Dr. Thomas Mustoe

Dr. Thomas Mustoe is a plastic surgeon at TLKM Plastic Surgery in Chicago. He is listed as a professor and inventor and is double board-certified in plastic surgery and otolaryngology, including head and neck surgery. He led the plastic surgery division at Northwestern University Hospital for nearly two decades. From 1996 to 2000 he was Chief of Plastic Surgery at Evanston Hospital, and at that time he was the youngest surgeon in the nation appointed to the role. He earned a bachelor's degree in biology and a Doctor of Medicine from Harvard College, both cum laude, and won Harvard's Soma Weiss Award for best medical student research presentation. He interned at Massachusetts General Hospital, then trained in surgery at Peter Bent Brigham Hospital, in otolaryngology at Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary, and in plastic surgery at Brigham and Women's Hospital, where he was chief resident and trained under Dr. Joseph Murray. He began his career at Washington University, becoming associate professor after four years, and in 1991 moved to Northwestern University as professor and chief of its Division of Plastic Surgery. His specialties are the deep plane facelift, rhinoplasty and revision rhinoplasty, brow lift, breast augmentation and tummy tuck. His breast work includes augmentation, lift, revision and fat transfer. He has performed more than 10,000 surgeries overall and, together with Dr. Sinno, more than 3,000 breast enhancement procedures. His research and clinical interests include local anesthesia with sedation, scar management and wound healing. He holds four U.S. patents for scar management, with three more pending, and has held NIH wound healing funding since 1989, including 93 grants totaling over $6 million. He is described as a pioneer of the deep plane facelift for more than 30 years and a leader in sedation versus general anesthesia techniques. He co-edited Aesthetic Head & Neck Surgery, has taught facial aesthetic surgery courses, and serves as a visiting professor and lecturer at conferences and medical schools. He has served on the Board of Directors of the American Board of Plastic Surgery, is president of the Wound Healing Society and a recipient of its Lifetime Achievement Award, and has held advisory positions with the U.S. Food & Drug Administration. His recognition includes an appearance on The Oprah Winfrey Show in 1999, Chicago Magazine Top Doctors selections, U.S. News & World Report Top Doctors, Castle Connolly America's Top Doctors for 30 consecutive years, Newsweek's America's Best Plastic Surgeons for 2025, and nearly 1,000 five-star patient reviews.