Miles J. Pfaff
•Clinical X, Assistant Clinical Professor, Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery, University of California, Irvine, Children's Hospital of Orange County
•Acting Program Director, Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery Integrated Residency, University of California, Irvine
Biography
Miles J. Pfaff, M.D., M.H.S., F.A.C.S., F.A.A.P., is Program Director of the Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery Integrated Residency, Director of Clinical Research, and Assistant Clinical Professor in the Department of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery at the University of California, Irvine, with clinical appointments at Children's Hospital of Orange County. He received his M.D. and M.H.S. from Yale University School of Medicine in 2014, completed his integrated plastic surgery residency at UCLA Medical Center in 2020, and completed a fellowship in cleft and craniofacial surgery at Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh in 2021. Pfaff directs the Ear Anomalies Program at Children's Hospital of Orange County.
Pfaff has secured multiple research grants, including awards from the Plastic Surgery Foundation, the National Institutes of Health, and the MTF Junior Investigator Award. He has mentored numerous undergraduate and medical student capstone projects that have received competitive awards, including first-place finishes at the Beall Student Design Competition and entrepreneurial awards for medical device development. His research focuses on cleft and craniofacial surgery, artificial intelligence applications in surgical assessment, tissue engineering, and psychosocial outcomes in complex facial and craniofacial patients.
Pfaff has authored nearly 100 peer-reviewed publications and has more than 100 regional, national, and international meeting abstracts. He serves as Section Editor for Plastic Surgery at the Cleft Palate Craniofacial Journal and on the Editorial Review Board for Annals of Plastic Surgery. He has served on the Plastic Surgery Foundation Basic Science Study Section grant review committee for four consecutive years and is an active member of multiple societies. Dr. Pfaff is a Fellow of the American College of Surgeons and the American Academy of Pediatrics.
Return to topEducation
- B.A. in Molecular and Cell Biology, Cell and Developmental Biology, University of California, Berkeley, 2007
- M.D., Yale University School of Medicine, 2014
- M.H.S., Yale University School of Medicine, 2014
Distinctions
- Daniel Marchac Award, International Society of Craniofacial Surgery, 2021
- Fellow, American Academy of Pediatrics, Subspecialty: Plastic Surgery, 2024
- Fellow, American College of Surgeons, 2024
- Paul Black Junior Investigator Award, American Cleft Palate-Craniofacial Association
- Joseph McCarthy Traveling Fellowship, American Society of Craniofacial Surgeons, 2021
- Yale Plastic Surgery Scholastic Award
- Yale Lindskog International Travel Award
- Best Case/Best Save Award, California Society of Plastic Surgery, 2025
- University of California Biology Fellows Award, 2007
- University of California Bears Scholarship, 2007
Areas of Expertise
- Adult Rhinoplasty
- Functional Nasal Surgery
- Pediatric Craniofacial Surgery
- Cleft Lip and Palate
- Velopharyngeal Insufficiency Management
- Microtia Ear Reconstruction
- Artificial Intelligence Surgical Applications
- Tissue Engineering Cartilage Constructs
- Facial Feminization Techniques
Recent Publications
- Nanda A.D., Mosieri C.A., Antongiovanni J.T., Tiourin E., Pfaff M.J., “Temporoparietal Fascial Free Flap With Vascularized Helical Rim Component for Complex Nasal Reconstruction” (opens in new tab), Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery Global Open, vol. 14, pp. 7608, 2026.
- Antongiovanni J., Shah N., Mosieri C.A., Struble S., Cho H.E., Vallurupalli M., Labove G., Pfaff M.J., “Novel Use of Chimeric Serratus Anterior Fascia-Latissimus Dorsi Flap for Composite Cranial Defect” (opens in new tab), Archives of Plastic Surgery, 2026.
- Mosieri CA, Antongiovanni JT, Willens S, Shah N, Alaniz L, Blaine K, Vyas RM, Pfaff MJ, “The Relationship Between Microtia and Complex Chronic Conditions: A Comprehensive Analysis of 20,000 Patients” (opens in new tab), Cleft Palate Craniofacial Journal, 2025.
