Dr. John M. McAvoy is retired from practicing plastic surgery in Sonoma County. Beginning in 1979, he used his surgical skills to better the appearances of many thousands of patients, with cosmetic surgery, or reconstructive surgery following trauma or cancer.
Medical records for the past ten years are available after receipt of a signed request by the patient only (no relatives) and a copy fee of twenty-five dollars sent to:
Dr. McAvoy
P.O. Box 2301
Montgomery Branch
707 Hahman Drive
Santa Rosa CA 95405-9991
Note: Dr. John McAvoy announces his retirement from practice effective December 31, 2015.
Dr. John M. McAvoy has been practicing plastic surgery in Sonoma County since 1979. During that period, he has used his surgical skills to better the appearances of many thousands of patients, with cosmetic surgery, or reconstructive surgery following trauma or cancer. Though some of his patients have name recognition, his philosophy is that every patient entering his office is a VIP.
While cosmetic surgery has always been a large part of his practice, in recent years he has limited his practice to cosmetic surgery, anti-aging aesthetics, and skin care. Included in this mix are patients seeking reduction mammaplasties outside their insurance carriers.
After graduation from Tufts University in 1968, Dr. McAvoy graduated from its School of Medicine in 1972 with honors in anatomy. He completed his residency in General Surgery at UCLA Hospital in 1977, under Drs. Longmire and Maloney, serving as Chief Resident there in 1976-1977. He then completed his residency in Plastic Surgery at the University of Colorado in 1979, under Drs. Hoehn and Albin. He achieved Certification by the American Board of Surgery in 1978, and by The American Board of Plastic Surgery in 1980. Dr. McAvoy has published numerous papers in major surgical journals, and is an Active Member of the American Society of Plastic Surgeons, The California Society of Plastic Surgeons, and a Fellow of the American College of Surgeons. He is an active member of The American Society for Aesthetic Plastic Surgery. His other honors have included selection for 2004-2005 “Guide to America’s Top Surgeons” by The Consumers’ Research Council of America, former contributing editor Hospital Physician magazine, Membership Committee Chairman American Society of Plastic Surgeons, and has chaired a number of local committees and departments in both hospitals and medical groups. (Four terms as Chief of Plastic Surgery, Santa Rosa Memorial Hospital. ) For 2008 he was named to Marquis’ Who’s Who in America. Although Dr. McAvoy prefers a quiet profile, he has appeared on radio and television as well as in print media to answer questions concerning plastic surgery.
He has presented papers to the American College of Surgeons and has been invited to join multiple national and international aesthetic surgical societies. He has limited his membership in these to avoid being away from his practice. In recent years, he has withdrawn from AMA, California Med. Assn., as well as the local medical society, as his small protest of managed care.
A strong advocate for truth in advertising, Dr. McAvoy refuses to pay referral services which masquerade as “cosmetic or plastic or liposuction surgery information services,” or ” breast implantation referral services,” but are, in fact, paid advertisements for surgeons, unless the conditions for listing are clear to the consumer. He likewise refuses the concept of commissions for any employee, physician, or referral source. Having stated that, the most important sources of referrals for Dr. McAvoy have been former patients, physicians, and those seeing his results on the web. He is quite proud to be a Fellow of the American College of Surgeons and wholeheartedly endorses their policy of no fee splitting, direct or indirect. He likewise avoids any surgeon who makes disparaging remarks about any other surgeon, regardless of specialty, and advises patients to do likewise. He is quick to aid any patient in obtaining multiple opinions, and encourages this before, rather than after surgery. His reputation among colleagues has given him the privilege of caring for many physicians’ families. More importantly, he has a reputation for being sensitive to the unhappy patient of any colleague.
Perhaps the most important qualification of Dr. McAvoy is his compassion and keen awareness that changing a patient’s appearance is a serious trust, and the decision to do so must be made carefully by both patient and surgeon. The communication of expectations is of great importance, and cosmetic surgery should not be imposed on, or sold to, any patient. Likewise it is a very private matter, a privacy guarded by us even for patients whose initial post operative happiness compels them to “tell the world.” It is for this reason that frequently only portions of faces are shown here.