries have begun to see personal rewards in donating their services to these same developing settings that native practitioners are leaving. [Farmer, Paul, Jennifer J Furin and Joel T Katz, "Education and Practice: Global health equity." The Lancet Vol 363, May 29, 2004 [http://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140673604163253/fulltext] ] While in the past, global health efforts have focused more on overall population health, the importance of surgery in the role of population well-being has become increasingly recognized. [Farmer Paul and Jim Kim, "Surgery and Global Health: A View from Beyond the OR." Official Journal of the International Society of Surgery, Published online: 3 March 2008 [http://globalhealthdelivery.org/blog/?p=121] ] Increasingly, medical residents and fellows have begun to use vacation time in order to participate in short, usually focused surgical missions to resource-poor settings. [Karamichalis, John and Mecker G. Moller. "Surgery residents and volunteerism." July 2005 Bulletin of the American College of Surgeons. [http://www.facs.org/fellows_info/bulletin/2005/karamichalis0705.pdf] ] While these efforts are commendable, Dr. Meara and others within the medical community have been active to see that more is done.

As a distinguished surgeon in the field of pediatric plastic surgery who also happens to have an avid interest in health policy, Dr. Meara began to explore existing interest for a collaborative Global Surgery Fellowship in 2007. It was found that Meara shared his vision with Dr. Paul Farmer, the noted physician/anthropologist and co-founder of [Partners in Health] . Farmer had continuously expressed interest in developing a surgical component of medical training to complement the Global Health Residency he helped to develop at Brigham and Women’s Hospital. While there are concerns as to the feasibility of creating fully-functioning and self-sustaining surgical services in developing nations using surgical fellows, Meara, Farmer, and a host of other medical professionals agree that it would be an injustice not to try. [Farmer Paul and Jim Kim, "Surgery and Global Health: A View from Beyond the OR." Official Journal of the International Society of Surgery, Published online: 3 March 2008 [http://globalhealthdelivery.org/blog/?p=121] ] Dr. Meara’s interest in health equity, coupled with his surgical training, serve as an asset in seeing the goal of an operational, first of its kind surgical fellowship realized.

Key to the success of the Global Surgery Fellowship is the collaborative aspect. Both [http://www.childrenshospital.org Children’s Hospital Boston] and Brigham and Women’s Hospital are embarking on a joint venture in launching this fellowship. With this mutual interest and the creation of a surgical executive committee of additional leading medical professionals, efforts were undertaken to make the Fellowship a reality.

While Partners in Health focuses on improving the access and availability of primary care services (immunizations, maternal and child health, and infectious disease care and prevention) in resource-poor settings, a surgical option has never become a primary part of the model of care on a consistent scale. Other NGO’s (such as Operation Smile) have specialized in arranging surgical trips of one to three weeks in resource-poor settings, but this has done little to advance the continuity of surgical care in these settings. The primary goal of the Fellowship in Global Surgery is to give resource-poor settings the training and materials necessary to provide their own self-sustaining surgical options.

Due to the already strong health presence of Partners in Health in Haiti, the primary Global Surgery implementation process will take place at the Zanmi Lasante Hospital site. The eventual goal of the Fellowship is to be able to develop a model that can be replicated in other resource-poor settings, with target sites in Africa, such as Liberia being discussed. As with Partners in Health, the goal of the Global Surgery Fellowship is not only to provide services to those who need them most, but to train other clinicians who will remain in the area after visiting practitioners have returned to their respective countries. In employing this strategy, it is hoped that the Fellowship’s goal of creating self-sustaining surgical services will be realized.

Hospital Involvement

Dr. Meara has honed his medical and administrative skills at the [http://www.childrenshospitalla.org Childrens Hospital of Los Angeles] , Royal Children's Hospital, and [http://www.childrenshospital.org Children’s Hospital Boston] . While at USC, Meara was an attending physician. He stepped into a larger Royal Children's Hospital in Melbourne Australia, where he served as Chief of Surgery. Dr. Meara has also served in an additional administrative capacity as the Director of the Children’s Craniofacial Association of Australasia Limited, and as a delegate to the Victorian Middle East Health Sector Mission, Department of Human Services in 2005-2006.

At Children's Hospital Boston, Meara was on hand for the expansion of the then Division of Plastic Surgery into an independent [http://www.childrenshospital.org/plastic Department of Plastic Surgery] , one of few in the country. The department offers a focus on multidisciplinary clinics to help in the development and coordination of on-going care for a host of unique congenital and acquired deformities. The department offers multi-disciplinary clinics in [http://www.childrenshospital.org/clinicalservices/Site1858/mainpageS1858P0.html Cleft Lip and Palate] , [http://www.childrenshospital.org/clinicalservices/Site1862/mainpageS1862P0.html Craniofacial Anomalies] , and [http://www.childrenshospital.org/clinicalservices/Site2025/mainpageS2025P0.html Head, Neck, and Skullbase Tumors] (all of which Dr. Meara participates in), as well as a [http://www.childrenshospital.org/clinicalservices/Site2284/mainpageS2284P0.html Breast Clinic] , [http://www.childrenshospital.org/clinicalservices/Site1881/mainpageS1881P0.html Hand Clinic] , [http://www.childrenshospital.org/clinicalservices/Site1894/mainpageS1894P0.html Oral and Maxillofacial Section] , and a world-leading [http://www.childrenshospital.org/clinicalservices/Site1964/mainpageS1964P0.html Vascular Anomalies Center] . Dr. Meara also has helped to train Craniofacial Fellows at Royal Children's Hospital (2000-2006) and at Children's Hospital Boston (2006- ).

