Dr. Jeffrey Ascherman is an experienced plastic and reconstructive surgeon with decades of experience caring for children with cleft lip, cleft palate and craniosynostosis as part of the Columbia/Weill Cornell/NYP Craniofacial Center at Morgan Stanley Children’s Hospital and the Craniosynostosis Program at NYP/Weill Cornell/Columbia.
Dr. Ascherman is Site Chief of the Division of Plastic Surgery and a Professor of Surgery at Columbia University Irving Medical Center. He obtained his B.A. degree from Harvard University, and his M.D. from Columbia University’s College of Physicians and Surgeons where he was elected into the Alpha Omega Alpha Honor Society. He then completed his general and plastic surgery training at the Columbia University Medical Center. In addition, he completed a craniofacial fellowship in Paris.
Dr. Ascherman has published over 75 scientific articles and chapters, and has presented his work at a number of national and international meetings. He is a member of numerous plastic surgery societies, including the American Society of Plastic Surgeons, the American Society for Aesthetic Plastic Surgery, the American Association of Plastic Surgeons, and the Northeastern Society of Plastic Surgeons where he is President-Elect. Dr. Ascherman has been included multiple times in Castle Connolly’s list of America’s Top Doctors and in New York Magazine’s annual list of Best Doctors. He has been an active participant in humanitarian surgical missions, and has traveled numerous times to China as well as to South America to perform volunteer surgeries.
Columbia/Weill Cornell/NYP’s Craniofacial Center provides advanced care for children with facial conditions and complex facial deformities related to congenital (birth) defects, trauma, and tumors or abnormal growths. As part of the #1 medical center and children’s hospital in New York, we put a wide array of top-quality resources towards helping every child and family we see. Our program proudly meets the high standards for Cleft Palate and Craniofacial Teams as set forth by the American Cleft Palate-Craniofacial Association (ACPA) and Cleft Palate Foundation (CPF).
Complete Care for All Craniofacial Issues
Our team has experience treating every form of craniofacial issue, at all levels of severity and complexity. Specific areas of expertise at the Cleft & Craniofacial Center include:
Craniosynostosis
Plagiocephaly
Torticollis
Cleft lip and palate
Swallowing, hearing, and speech difficulties due to cleft palate and velopharyngeal insufficiency
Facial clefting syndromes, including Treacher Collins syndrome
Craniosynostosis syndromes, including Crouzon and Apert syndromes
Craniofacial trauma
Facial and jaw tumors and occlusal discrepancies
Dentofacial deformities and malocclusion
Congenital deformities of the eyelids, eye muscles, and tear ducts
Vascular growths and malformations, including hemangiomas
A Commitment to Community
We don’t just perform surgeries on kids with craniofacial issues, we form lasting relationships with our patients and their families. That sense of community is important to us, and we frequently organize events so that members of our craniofacial family can meet each other, learn from one another, and support us all.
As leaders in our field, we also feel a responsibility to bring our expertise to the global community. Team members regularly organize and participate in non-profit surgical missions to other countries, including Peru, Honduras and China, to treat children with cleft lips, cleft palates and other craniofacial problems.
Research
Members of the Craniofacial Center are at the forefront of research in the field, developing new treatments for speech disorders and new techniques to stimulate and promote cranial bone formation. They regularly publish articles, book chapters, and books, including one on soothing pain in children and another for mothers on providing medical care.
Endoscopic Strip Craniectomy for Craniosynostosis
Cranial Vault Remodeling for Craniosynostosis
Fronto-Orbital Advancement for Craniosynostosis
Cranial Distraction Osteogenesis
Mandibular Distraction Osteogenesis
Virtual Surgery Planning For Craniofacial Surgery
Orthognathic Surgery
Pediatric Plastic Surgery
External Ear Reconstruction
Revision Craniofacial Surgery
