Today we’d like to introduce you to Dr. Jennifer Keagle.
Dr. Keagle, let’s start with your story. We’d love to hear how you got started and how the journey has been so far.
I have always wanted to be a doctor and a surgeon. Since the age of 8, watching MASH on TV, I knew that was for me. It took quite some time, however…
I started with an undergraduate degree at Northwestern University. This followed with an M.D. at Northwestern Medical School in Chicago as well.
I then began ten years of postgraduate training, including residencies in both General Surgery and Plastic Surgery, at the prestigious University of California, San Francisco (UCSF).
While at UCSF, I studied the basic science and biology behind scar and wound healing in a two-year research fellowship funded by the National Institutes of Health.
I was then selected for the Craniofacial Fellowship at the University of California, Los Angeles, dedicated to helping children and adults with cleft lip and palate deformities.
Working under the tutelage of Dr. Henry Kawamoto, I was only the third woman among more than two-dozen fellows in the program’s history to gain this intensive training and experience operating on the facial bones, soft tissue and skin.
Following her work at UCLA, I became an Assistant Professor at the University of Washington in Seattle, where I performed surgeries, taught fellows, residents and medical students, and received a Seattle Children’s Hospital grant for basic science research.
Then in 2008, I moved back to Southern California to be closer to family. I have happily been at Downtown Plastic Surgery with Dr. Rosenberg since then. We are continuing the esteemed tradition of quality Plastic Surgery in Downtown LA for the last 50 years.
Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
Being a working Mom of two has its own challenges (and obstacles), for sure.
When my work is done Downtown, my next job starts at home in Mt. Washington.
However, I think this helps me understand the needs of professional parents and appreciate the demands on their time. I have a lot of Moms that come to me for all sorts of procedures; non-invasive and invasive. I “get” the aesthetic they are going for. I think the Northeast LA woman has great idea of what they want to look like and I really enjoy helping them with that.
Plus, I am very discrete…
Downtown Plastic Surgery – what should we know? What do you guys do best? What sets you apart from the competition?
Here are some of my qualifications:
One of the most credentialed of all plastic surgeons in the Los Angeles area
One of the few double-board-certified surgeons in the area
One of only a handful of plastic surgeons with 10 years of postgraduate training
A diplomate of the American Board of Surgery & Plastic Surgery
One of only a few women working as plastic surgeons in Los Angeles
One of the select few women to complete a UCLA Craniofacial Fellowship focused on the deep intricacies underlying surgical work on the face
Selected by her peers as one of Pasadena Magazine’s Top Doctors (2009)
Named Executive Board Member of the California Society of Plastic Surgeons (2011/12)
Elected to the Executive Medical Board at California Hospital Medical Center (2012-present)
Chair of the Physician Well Being Committee at California Hospital (2016-present)
Appointed Assistant Clinical Professor at UCLA and USC Medical School (2013)
What moment in your career do you look back most fondly on?
It is the best feeling is when a patient is happy.
Recently, I worked on one of my cleft patients who is 4 years old. I straightened his nose out so it is less conspicuous that he has a cleft. When I showed him what he looked like in the mirror, he beamed. I asked him which he liked better, his old nose or his new nose. “New nose” he said, with a huge smile….
Contact Info:
- Website: www.drkeagle.com
- Phone: 213-250-1300
- Email: [email protected]
- Instagram: Dr. Keagle Plastic Surgery
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/DrJenniferKeaglePlasticSurgery/
- Twitter: @DrJKeagle
- Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/jennifer-keagle-md-los-angeles

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