Burt Brent is a retired reconstructive plastic surgeon best known for his work in reconstructing the absent outer ear. He built upon the techniques of his mentor, Dr. Radford Tanzer of the Mary Hitchcock Clinic at

Dartmouth Medical School The Geisel School of Medicine is the medical school of Dartmouth College located in Hanover, New Hampshire. The fourth oldest medical school in the United States, it was founded in 1797 by New England physician Nathan Smith. It is one of the sev ...

and repaired ear defects in 1,800 patients, most of them children born with ear deformities such as

microtia Microtia is a congenital deformity where the auricle (external ear) is underdeveloped. A completely undeveloped auricle is referred to as anotia. Because microtia and anotia have the same origin, it can be referred to as microtia-anotia. Micro ...

. He also reconstructed ears lost or due to some form of trauma.

Biography

Youth

Brent grew up in

Detroit Detroit ( , ) is the List of municipalities in Michigan, most populous city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is situated on the bank of the Detroit River across from Windsor, Ontario. It had a population of 639,111 at the 2020 United State ...

Michigan Michigan ( ) is a peninsular U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest, Upper Midwestern United States. It shares water and land boundaries with Minnesota to the northwest, Wisconsin to the west, ...

, and was highly influenced by his maternal grandfather who taught him cabinetry and woodworking. Although he considered a career in art, he was always surrounded by medicine, because his father was a physician who had an office in the basement of their home. Eventually his father influenced him to pursue a career in medicine, and Brent decided to study plastic surgery so that he could employ his artistic background within that field. He received his B.S. degree at

Wayne State University Wayne State University (WSU) is a public university, public research university in Detroit, Michigan, United States. Founded in 1868, Wayne State consists of 13 schools and colleges offering approximately 375 programs. It is Michigan's third-l ...

in Detroit and his M.D. degree at

Chicago Medical School The Chicago Medical School (CMS) is a private medical school of Rosalind Franklin University of Medicine and Science in North Chicago, Illinois. It was founded in 1912 and obtained approval from the American Medical Association in 1948. Histo ...

. Following his internship at the

University of Michigan The University of Michigan (U-M, U of M, or Michigan) is a public university, public research university in Ann Arbor, Michigan, United States. Founded in 1817, it is the oldest institution of higher education in the state. The University of Mi ...

, Brent entered the U.S. Army as a general medical officer and served one year with the

101st Airborne Division The 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault) ("Screaming Eagles") is a light infantry division (military), division of the United States Army that specializes in air assault military operation, operations. The 101st is designed to plan, coordinat ...

. The following year, he transferred to Panama where he served two more years as a medical officer with the

Special Forces Special forces or special operations forces (SOF) are military units trained to conduct special operations. NATO has defined special operations as "military activities conducted by specially designated, organized, selected, trained and equip ...

("Green Berets"). It was at this time that he became fluent in Spanish, which served him well in helping many Latino patients.

Artist

As an avid naturalist, Brent is a member of the

Society of Animal Artists The Society of Animal Artists is an international organization for artists who paint, sculpt, or draw animals and wildlife, founded in 1960. The Society holds an annual exhibition, "Art & the Animal", which premieres at museum venues. A portion ...

and has created sculptures of numerous of birds and mammals. Some of these are large bronze sculptures which he has donated for his young patients and other children to enjoy in the

San Diego Zoo The San Diego Zoo is a zoo in San Diego, California, United States, located in Balboa Park (San Diego), Balboa Park. It began with a collection of animals left over from the 1915 Panama–California Exposition that were brought together by its ...

and

San Francisco Zoo The San Francisco Zoo and Gardens is a zoo located on the West Side (San Francisco), West Side of San Francisco, in the southwestern corner of the city between Lake Merced and the Pacific Ocean along the Great Highway. The zoo's main entrance (o ...

Publications

Brent published more than 60 scientific articles and textbook chapters in the medical literature. He has coauthored, edited, and/or collaborated on several books: *''Earl Scruggs and the Five-String Banjo'', Peer International Music Corporation, New York, 1968; 2nd Edition, Hal Leonard Music Corporation, Milwaukee, 2005. *Brent, B. (Ed.): ''The Artistry of Reconstructive Surgery'', C. V. Mosby Company, St. Louis, 1987.

