I want to tell you how this started — because it changes everything about how you'll understand what this directory actually is.
When I was deep in my research, before I ever took a single client, I asked hundreds of people who had been through plastic surgery the same question: what mattered most to you about your doctor? What I heard back, more than anything else, more than results, more than price, more than reputation — was one word.
Abandonment.
They felt abandoned. Left alone after surgery with questions and fears and nowhere to turn. Dismissed when they came back with concerns. Forgotten the moment the procedure was over. It came up so many times and in so many different ways that I couldn't ignore it. So I took that finding to a few doctors and asked them — what do you look for when you evaluate a great surgeon?
Not one of them mentioned abandonment. Not one of them mentioned humanness.
That told me everything I needed to know. That gap — between what patients were desperately craving and what doctors were even thinking about — became the foundation of The Regan Surgical Collective™.
"Humanness is not a bonus quality in my Collective. It is the first requirement."
A surgeon who does not stay with their patient — through the hard moments, the questions, the fears, the recovery — does not belong here. Period.
From there, the vetting goes deep.
Board certification is the baseline — the obvious starting point that every credible list begins with. Beyond that I looked carefully at what the industry tends to celebrate and I will say this diplomatically: not every award in this industry is what it appears to be. I did my homework. I crossed certain things off my list accordingly and moved on to what I believe actually matters.
What actually matters is communication — and not the kind designed to make a sale. I am looking for the surgeon whose patients describe their appointments as a real conversation. Who leaves people feeling educated beyond the obvious, at peace with their decision and genuinely heard.
I also look at training. I have my favorite Fellowship programs — the ones where I believe surgeons receive exceptional mentorship and come out of the other side shaped by the very best in the field. When I want to grow the Collective in a specific area, I may ask one of my existing surgeons if they trained alongside someone they would stake their reputation on. That recommendation carries enormous weight with me — but it is the beginning of my process, not the end of it. I take it from there.
No surgeon applies to be in The Regan Surgical Collective™. I do the finding. I do the vetting. I do the choosing. And the standard never moves — because the people I am sending to these doctors deserve nothing less than the very best human being behind the scalpel.
That is what it means to be in my Collective. And that is what it means for you when I recommend one of them.
Want to know which surgeon is right for you? That's exactly what I'm here for.