Dr. Milton Waner: Pediatric Facial Plastic Surgeon

Dr. Milton Waner is a Pediatric Facial Plastic Surgeon and Director of the Vascular Birthmark Institute at the Lenox Hill Hospital in New York. Dr. Waner earned his M.D., B.Ch. degree at the University of Witwatersrand Medical School in Johannesburg, South Africa. He completed his internship and general surgical training at the University of the Witwatersrand affiliated hospitals residency in the Division of Otolaryngology/Department of Surgery at the University of Witwatersrand. He also completed a research fellowship in head and neck cancer at the University of Cincinnati Medical Center.

He held a faculty position in the Department of Surgery at the University of Sydney in Australia. In 1988, he left Australia for a position in the Department of Otolaryngology at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences, where he was promoted to the rank of Professor in 2001. He also held the Benjamin and Milton Waner Endowed Chair in Pediatric Facial Plastic Surgery at Arkansas Children’s Hospital.

Dr. Waner serves as a VBF Medical Director. He has been with VBF for over 25 years, performing transformative surgery for countless VBF families, including for VBF President/Founder Dr. Linda’s daughter, Christine, whose hemangioma story resulted in VBF’s founding.

Dr. Waner has authored and co-authored more than 100 peer reviewed articles, 25 book chapters, and 2 textbooks concerning hemangiomas, vascular malformations of the head and neck, and related topics. He was a pioneer in the development of copper vapor lasers and has remained at the forefront in both the clinical aspects and basic research in the field of lasers in medicine.

Dr. Waner holds numerous US and international patents on medical devices, and one of his most recent inventions is a pair of infrared glasses that can visualize veins through intact skin. This instrument will soon be used in operating rooms and emergency rooms throughout the country. He has served as the surgical representative on the board of directors of the American Society for Laser Medicine and Surgery and was nominated to run for president of that society.

Dr. Waner is the recipient of numerous awards, including an Honor Award presented by the American Academy of Otolaryngology Head and Neck Surgery and the Children’s Miracle Network Achievement Award. He has been made an honorary member of the British Academy of Aesthetic Plastic Surgeons and was knighted by the Order of Usmiechu in Poland for his work with Polish children affected by vascular anomalies. Dr. Waner was named the VBF Physician of the Year in 2004.