Medical practice

Brent specialized in ear reconstruction and had a private practice in

Woodside, California Woodside is a incorporated town in San Mateo County, California, United States, on the San Francisco Peninsula. It has a council–manager system of government. The population of the town was 5,309 at the 2020 census. The town's population ha ...

. He was also on the teaching faculty at

Stanford University Medical Center Stanford University Medical Center is a teaching hospital which includes Stanford Health Care and Stanford Children's Health. It serves as a private hospital for the Stanford University School of Medicine. In 2022–23, it was ranked by the U ...

Palo Alto, California Palo Alto ( ; Spanish language, Spanish for ) is a charter city in northwestern Santa Clara County, California, United States, in the San Francisco Bay Area, named after a Sequoia sempervirens, coastal redwood tree known as El Palo Alto. Th ...

. Brent, who learned sculpture before studying medicine, built upon and refined techniques developed by Dr. Radford Tanzer, who was a surgical professor at Dartmouth Medical College He performed ear reconstruction surgery for more than 1,800 patients, most of them children born with ear deformities such as

. He also reconstructed ears lost due to some form of trauma. Due to his commitment and tenure in this practice he saw children of previous patients, who have a higher risk of having children with similar deformities. He was named Clinician of the Year in 2005 by the American Association of Plastic Surgeons Several of Brent's earliest and notable patients were famous kidnap victims who had their ears amputated and sent along with ransom notes. Reconstruction of their ears resulted in a ''

Time Time is the continuous progression of existence that occurs in an apparently irreversible process, irreversible succession from the past, through the present, and into the future. It is a component quantity of various measurements used to sequ ...

'' magazine article entitled "Surgery as Sculpture" and was instrumental in launching public awareness of Brent's work to parents of children with

congenital A birth defect is an abnormal condition that is present at childbirth, birth, regardless of its cause. Birth defects may result in disability, disabilities that may be physical disability, physical, intellectual disability, intellectual, or dev ...

