About Ralph E. Holmes, MD

Dr. Ralph Holmes is a board-certified plastic surgeon and a pediatric plastic surgery specialist at Rady Children's Hospital-San Diego. He is also a voluntary professor of plastic surgery at UC San Diego. A native of San Diego, Dr. Holmes received his medical degree from Boston University School of Medicine and his otolaryngology training at the Yale-New Haven Medical Center. His interest in reconstructive surgery led him to complete plastic surgery training at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas. After serving as a professor and chief of the Plastic Surgery division at UC San Diego from 1995 to 1999, Dr. Holmes relocated to Rady Children's to focus on his primary interests of craniofacial surgery, cleft lip and palate surgery, ear reconstruction and surgery for skin conditions. A founder of the Vascular Lesion and Birthmark Center at Rady Children's, Dr. Holmes enjoys collaborating closely with the Pediatric and Adolescent Dermatology division. He also has a personal interest in reconstruction of the outer ear and was the first to bring to Rady Children's modern techniques of creating new ears from rib cartilage for children with microtia. He also enjoys collaborating with the Genetics, Otolaryngology and Audiology services, and working with the Cleft Palate Team. Dr. Holmes was previously chief of Rady Children's Pediatric Surgery Division and remains committed to excellence in surgical care for all children with pediatric and craniofacial conditions. He has published more than 70 journal papers and 10 book chapters, and given 160 scientific presentations.