Life Changer
Dr. John-Paul Regan of Modern Aesthetic Plastic Surgery approaches patient care with an open mind, an artist’s eye, and a big heart.
by Bill Donahue

 
Robert Skalicky, D.O., recently unveiled Modern Aesthetic Plastic Surgery, a grand reimagining of his existing practice, Bucks County Plastic Surgery. The identity change reflects not only the practice’s breadth of treatment options, surgical and nonsurgical alike, but also its expansion beyond the borders of its Bucks County birthplace.
 
The rebranding coincided with the addition of plastic and reconstructive surgeon John-Paul Regan, D.O. Dr. Skalicky says he was drawn to Dr. Regan for his honesty and attentiveness to patients, as well as his creativity and artistic eye. He specializes in all areas of aesthetic surgery, from facelifts and eyelid surgery, to breast augmentation and mommy makeovers. He’s particularly interested in facial reconstruction and rejuvenation procedures, such as rhinoplasty, where “tiny little details make a huge difference.”
 
“This is a problem-solving field, and that’s what I love about it,” Dr. Regan says. “Plastic surgery requires the surgeon to think critically about a patient’s situation. A lot of medicine is an algorithm; you plug in X and it comes out with Y. With plastic surgery, there are multiple ways to fix a problem, not one dedicated solution.”
 
Dr. Regan has been pursuing creative endeavors his whole life. He grew up immersed in music, having learned to play instruments ranging from classical piano to the trumpet. He has since taken up painting and other artistic disciplines. When he’s treatment planning for a patient, these artistic skills inform his medical training.
 
“You’re moving tissue from here to there, so you have to understand how different aspects of the anatomy will play together,” he says. “I did my surgical training in general surgery, where you’re taking out a gallbladder or a pancreas, and I never found that personally fulfilling. Most of the time you were working with people who were sick, so the patients weren’t particularly happy. With plastic surgery, you’re achieving results that make patients happy, and that’s what makes me happy.”
 
As a specialist in breast reconstruction surgery, Dr. Regan appreciates the opportunity to help women recover—physically and emotionally—following a breast cancer diagnosis. 
 
“It’s such a personal journey for these women,” he adds. “A lot of these women don’t always get all of the information along the way, so I like to help them see all of the available options so they can make the decision based on what their needs are and what they are comfortable with.”
 
After a woman has received a breast cancer diagnosis, Dr. Regan meets with her to inform her of all options for “restoring her natural self,” as he puts it. Some may opt for a minor procedure such as a lumpectomy to remove a localized part of the breast, while some may choose a complete mastectomy to remove the entire breast as a guard against reoccurrence. Likewise, patients have multiple options for reconstruction. These may range from a breast implant to a procedure that uses native body tissue to fill in the defect, thereby enabling the patient to keep as much of her natural breast as possible. Also, some women may want a surgical procedure to create more symmetry of the breasts.
 
“There’s a strong bond between a patient and a plastic surgeon,” he says. “The patient has to be comfortable with the surgeon’s eye, and the surgeon needs to see what the patient has but also what the patient can achieve.”
 
Some of Dr. Regan’s most rewarding surgical experiences have occurred outside the United States. In recent years he has participated in medical missions to Zambia, where he used his surgical talents to help children affected by cleft lips and cleft palates. This African nation has a population of more than 17 million—and just one plastic surgeon among them, according to Dr. Regan. He remembers these medical missions as “life-changing experiences,” for the patients as well as for himself.
 
“They reminded me of why I wanted to be a doctor in the first place,” he says. “These children have this deficit, and they’re also outcasts from their culture and community; it’s a curse that got put on them, so it’s not only a health concern but also a social concern. What we’re able to do during these missions provides an immediate fix. Afterward, they’re able to rejoin their communities, and that’s such a rewarding thing because these are kids who would not have this access otherwise. For me, these missions renew why I chose the path I did.”
 
Going forward, once the world returns to normal in the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic, Dr. Regan intends to do more of these missions, possibly to countries such as Haiti and the Philippines. In the meantime, he’ll be traveling from his home in New York to Modern Aesthetic Plastic Surgery’s offices in Newtown and King of Prussia to help patients in the Philadelphia area, also with life-changing results.
 
Making Connections
Dr. Regan completed his undergraduate degree with honors at Texas A&M University, followed by medical school at the University of North Texas Health Science Center. His interest in the surgical arts brought him to New York City, where he completed his five-year residency in general surgery through New York Medical College at Wyckoff Heights Medical Center.
 
During his time there, he discovered his passion for problem solving and applied anatomy, and realized that plastic surgery offered the best way to apply these skills to patient care. It’s also when he first crossed paths with Dr. Skalicky, who served as a designated instructor during his aesthetic surgery rotation. After residency, Dr. Regan undertook formal training in plastic and reconstructive surgery at St. Joseph’s Health in New Jersey, which he recently completed.
 
With Modern Aesthetic Plastic Surgery, Dr. Regan says he likes being part of a comprehensive team built around patient care. In addition to Dr. Skalicky and Vidhi Adlakha, D.O., the practice’s aesthetic team includes oculoplastic surgeon Blair Armstrong, M.D., physician assistant Kaitlyn Nelson, PA-C, and nurse injector Michele Petrillo, R.N., as well as licensed aestheticians Brittany Bray and Jill Norton. The team works seamlessly together to offer patients “total rejuvenation”—everything from cosmetic surgery to minimally invasive wrinkle reduction and skin rejuvenation.
 
“[Dr. Skalicky] is a very skilled surgeon, but one of the things I respect most about him is the fact that he really tries to listen to what the patient is saying,” says Dr. Regan, who considers Dr. Skalicky both mentor and colleague. “A lot of surgeons have in their mind what they are going to do even before the patient opens their mouth, but he takes the time to listen and bases his plan around them.”
 
Dr. Regan believes Dr. Skalicky saw similar qualities in him.
 
“I love plastic surgery, and I think that’s what hooked [Dr. Skalicky’s] eye on me,” he adds. “I love the whole aspect of what plastic surgery has to offer—the minute details of what plastic surgery can do, as well as the big strokes of artistry. My mantra in patient care is that I try to make a connection with the patient. I’m here to enhance their life however they want, whatever that means to them, and I love that bond that happens as a result.”
 
Modern Aesthetic Plastic Surgery
 
104 Pheasant Run
Newtown, Pa. 
 
700 S. Henderson Road, Suite 230
King of Prussia, Pa.
 
Photography by Jody Robinson
 

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Published (and copyrighted) in Suburban Life magazine, June 2020.