About Alex A. Kane, MD
Alex A. Kane, M.D., is Division Director of Pediatric and Craniofacial Surgery at Children’s Medical Center and Vice Chairman of Plastic Surgery at UT Southwestern Medical Center. Dr. Kane has two decades of experience treating children with conditions that require plastic and craniofacial surgery, including cleft lip and palate, craniosynostosis, facial traumatic injuries, ear deformities, vascular anomalies, and pediatric breast conditions. Dr. Kane earned his undergraduate and medical degrees at Dartmouth College in New Hampshire. He performed his residencies in general and plastic surgery at Barnes-Jewish Hospital and Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis. He then received advanced training through a concentrated fellowship in cleft lip and palate and craniofacial surgery at Chang-Gung Memorial Hospital in China and a secondary fellowship in craniofacial imaging at the National Institutes of Health in Bethesda, Maryland. Prior to joining the UT Southwestern faculty in 2010, Dr. Kane was an Endowed Associate Professor of Surgery at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis. He was also Director of the Cleft Palate and Craniofacial Institute at St. Louis Children’s Hospital as well as Section Chief of Pediatric Plastic Surgery there. He is positioning the pediatric plastic and craniofacial team at Children’s Medical Center to be among the best in the country. As part of his imaging research, Dr. Kane designed the Analytical Imaging and Modeling (AIM) Center for pediatrics at Children's Medical Center, which includes facilities for obtaining 2-D, 3-D, and 4-D images to help pediatric specialists study outcomes and improve treatments. Dr. Kane has authored more than 80 research articles and book chapters on plastic and craniofacial subjects. He frequently lectures and presents research at national and international medical symposia. He enjoys teaching fellows, residents, and medical students. He is a member of several professional organizations, including the American Association of Plastic Surgeons, the International Society of Craniofacial Surgeons, the American Society of Craniofacial Surgeons, the American Society of Plastic Surgeons, the American Cleft Palate-Craniofacial Association, the American College of Surgeons, the Plastic Surgery Research Council, and the American Academy of Pediatrics, for which he is a Fellow. Dr. Kane has participated in many charitable surgical missions to Asia under the auspices of Smile Train and the Noordhoff Craniofacial Foundation. Alex A. Kane, M.D., balances the latest advancements in pediatric plastic and craniofacial surgery with a devotion to excellence in patient care. For two decades, his sole clinical focus has been working with infants, children, and adolescents who need reconstructive procedures with the goal of achieving normal appearance and function. Dr. Kane’s patients range from children with congenital conditions such as cleft lip and palate and craniosynostosis to those with traumatic injuries. “We are unique in Dallas in that we have a full-time, academic pediatric plastic and craniofacial practice. This is what we do every day of the week – take care of kids.” Dr. Kane joined UT Southwestern Medical Center’s pediatric plastic and reconstructive surgery program as Director of Pediatric and Craniofacial Surgery in 2010. In partnership and with the support of the Children’s Hospital System of Texas, his goal has been to build a group with a focus on excellent clinical care, research, and teaching. “We deliver cleft and craniofacial care in a true multidisciplinary setting, and our team is fully accredited by the American Cleft Palate-Craniofacial Association,” Dr. Kane says. “Our team takes care of these kids comprehensively, and Children’s Medical Center has been very generous in supporting the values of true interdisciplinary care. You can’t find that anywhere else in the region.” Dr. Kane has a keen commitment to patients. For many children with congenital conditions, he follows them throughout their young lives. This can mean from birth, and sometimes prenatally, until they are adults. This is the commitment needed to foster continuity of care and to build long-lasting relationships with both patients and their families. He believes that a dedicated academic pediatric practice ensures that children with these complex problems will receive the most modern, patient-centered care that is not possible in institutions where plastic surgeons split their time between adult and pediatric care.