birth deformities of the ear. Additional publications: *1. Tanzer, R.C.: "Total Reconstruction of the External Ear." Plastic & Reconstructive Surgery, 23:1, 1959. *2. Brent, B.: "Effective Safety Devices for the Padgett Dermatome." Plastic & Reconstructive Surgery, 51:467, 1973. *3. Brent, B.: "Magnetic Surgical Instrument Stand." Plastic & Reconstructive Surgery, 52:318, 1973. *4. Brent, B.: "Delayed Autogenous Cartilage Transplantation." Hines Veteransí Hospital Research Grant, Chicago, Illinois, 1972-1973. *5. Brent, B.: "The Role of Available Cartilage and the Operative Time Element in Auricular Reconstruction." In Tanzer, R. C., and Edgerton, M. T. (Eds.), Plastic Surgery Educational Foundation Symposium on Reconstruction of the Auricle, C. V. Mosby Co., St. Louis, pp. 88–90, 1973. *6. Brent, B.: "The Expansile Framework" in Autogenous Ear Reconstruction, Scientific Exhibit at the American Society of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgeons Annual Convention, Hollywood, Florida, 21–26 October 1973. *7. Brent, B.: "Ear Reconstruction with an Expansile Framework of Autogenous Rib Cartilage." Plastic & Reconstructive Surgery, 53:619, 1974. *8. Brent, B.: "Reconstruction of the Ear, Eyebrow, and Sideburn in the Burned Patient." Plastic & Reconstructive Surgery, 55:312, 1975. *9. Brent, B.: "Earlobe Construction with an Auriculomastoid Flap." Plastic & Reconstructive Surgery, 57:389, 1976. *10. Howell, S., Warpeha, R. L., and Brent, B.: "A Technique for Excising Earlobe Keloids." Surgery, Gynecology & Obstetrics, 141:438, 1975. *11. Brent, B.: "The Acquired Auricular Deformity: A Systematic Approach to its Analysis and Reconstruction." Plastic & Reconstructive Surgery, 59:475, 1977. *12. Tanzer, R. C., Converse, J. M., and Brent, B.: Chapter 35, "Deformities of the Auricle." In Converse, J. M. (Ed.), Reconstructive Plastic Surgery, 2nd Edition, W. B. Saunders Co., Philadelphia, 1977. *13. Brent, B., and Bostwick, III, J.: "Nipple-Areola Reconstruction with Auricular Tissues." Plastic & Reconstructive Surgery, 60:353, 1977. *14. Brent, B.: "The Role of Pressure Therapy in Management of Earlobe Keloids: Preliminary Report of a Controlled Study." Annals of Plastic Surgery, 1:579, 1978. *15. Brent, B. and Ott, R.: "Perichondro-Cutaneous Graft." Plastic & Reconstructive Surgery, 62:1, 1978. *16. Brent, B.: Chapter 13, "Reconstruction of the Ear." In Grabb, W. C., and Smith, J. W. (Eds.) Plastic Surgery—A Concise Guide to Clinical Practice, 3rd Edition, Little, Brown & Company, Boston, 1979. *17. Brent, B.: "Nipple-Areolar Reconstruction Following Mastectomy: An Alternative to the use of Labial and Contralateral Nipple-Areolar Tissues." Clinics in Plastic Surgery, 6:85, 1979. *18. Brent, B.: "The Versatile Cartilage Autograft: Current Trends in Clinical Transplantation." Clinics in Plastic Surgery, 6:163, 1979. *19. Brent, B.: "Replantation of Amputated Distal Phalangeal Parts of Fingers Without Vascular Anatastomoses, Using Subcutaneous Pockets." Plastic & Reconstructive Surgery, 63:1, 1979. *20. Brent, B.: One-year follow-up on distal phalangeal replantation with subdermal pocketing (letter to the editor). Plastic & Reconstructive Surgery, 64:817, 1979. *21. Brent, B.: "The Correction of Microtia with Autogenous Cartilage Grafts, Part I: The Classic Deformity." Plastic & Reconstructive Surgery, 66:1, 1980. *22. Brent, B.: "The Correction of Microtia with Autogenous Cartilage Grafts, Part II: Atypical and Complex Deformities." Plastic & Reconstructive Surgery, 66:13, 1980. *23. Brent, B.: "Reconstruction of the Microtic Ear with Autogenous Rib Cartilage." In Recent Advances in Plastic Surgery, Jackson, I. T., (Ed.), Churchill Livingston Company, Edinburgh, 1981. *24. Brent, B.: "Surgical Treatment of Congenital Disorders of the External Ear." In Serafin, D., and Georgiade, N. G. (Eds.), Pediatric Plastic Surgery, C. V. Mosby Company, St. Louis, 1981. *25. Brent, B.: "A Personal Approach to Total Auricular Reconstruction: Case Study." Clinics in Plastic Surgery, 8:211, 1981. *26. Brent, B.: Discussion of "A poly(HEMA) Sponge for Restoration of Articular Cartilage Defects" by Con, M. and De