David W. Kim

David W. Kim, MD, is a facial plastic and reconstructive surgeon at Dr. David W. Kim Facial Plastics in San Francisco, where he has practiced for about two decades. He is double board-certified by the American Board of Facial Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery and the American Board of Otolaryngology–Head and Neck Surgery, and he is a Fellow of the American College of Surgeons. The site describes him as a leading San Francisco facial plastic surgeon. From 2003 to 2009 he was Chief of the Division of Facial Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery at the University of California, San Francisco. He began his training with a B.A. in human biology from Stanford University, then earned an M.D. and completed a surgical residency in otolaryngology–head and neck surgery at the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine. He completed a fellowship in facial plastic and reconstructive surgery at the University of Illinois at Chicago, training with Dean Toriumi, J. Regan Thomas, M. Eugene Tardy and Gary Burget. The site also describes a Park Avenue fellowship that emphasized facial balancing, says he was instructed at Columbia University, and says he trained one-on-one with one of the most prominent deep plane facelift surgeons in the world. Rhinoplasty is central to his practice, including primary, revision and functional procedures, and patient testimonials on the site describe him performing it. He also works across the face, head and neck, with facelifts, neck lifts, forehead lifts and eyelid surgery, as well as complex nasal reconstruction and repair of congenital and traumatic facial deformities. The site says he specializes in the deep plane facelift in San Francisco, a technique it describes as releasing facial ligaments and repositioning deeper tissues through incisions hidden around the ears and under the jaw. According to the site, men and women in their 40s and 50s are typically good candidates, and he performs the procedure on patients in their 60s and 70s. Before surgery he usually plans a consultation to discuss goals and an individualized treatment plan, and he aims for natural, harmonious results. In the office he offers Botox Cosmetic, fillers, fractionated CO2 laser resurfacing with Lumenis Active and Deep FX, and IPL skin resurfacing. He was principal investigator of a multi-center prospective quality-of-life study on functional rhinoplasty for nasal obstruction and received the AAFPRS Investigator Development Grant for that research. He has authored more than 50 papers, articles and chapters, has taught at over 50 conferences, and has served as course director for large facial plastic surgery meetings. He sits on the board of directors of the American Academy of Facial Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery and serves as its Western Region Director. Other medical professionals refer complicated cases to him. The practice describes him as an internationally acclaimed surgeon, and the site lists him as a 2026 Castle Connolly Top Doctors honoree, a distinction it says ranks physicians among the top 7% nationwide based on peer nominations and patient care.