- Mamoun L, Willens S, Mocharnuk J, Meshkin D, Pfaff MJ, “The Intersection of State Gun Laws and Child Opportunity Index in Pediatric Firearm Incidents” (opens in new tab), FACE, vol. 0, no. 0, pp. 706-710, 2025.
- Vu C, Willens SH, Alaniz L, Humphrey JG, Shah N, Vyas RM, Pfaff MJ, “Ultrasound-Guided Maxillary Nerve Block in Nasal Surgery” (opens in new tab), Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery, vol. 156, pp. 362-365, 2025.
- Miao X., Stulginski A., Manzanarez Felix K., Mamoun L., Picos J., Alaniz L., Song M., Vyas R.M., Pfaff M.J., “Understanding Pediatric Dog Bite–Related Craniofacial Injuries: Caregivers’ Perspectives on Mental Health and Injury Prevention” (opens in new tab), Journal of Craniofacial Surgery, vol. Publish Ahead of Print, 2025.
- Humphrey J.G., Menon A.V., Pfaff M.J., “Passing: Fred Korematsu and the Wartime Reconfiguration of Plastic Surgery” (opens in new tab), Face, vol. 6, pp. 603-606, 2025.
- Sherafat A., Antongiovanni J., Mosieri C., Rosenbloom A., Mamoun L., Willens S., Alaniz L., Esfandyarpour R., Ziegler M., Pfaff M.J., “Patient and guardian perspectives on tissue engineering in microtia reconstruction” (opens in new tab), Plos One, vol. 20, 2025.
- Willens S., Ghafari A., Alaniz L., Shah N., Pfaff M.J., “Buccal Fat Pad Transposition for Midface Augmentation in Facial Gender Surgery: A Case Series” (opens in new tab), Face, vol. 6, pp. 307-311, 2025.
- Willens S.H., Alaniz L., Humphrey J., Shah N., Antongiovanni J., Mosieri C.A., Jaffurs D.C., Vyas R.M., Pfaff M.J., “Postoperative Cutaneous Sensory Recovery After Different Surgical Approaches for Microtia and Ear Reconstruction” (opens in new tab), Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery Global Open, vol. 13, pp. e7355, 2025.
- Ghafari A, Alaniz L, Vu C, Ibarra A, Vallurupalli M, Willens S, Pfaff MJ, “External ear malformations and cardiac and renal anomalies: A systematic review and meta-analysis” (opens in new tab), PLOS ONE, vol. 19, no. 9, pp. e0309692, 2024.
- Vu C, Ibarra A, Yang CD, Manzanarez-Felix K, Ting C, Pakvasa M, Vyas RM, Pfaff MJ, “Reducing Surgical Waste: A Systematic Review”, PRS Go, 2024.
- Willens SH, Mamoun L, Meshkin D, Mocharnuk J, Pfaff MJ, “Plastic Surgery and the Epidemic of Pediatric Firearm Injuries in America” (opens in new tab), FACE, vol. 0, no. 0, pp. 515-516, 2024.
- Lem M, Pham J, Arora J, Trivedi S, Arowojolu O, Castro R, Vyas R, Pfaff MJ, “A Scoping Review of Adjuvant Perioperative Therapies for Primary Cleft Lip Repair” (opens in new tab), FACE, vol. 5, pp. 40-49, 2024.
- Oberoi MK, Caprini R, Pfaff MJ, Lee JC, “Meta-Analysis and Meta-Regression of Complications and Failures of Autologous Heterotopic Cranial Bone versus Alloplastic Cranioplasties” (opens in new tab), Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery, vol. 154, pp. 757-772, 2024.
- Vu C., Ibarra-Vega A., Yang C.D., Manzanarez-Felix K., Ting C.L., Pakvasa M., Vyas R.M., Pfaff M.J., “Interventions to Reduce Surgical Waste Burden: A Systematic Review” (opens in new tab), Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery Global Open, vol. 12, pp. e6085, 2024.