Visser, A. C. Plastic & Reconstructive Surgery, 67:294, 1981. *27. Brent, B.: Discussion of "Neocartilage Derived from Transplanted Perichondrium. What is it?" by Upton, J., Sohn, S. A., and Glowacki, J. Plastic & Reconstructive Surgery, 68:173, 1981. *28. Brent, B.: "Complications of Auricular Reconstruction -- Avoidance and Management." In Goldwyn, R. M. (Ed.), The Unfavorable Result in Plastic Surgery, Little, Brown, and Company, Boston, Third Edition, 1982. *29. Brent, B.: "The Microtic Ear." In Kernahan D., and Thompson, H. (Eds.), Plastic Surgery Educational Foundation Symposium on Pediatric Plastic Surgery, C. V. Mosby Company, St. Louis, 1982. *30. Brent, B.: Discussion of "An improved one-stage total ear reconstruction procedure" by Song, Y. and Song, Y. Plastic & Reconstructive Surgery, 71:623, 1983. *31. Brent, B., and Byrd, H. S.: "Secondary Ear Reconstruction with Cartilage Grafts Covered by Axial, Random, and Free Flaps of Temporoparietal Fascia." Plastic & Reconstructive Surgery, 72:141, 1983. *32. Brent, B.: Discussion of the correlation between a constructed auricle's definition and the healed chest scar's quality. In "Problems encountered in contouring a reconstructed ear of autogenous cartilage" by Yanai, A., Fukuda, O., and Yamada, A. Plastic & Reconstructive Surgery, 75:191, 1985. *33. Brent, B., Upton, J., Acland, R. D., et al.: "Experience with the Temporoparietal Fascial Free Flap." Plastic & Reconstructive Surgery, 76:177, 1985. *34. Brent, B.: "Nasal Alar Repair: The Auricular Composite Graft." In Brent, B. (Ed.): The Artistry of Reconstructive Surgery, C. V. Mosby Company, St. Louis, 1987, pp. 63–66. *35. Brent, B.: "Auricular Repair with a Conchal Cartilage Graft." In Brent, B. (Ed.): The Artistry of Reconstructive Surgery, C. V. Mosby Company, St. Louis, 1987, pp. 107–112. *36. Brent, B.: "Total Auricular Construction with Sculpted Costal Cartilage." In Brent, B. (Ed.): The Artistry of Reconstructive Surgery, C. V. Mosby Company, St. Louis, 1987, pp. 113–128. *37. Brent, B.: "Auricular Reconstruction with a Fascial Transposition Flap." In Brent, B. (Ed.): The Artistry of Reconstructive Surgery, C. V. Mosby Company, St. Louis, 1987, pp. 129–138. *38. Brent, B., And Finseth, F.: "Microsurgical Ear and Scalp Reconstruction with a Fasciocutaneous Free Flap." In Brent, B. (Ed.): The Artistry of Reconstructive Surgery, C. V. Mosby Company, St. Louis, 1987, pp. 139–149. *39. Brent, B.: "Reconstruction of the Eyebrow and Eyelashes with Free Grafts." In Brent, B. (Ed.): The Artistry of Reconstructive Surgery, C. V. Mosby Company, St. Louis, 1987, pp. 199–202. *40. Brent, B.: "Restoring Fronto-Orbital Contour with Autogenous Rib Cartilage." In Brent, B. (Ed.): The Artistry of Reconstructive Surgery, C. V. Mosby Company, St. Louis, 1987, pp. 421–424. *41. Brent, B.: "Restoration of Thermally Injured Facial Features." In Brent, B. (Ed.): The Artistry of Reconstructive Surgery, C. V. Mosby Company, St. Louis, 1987, pp. 439–445. *42. Brent, B.: "Temporomandibular Joint Repair with an Auricular Perichondrial Graft." In Brent, B. (Ed.): The Artistry of Reconstructive Surgery, C. V. Mosby Company, St. Louis, 1987, pp. 539–448. *43. Brent, B.: "Chin Contouring with a Laminated Cartilage Graft." In Brent, B. (Ed.): The Artistry of Reconstructive Surgery, C. V. Mosby Company, St. Louis, 1987, pp. 597–604. *44. Brent, B., Acland, R. D., and Upton, J.: "Extremity Repair with Temporal Fascial Free Flaps." In Brent, B. (Ed.): The Artistry of Reconstructive Surgery, C. V. Mosby Company, St. Louis, 1987, pp. 789–800. *45. Brent, B,: "Nipple-Areola Reconstruction Following Mastectomy: Mimicry with Assorted Tissue Grafts and Tattoo Pigments." In Brent, B. (Ed.): The Artistry of Reconstructive Surgery, C. V. Mosby Company, St. Louis, 1987, pp. 933–946. *46. Brent, B.: Epilogue: "Learn to Make Wings: Thoracobrachial Pterygoplasty Powered by Muscle Transposition Flaps." In Brent, B. (Ed.): The Artistry of Reconstructive Surgery, C. V. Mosby Company, St. Louis, 1987, pp. 958–970. *47. Brent, B.: "Reconstruction of the Auricle." Book chapter in McCarthy, J. G. (Ed.), Plastic Surgery, W. B. Saunders Co., Philadelphia, 1990, vol. 