About Deborah Watson, MD

Dr. Deborah Watson is a Facial Plastic Surgeon who is double board certified by the American Board of Facial Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery and the American Board of Otolaryngology (Head and Neck Surgery). She has expertise in rhinoplasty and nasal reconstruction, and also specializes in cosmetic facial plastic surgery. Dr. Watson received her medical degree from the University of Southern California School of Medicine in 1992. She did her General Surgery and Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery residencies at the UCLA Medical Center, Los Angeles, California. Following the completion of her residency training, Dr. Watson did a Fellowship in Facial Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery at the University of Illinois at Chicago and had the privilege of training with internationally-renowned facial plastic surgeon M. Eugene Tardy, M.D. and Dean Toriumi, M.D. as well as nasal reconstructive plastic surgeon Gary Burget, M.D. Dr. Watson is a Professor for the Department of Surgery at the University of California San Diego School of Medicine, Director of Facial Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery at the UCSD Medical Center, and Residency Director for the Division of Head and Neck Surgical Training Program. As the Residency Director for the surgical residents in the Division of Head and Neck Surgery, Dr. Watson supervises and participates in their 6-7 years of surgical training. In addition to her regular teaching responsibilities with the UCSD surgical residents and medical students, Dr. Watson has an extensive research background and is currently pursuing research in tissue-engineered cartilage for its use in craniofacial reconstruction. The future application of this tissue technology will benefit individuals who have birth defects involving the cartilage framework of their nose or ears, or have acquired deformities of these facial areas from trauma, cancer resection, or aggressive alterations from previous surgery.