- Pfaff M.J., Losee J.E., “Cleft lip and nose”, Essential Facial Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery Volume 1 General Principles Reconstruction of Defects Congenital Anomalies Trauma and Facial Nerve Rehabilitation, pp. 183-195, 2024.
- Alaniz L, Vu Cindy, Pfaff MJ, “Utilizing Artificial Intelligence for Systematic Reviews and Boolean Query Formation” (opens in new tab), Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery Global Open, vol. 11, pp. E5339, 2023.
- Hines E, Trivedi S, Hoang-Tran C, Mocharnuk J, Pfaff MJ, “Perspectives on Cybersecurity and Plastic Surgery: A Survey Plastic Surgeons and Scoping Review of the Literature” (opens in new tab), Aesthetic Surgery Journal, vol. 43, pp. 1376-1383, 2023.
- Alaniz L, Vu Cindy, Arora J, Stulginski A, Zhu X, Cordero J, Vyas RM, Pfaff MJ, “Effective Local Anesthetic Use in Nasal Surgery: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Randomized Controlled Studies” (opens in new tab), Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery Global Open, vol. 11, pp. E5151, 2023.
Most Cited Publications
- Indes JE, Pfaff MJ, Farrokhyar F, Brown H, Hashim P, Cheung K, Sosa JA, “Clinical outcomes of 5358 patients undergoing direct open bypass or endovascular treatment for aortoiliac occlusive disease: a systematic review and meta-analysis” (opens in new tab), Journal of Endovascular Therapy, vol. 20, pp. 443-455, 2013.
- Barr ML, Haveles CS, Rezzadeh KS, Nolan BM, Castro R, Lee JC, Steinbacher D, Pfaff MJ, “Virtual Surgical Planning for Mandibular Reconstruction with the Fibula Free Flap: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis” (opens in new tab), Annals of Plastic Surgery, vol. 84, pp. 117-122, 2020.
- Pfaff MJ, Steinbacher DM, “Plastic Surgery Applications Using Three-Dimensional Planning and Computer-Assisted Design and Manufacturing” (opens in new tab), Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery, vol. 137, pp. 603e-616e, 2016.
- Pfaff M, Wu W, Zellner E, Steinbacher DM, “Processing technique for lipofilling influences adipose-derived stem cell concentration and cell viability in lipoaspirate” (opens in new tab), Aesthetic Plastic Surgery, vol. 38, pp. 224-229, 2014.
- Reissis D, Pfaff MJ, Patel A, Steinbacher DM, “Craniofacial dermoid cysts: histological analysis and inter-site comparison”, Yale Journal of Biology and Medicine, vol. 87, pp. 349-357, 2014.
- Pfaff MJ, Xue K, Li L, Horowitz MC, Steinbacher DM, Eswarakumar JV, “FGFR2c-mediated ERK-MAPK activity regulates coronal suture development” (opens in new tab), Developmental Biology, vol. 415, pp. 242-250, 2016.
- Zellner EG, Pfaff MJ, Steinbacher DM, “Fat grafting in primary cleft lip repair” (opens in new tab), Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery, vol. 135, pp. 1449-1453, 2015.
- Pfaff MJ, Mukhopadhyay S, Hoofnagle M, Chabasse C, Sarkar R, “Tumor Suppressor protein p53 negatively regulates angiogenesis and arteriogenesis” (opens in new tab), Journal of Vascular Surgery, vol. 68, pp. 222S-233S, 2018.
- Pfaff MJ, Nolan I, Alford J, Bertrand AA, Musavi L, Zhu X, Lee JC, “Perioperative Pain Management and Cleft Care: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Level I and II Studies” (opens in new tab), Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery, vol. 150, no. 1, pp. 145e-156e, 2022.
- Pfaff MJ, Metzler P, Kim Y, Steinbacher DM, “Mandibular volumetric increase following distraction osteogenesis” (opens in new tab), Journal of Plastic Reconstructive and Aesthetic Surgery, vol. 67, pp. 1209-1214, 2014.
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Last updated on 8/17/2026.