3, pp. 2094–2152. *48. Brent, B.: "Repair and Grafting of Cartilage and Perichondrium." Book chapter in McCarthy, J. G. (Ed.) Plastic Surgery, W. B. Saunders Co., Philadelphia, 1990, vol. 1, pp. 559–580. *49. Brent, B.: Chapter 15, "Reconstruction of the Ear," In Grabb, W. C., and Smith, J. W. (Eds.), Plastic Surgery—A Concise Guide to Clinical Practice, 4th edition, Little, Brown & Company, Boston, 1991. *50. Brent, B.: "Auricular Repair with Autogenous Rib Cartilage Grafts: Two Decades of Experience with 600 Cases." Plastic & Reconstructive Surgery, 90:355, 1992. *51. Brent, B.: Discussion of "Modification of the stages in total reconstruction of the auricle," by Nagata, S. Plastic Reconstructive Surgery, 93:267-268, 1994. *52. Brent, B.: Microtia repair with autogenous rib cartilage grafts. In Munro, I. R. and Brent, B. (Eds.) : Microtia and Hemifacial Microsomia. Operative Techniques in Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery, 1:69-76, 1994. *53. Brent, B.: Reconstruction of the Ear. Book chapter in Grabb, W. C., and Smith, J. W. (Eds.), Plastic Surgery—A Concise Guide to Clinical Practice, 5th edition. Little, Brown & Co., Boston, 1997. *54. Saadeh, P.B, Brent, B., Longacre, M., et al.: Human Cartilage Engineering: Chondrocyte extraction, proliferation, and characterization. Ann. Plast. Surg., 42: 509, 1999. *55. Brent, B.: The pediatricians' role in caring for patients with congenital microtia and atresia: clinical experience with 1,000 patients. In Brent, B. (Guest Ed.) Pediatric Ear Disease, in Pediatric Annals, 28: 374, 1999. *56. Brent, B.: Technical advances in ear reconstruction with autogenous rib cartilage grafts—A Personal Review of 1,200 cases. Plast. Reconstr. Surg., 104: 319, 1999. *57. Brent, B.: Ear Reconstruction. Book chapter in Schendel, S.A., Ward Booth, P., and Hausemann, J.E. (Eds.), Maxillofacial Surgery, W. B. Saunders Co, Philadelphia, 1999. *58. Brent, B.: Microtia Repair with Autogenous Rib Cartilage Grafts. Book chapter in Evans, G.R.D. (Ed.), Operative Plastic Surgery, Appleton & Lange, Stamford, Ct., 2000. *59. Brent, B.: The Team Approach to Treating the Microtia-Atresia Patient. Otolarng. Clinics of North America, 33: 1353, 2000. *60. Brent, B.: Microtia repair with rib cartilage grafts: A review of personal experience with 1,000 cases. Clin. Plast. Surg. 29: 257, 2002 *61. Brent, B.: Reconstruction of the Auricle. Book chapter in Mathes, S.J. (Ed.), Plastic Surgery, Saunders, Elsevier, Philadelphia, 2006. *62. Brent, B.: Ear Reconstruction. Book chapter in Schendel, S.A., Ward Booth, P., and Hausemann, J.E. (Eds.), Maxillofacial Surgery, 2nd Ed. Elsevier Publishing Co., 2007. *63. Brent, B.: The Reconstruction of Venus: Following Our Legacy (An editorial). Plastic & Reconstructive Surgery, 121: 2170, 2008. *64. Brent, B.: "Hydrodissection as Key to a Natural-Appearing Otoplasty." Plastic & Reconstructive Surgery, 122:1055, 2008.

Honor and recognition

Medical honors: *Distinguished Alumnus Award, the Chicago Medical School. *Grand Prize, Annual National Plastic Surgery Senior Residents' Conference. *Two-time Recipient of the James Barrett Brown Award for the most significant publication in the world literature of plastic surgery in the year. *Presidential Citation – Triological Society (The American Laryngological, Rhinological and Otological Society) *Clinician of the Year (Lifetime Achievement Award). Presented by American Association of Plastic Surgeons. *Presidential Citation, American Otological Society Art honors: *Society of Animal Artists Members Choice Award - 1994 *Society of Animal Artists Award of Excellence - 1995, 1996, 2000, 2005, 2009 *Society of Animal Artists Memorial Award for Interpretive Sculpture - 1994, 2000, 2000

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References

External links

Ear ReconstructionMicrotia and AtresiaThe Almanac: Ears and Animals
{{DEFAULTSORT:Brent, Burt Living people Stanford University School of Medicine faculty Wayne State University alumni Rosalind Franklin University of Medicine and Science alumni University of Michigan staff People from Woodside, California Year of birth missing (living people)