Richard Kirschner

Dr. Richard Kirschner is a pediatric plastic surgeon with over 25 years’ experience in caring for children with facial differences.

He received both his undergraduate and medical degrees from the University of Miami in Florida and subsequently completed a residency in general surgery at the New York Hospital-Cornell Medical Center and a residency in plastic and reconstructive surgery at the University of Pennsylvania. He completed a fellowship in pediatric plastic surgery at The Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, where he remained as Director of the Craniofacial Biology Laboratory and later served as Director of the Cleft Palate Program. Dr. Kirschner now serves as the Robert and Edgar T. Wolfe Foundation Endowed Chair in Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery, Chief of the Department of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery, Director of the Cleft Lip and Palate Center, and Co-Director of the 22q Center at Nationwide Children’s Hospital in Columbus, Ohio and as Professor of Pediatrics of Plastic Surgery at The Ohio State University College of Medicine.

Dedicated to the service of patients, families and professionals, Dr. Kirschner has educated and trained physicians, surgeons, and other healthcare professionals from across the US and around the world and has long cared for underserved children with cleft lip and palate in Central and South America. He has lectured across the globe on the principles of cleft lip and palate surgery, 22q11.2 deletion syndrome, multidisciplinary team care, and heart-led leadership. He has served as President of the American Cleft Palate-Craniofacial Association and is the co-editor of Comprehensive Cleft Care, the family edition of Comprehensive Cleft Care, and the recently published Cleft Palate and Velopharyngeal Dysfunction.  He is the Co-Founder and President of Magical Moments Foundation, the only wish granting organization in the US dedicated to making dreams come true for children with facial differences.