ASPS Names Pennsylvania Physician, Robert Murphy, MD, New President

SAN DIEGO -- Robert X. Murphy, Jr., MD, assistant chief medical officer at Lehigh Valley Health Network in Allentown, Pennsylvania, and professor of surgery at Morsani College of Medicine, University of South Florida, was today named president of the American Society of Plastic Surgeons (ASPS), the world's largest organization of board-certified plastic surgeons and foremost authority on cosmetic and reconstructive surgery. Dr. Murphy took office at Plastic Surgery The Meeting, the Society's annual scientific meeting, in San Diego and will serve for one year.

"As president, I will work to ensure that ASPS continues to serve its members' needs by offering the best educational programs, federal and state advocacy efforts, public education tools, and practice management services - all designed to deliver value to members in providing patients with the highest standard of care," said Dr. Murphy. "With the unique challenges the specialty is facing, from non-board-certified practitioners to the corporate practice of medicine, I hope to ensure that the overwhelming advantages of seeking a board-certified plastic surgeon are appreciated by the public and that the value of belonging to the world's leading plastic surgery society is well-recognized by its members."

An ASPS member since 1991, Dr. Murphy has served on several of the Society's committees accomplishing work in public education, patient safety, government affairs, and quality and performance measurement. Prior to being named ASPS president-elect in 2012, he served as vice president of health policy and advocacy. Dr. Murphy is a senior guest examiner for the American Board of Plastic Surgery and a member of the American Medical Association, American College of Surgeons, and the Pennsylvania Medical Society. He is also a member and past president of the Robert H. Ivy Society of Plastic Surgeons in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania.

Passionately committed to helping wounded veterans in need of reconstructive surgery, Dr. Murphy is involved with the Comprehensive Aesthetic Restorative Effort, commonly referred to as Project C.A.R.E., and serves on the board of directors for the Lehigh Valley Military Affairs Council.

Dr. Murphy graduated with a medical degree from New York University in 1982 and completed his internship and junior residency in general surgery at Beth Israel Hospital/Harvard Medical School in Boston. He completed his senior residency at Morristown Memorial Hospital in New Jersey and went on to finish his plastic surgery training at Montefiore Medical Center and Albert Einstein College of Medicine in New York in 1988. Dr. Murphy also completed a one year fellowship in hand surgery at Bellevue Hospital in New York and New York University Medical Center in 1989. He obtained his certification from the American Board of Plastic Surgery in 1991 and holds a certificate of added qualification in surgery of the hand.

In addition to receiving a master's degree in health evaluation sciences from Pennsylvania State University in 2003, Dr. Murphy maintains a rigorous clinical practice, encompassing the entire spectrum of cosmetic and reconstructive plastic surgery. He is a widely published author and serves as a section editor of ePlasty, an online journal.

Dr. Murphy lives with his wife and two daughters in Blue Bell, Pennsylvania.

Reporters can register to attend Plastic Surgery The Meeting, or arrange interviews with presenters, by contacting ASPS Public Relations at (847) 228-9900, media@plasticsurgery.org or in San Diego, Oct. 11-15, at (619) 525-6330.