ocial Involvement

Meara has been involved as a visiting surgeon in several different locations. He has performed procedures in:
*Ecuador with Por Cristo (1987)
*India with Health Volunteers Overseas (1992)
*Vietnam, China, Jordan, Honduras, and Peru with Operation Smile (1998-2002)
*Haiti with Partners in Health (2007)

Health Care Policy

In addition to being actively involved in providing care as a visiting surgeon, Dr. Meara has also been very active in the health care policy arena. In 2007, Meara was chosen to serve both on the [http://www.facs.org American College of Surgeons] ] Health Policy Steering Committee and the [American Society of Plastic Surgeons] Federal Affairs Committee. The goals of the Health Policy Steering Committee, as outlined by the American College of Surgeons website are to:

* Identify public policy issues and concerns affecting both surgeons and patients
* Prioritize those issues and concerns and recommend where the ACS should focus their efforts
* Develop action plans for addressing these public policy issues
* Work to make surgeons, their patients, and the public more aware of current health policy concerns.
* Develop and maintain mechanisms by which legislative and regulatory issues can be addressed in a timely and effective manner. [American College of Surgeons, Health Policy Steering Committee [http://www.facs.org/about/committees/index.html#hp] ]

Lectures/Papers

Dr. Meara has lectured and submitted papers on a variety of topics, both in the US and on an international level, in the past ten years. Domestically, he has lectured on odontogenic keratocysts, bilateral frontocranial remodeling, fryns phenotypes, alveolar bone grafting, Proteus Syndrome, dental maturity ratio in Cleft Lip/Palate, and outpatient cleft lip repair procedures.

Internationally, Meara has lectured and written on topics such as unilateral coronal synostosis, obstetric brachial plexus palsy, LeFort III Internal Distraction, outcomes research, cleft lip and palate team repair, generalized craniofacial anomalies in children, long term outcomes of tongue reduction, Scaphocephaly and vault remodeling, pediatric trauma management, and anterior encephaloceles.

Meara also has had over forty published journal articles, and has contributed to three books, as well as had a hand in editing six.

elected Publications

*Boyadjiev, SA, Meara JG, Boggan, J, et al. Genetic Analysis of Non-syndromic Craniosynostosis. Orthod Craniofacial Res. 2007;10(3):129-137.

*Tomlinson JK, Morse SA, Bernard SP, Greensmith AL, Meara JG. Long-term outcomes of surgical tongue reduction in Beckwith-Wiedemann syndrome. Plast Reconst Surg. 2007;119 (3) 992-1002.

*Blake WE, Chow CW, Holmes AD, Meara JG. Nasal dermoid sinus cysts: a retrospective review and discussion of investigation and management. . Ann Plast Surg. 2006;57(5):535-40.

*Tomlinson JK, Liem NT, Savarirayan R, Meara JG. Isolated and syndromic syngnathism: management, implications, and genetics. Ann Plast Surg. 2006;57(2):231-5.

*Downer SR, Meara JG, Da Costa AC, Sethuraman K. SMS text messaging improves outpatient attendance. Aust Health Rev. 2006;30(3):389-96.

*Da Costa AC, Walters I, Savarirayan R, Anderson VA, Wrennall JA, Meara JG. Intellectual outcomes in children and adolescents with syndromic and nonsyndromic craniosynostosis. Plast Reconstr Surg. 2006;118(1):175-81; discussion 182-3.

*Hurvitz KA, Rosen H, Meara JG. Pediatric cervicofacial tissue expansion. Int J Pediatr Otorhinolaryngol. 2005;69(11):1509-13.

*Downer SR, Meara JG, Da Costa AC. Use of SMS text messaging to improve outpatient attendance. Med J Aust. 2005;183(7):366-8.

*Meara JG, Smith EM, Harshbarger RJ, Farlo JN, Matar MM, Levy ML. Blood-conservation techniques in craniofacial surgery. Ann Plast Surg. 2005;54(5):525-9.

*Da Costa AC, Savarirayan R, Wrennall JA, Walters I, Gardiner N, Tucker A, Anderson V, Meara JG. Neuropsychological diversity in Apert syndrome: a comparison of cognitive profiles. Ann Plast Surg. 2005;54(4):450-5.

External links

* [http://www.childrenshospital.org Children's Hospital Boston]
* [http://www.childrenshospital.org Children's Hospital Boston Department of Plastic Surgery]
* [http://children.photobooks.com/directory/profile.asp?dbase=main&setsize=5&service=&shellid=372&view=program&department=29&classification_deptview=chief&pict_id=5927850 Dr. Meara's Children's Hospital Boston Profile, including CV]
* [http://www.rch.org.au/plastic/staff.cfm?doc_id=4832 Dr. Meara's Royal Children's Hospital Profile]

References