William D. Franks, MD

Dr. William D. Franks is a board-certified plastic surgeon who owns WDF Aesthetic Plastic Surgery. His aesthetic work centers on the body, the breasts and the face. He holds a diplomate from The American Board of Plastic Surgery and takes part in the American Board of Medical Specialties' Maintenance of Certification program. He started his education at the University of Texas Dental Branch in Houston, where he earned a Doctor of Dental Surgery from 1980 to 1985. Oral and maxillofacial surgery training at Charity Hospital in New Orleans followed, then an oral medicine and pathology internship at the LSU School of Dentistry and an oral and maxillofacial surgery residency at Lincoln Medical Center in the Bronx. He went on to earn a Doctor of Medicine at Eastern Virginia Medical School and completed a general surgery residency at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center Mercy Hospital. His plastic and reconstructive surgery training took place at Erlanger Hospital in Chattanooga under Dr. Larry Sargent, and he completed a craniofacial surgery fellowship at New York University under Dr. Joseph McCarthy. During his medical training he worked alongside Dr. Bill Magee, co-founder of Operation Smile. He later set up the Center for Children's Craniofacial and Reconstructive Surgery at Mercy Medical Center in the Midwest. He developed and named Reconstructive Aesthetic Surgery, which brings reconstructive principles to cosmetic work, softening changes from aging and improving unfavorable results of earlier cosmetic or reconstructive work. Lipoabdominoplasty, which combines tummy tuck and liposuction techniques, is one of his specialty procedures. Many patients come to him for an artistic eye and close attention to detail. In his superior pedicle reduction mammoplasty, the lower breast tissue comes out first and the upper tissue is then shaped. Rather than synthetic mesh, he keeps a portion of the patient's own dermis as an internal anchor for breast tissue. He avoids the synthetic mesh used in other internal bra techniques, which is both expensive and recognized as carrying infection risk. He also chose the dermal fillers and medical skincare products used in the practice based on clinical history, his own experience and results.